HINTS ON GROUSE DRIVING. 171 



in my experience is to let a man sit down close to 

 and at the rear of the box, and for him to count the 

 birds he actually sees fall. The man is given a small 

 white oblong slate (paper gets so messed in wet), 

 down the slate a line is drawn lengthwise, and the 

 marker puts ' D ' for dead, and ' W for wounded 

 (this is done as quickly as are dots and crosses on 

 each side of the line on the slate according as the 

 birds fall to right or left of him, and of the imaginary 

 line (corresponding to the one on the slate) drawn 

 from the end of his nose to the horizon. The shooter 

 need then only count the birds the marker cannot see 

 fall, i.e., the few that drop in front of the box. Have 

 you, may I ask, seen the heather clean cut or burnt 

 away in the form of a narrow oblong when driving 

 grouse, the box, of course, being in the centre of 

 the length of the patch so treated ? This gives 

 one a very good idea of how to gather the birds, 

 and how many are left to pick up after a certain 

 number are found on one or the other side of 

 the line. It is also a check to searching over the 

 same ground too often. A round patch cleared away 

 does not help nearly so much as does a strip. 

 Besides, a large round patch, I am convinced, causes 

 the birds to fight shy of it, as dangerous from 

 experience, not to speak of the way the broken twigs 

 impale and tear the birds when falling. I see you 

 notice the fact that a peg placed between the boxes 

 is in some places used to prevent one shooter from 



