22 GAME BIRDS AND SHOOTING-SKETCHES 



less equalising by the end of the season the number of 

 birds killed by each separate proprietor. 



The unfortunate Caper is unjustly accused of a great 

 many heinous offences of which I for one believe him to 

 be entirely innocent, though there is no doubt he takes 

 off the shoots of the Scotch firs and larches which come 

 within his reach, and which does very little damage to 

 trees that have already reached any size. But many 

 sportsmen and owners of forests affirm that their choicest 

 morsel is the topmost sprig of a young spruce-fir : no 

 doubt it may be ; but how is Mr. Caper going to get it, 

 unless he hovers over it like a Flycatcher, and nips it off 

 in his flight, which, from his physical construction, is a 

 moral impossibility, and there are few spruces that would 

 bear his weight anywhere within reaching distance of the 

 top. For when the trees are small and it would be 

 possible for the birds to reach them, they are generally 

 surrounded by wire netting to keep the rabbits off, and, if 

 not, the little fellow on four legs is more likely to have 

 done the deed than his two-legged companion. So it ever 

 was : " Give a dog a bad name.'' You have only to sug- 

 gest to a forester that it merely wants Capercaillie to 

 make those magnificent woods of his complete in their 

 natural beauty to see him " spread" himself and call down 

 a torrent of abuse on the head of that unfortunate fowl. 

 Neither do the farmers love him, having caught him, per- 

 haps, one fine evening enjoying a little bit of fun all by 

 himself; for Mr. Caper, after having finished his dinner, 

 will sometimes indulge his irrepressible spirits by knock- 

 ing over a " stook " or two and pulling them to pieces out 

 of pure " cussedness," for he is somewhat of a humorist. 



