'OVEK DOGS' 109 



An odd old cock you will disturb sometimes from 

 the most exposed places, and this I have never been 

 able to explain, except on the theory that he has heard 

 you coming from afar off, and run on to the exposed 

 ground to look around for you. But then, again, these 

 odd birds in exposed places sometimes lie very close, 

 and rise with such a cackle as almost disturbs your 

 nerves, so that we must suppose they have been able to 

 find some special little bit of warm shelter which suits 

 them, although on the windward side. But the bulk 

 of the birds, and all the broods, will be found lying 

 with some protecting ridge or hillock sheltering them 

 from the wind. In perfectly calm, still weather you 

 may almost do as you like, beating the ground regu- 

 larly and extra closely, and so crossing it as to push 

 the grouse on to the part you reserve for the late 

 afternoon, with the proviso that you take the higher 

 ground first. But whenever there is a breeze, and 

 still more when it is blowing really hard, the science 

 of making a good bag of grouse, given that you can 

 walk and shoot well, is entirely a question of the con- 

 stant study and observation of the wind. Remember 

 that your dogs rely on it entirely you must therefore 

 bear it in mind, so as to understand their movements ; 

 your birds are guided by it in their choice of lying, in 

 their method of rising, and in their eventual flight ; 



