132 SHOOTING THE GROUSE 



this point ; they will not make butts themselves, but 

 insist upon extra men being hired to do it. This 

 should never be allowed. They have more than 

 ample time during the months when there is no shoot- 

 ing to do this, and the more they get to know about 

 the construction and position of the butts the better, 

 while the work involved is nothing but good for 

 them. 



Highlanders are, as all the world knows, a very 

 fine race of men, courageous and loyal, courteous and 

 amiable, they make the best sportsmen and the best 

 soldiers in the world ; but they are neither so practi- 

 cal nor so energetic under ordinary conditions as the 

 northern Englishman, and laziness is their great fail- 

 ing. There is a great deal of work involved in erect- 

 ing and maintaining several lines of butts, and it is 

 necessary that the keepers should be kept up to doing 

 this properly. They will soon learn that it is to their 

 interest to do so, and that the visitor who is used to 

 high -class driving, and possibly knows a great deal 

 more of the management of a moor than they do, will 

 be more liberally and generously inclined towards 

 them if they thoroughly perform their manifest duty 

 of keeping everything connected with the shooting in 

 first-rate order. 



It is impossible to kill grouse well from a badly 



