SCOTCH DRIVING 133 



constructed or ruined butt ; and the man who has to 

 wait for three-quarters of an hour in cold and windy 

 weather with his feet in three or four inches of sodden 

 mud, peat, or water, unprotected from the blast or from 

 the keen eyes of the approaching grouse save by dilapi- 

 dated walls of sod, sunken to the level of his waist, 

 trodden down by sheep or cattle, and never touched 

 since they were carelessly erected a year or two before, 

 is not likely to feel favourably disposed towards the 

 keeper who has charge of these things. His only 

 alternative is to scrape out the mud with his feet, 

 thereby blocking the entrance to and the drainage 

 from the butt, and to build up the front wall by taking 

 sods from the back one, the result being to make the 

 place still more comfortless and untenantable for the 

 next comer on a succeeding day. 



Square butts are always to be recommended, es- 

 pecially on high ground, and where sheep or cattle are 

 pastured on the moor, as being much more permanent, 

 while they afford welcome shelter in bad weather. The 

 entrance should be at the side, and as narrow as pos- 

 sible, so as to keep out the aforesaid animals. The 

 walls should be built high, as remarked on in the fol- 

 lowing chapter, and the measurements there given 

 adhered to. 



Old birds on the high ground are very wary, as 



