GROUND, STOCK, AND POACHING 219 



unless sent direct by a friend from his own moor, is 

 a poached, practically a stolen, bird. I remember 

 being served with one which was absolutely putrid on 

 the Twelfth, some years ago, at a well-known London 

 restaurant. An old friend, the late Lord Dupplin, 

 was dining near me, and had an equally bad one 

 served to him. We agreed to send them both away 

 in fact, though the price was 14^. per bird, they 

 were uneatable but the head waiter explained (?) 

 to us that this was the true flavour of the grouse, and 

 that we were ignorant. Poor Duppy ! I can see his 

 face of mingled disgust and amusement now at the 

 idea of a crapulous Swiss waiter explaining to him and 

 me what a grouse ought to taste like. 



But since the price that can be obtained for these 

 birds on the Twelfth will always be a temptation to 

 the evilly disposed, it behoves owners to look closely 

 after what happens in the moorland districts in the 

 week preceding that day. They cannot always be on 

 the spot at that time, but if an association or league, 

 such as I suggested in the former volume, were 

 formed, trained detectives could easily watch the 

 consignments passing through certain centres from 

 the moorland, and trace their origin and destination. 

 It has even come to this, that, as I am informed, silk 

 and other nets are actually provided by London 



