A HISTORY OF GLOUCESTERSHIRE 



has been steadily deteriorating, owing to the 

 laying down of ploughland to grass ; this is the 

 case on Hartpury estate, and also on Highnam 

 estate, on which one farm of 236 acres has all 

 been laid down to grass. Very few people in 

 this county now use setters or pointers for par- 

 tridge shooting ; retrievers or retrieving spaniels 

 are employed. In the earlier part of the season 

 the birds are walked up, and later on they are 

 driven. Personal experience goes to show that 

 for a quiet day with two guns nothing is better 

 than a steady old setter who will stand birds 

 and retrieve and, when told, break his point and 

 hunt a hedgerow. The season of 1897 was the 

 best for partridges within the writer's memory 

 in the neighbourhood of Lassington ; 145 birds 

 were killed off about 500 acres at Malswick, 

 and 314 were killed on the Newent Court 

 estate. 



The bags of partridges on Hartpury estate that 

 season on six days in September were respectively 

 68, 56, 61, 42, 30 and 32 birds. Owing to the 

 dearth of partridges from the wet weather in 

 1903, a good many Hungarian birds were turned 

 out in Gloucestershire. The writer procured 

 some eggs from Hungary and hatched, reared, 

 and turned out two hampers of strong young 

 birds in August, 1 904, but he does not know that 

 they have done him much good. In November, 

 1903, 50 brace of Hungarians were turned out 

 on Hartpury estate, but a good many were killed 

 by the wet, and on the whole the shooting has 

 not been much improved by them. On the 

 Sherborne estate, however, the introduction of 

 fresh blood in the shape of Hungarians has had 

 excellent results, over 100 brace of partridges 

 having been killed in one day in 1905, and 

 1 26^ brace on another, the latter the record bag 

 for Gloucester. On the Hartpury estate in 

 1905, on I and 2 September, 51 and 90 par- 

 tridges were bagged. A few landrails are occa- 

 sionally shot in September when beating clover 

 or standing corn for partridges, but they are rarer 

 than they were formerly. About 1893 two 

 bevies of quails were seen on the Onslow estate 

 near Newent, and about a dozen birds were shot. 

 There were some quails at Quedgeley about 

 twenty years ago. 



Rabbits are very numerous in parts of 

 Gloucestershire. This is in some measure 

 the result of the Ground Game Act. The 

 farmers preserve in order to enjoy ferreting 

 at Christmas, and shooting young rabbits in the 

 summer. The best way for the game preserver 

 to have good rabbit shoots is to keep the fields 

 round the coverts in his own hands. This is 

 done at Tibberton and at Fretherne, at which 

 latter the bag of rabbits on four days was : 1,214, 

 946, 388, 979 ; total, 3,527. In many cases it 

 is not scarcity of rabbits which causes them to 

 form so small an item in gentlemen's game books, 

 but wiring by professional rabbit-catchers em- 

 ployed by the farmers. On one farm of 300 acres 



near Gloucester 3,000 rabbits were destroyed 

 in twelve months two years ago ; whereas when 

 the squire had his shoots only about 2O rabbits 

 were shot in four days. There is one shoot of 

 I,2OO acres in the Cotteswold where the shooting 

 tenant undertakes to kill 4,000 rabbits in the 

 year ; of course, some of these would be wired. 

 On certain estates such as Huntley and the Haie 

 some white rabbits are kept, and if a keeper 

 going his rounds sees these conspicuous animals 

 out feeding he knows that trespassers have not 

 been near lately. One way of ensuring good 

 sport with rabbits is to ferret them out for several 

 days, stop the burrows, and put bits of paper 

 dipped in paraffin on the mouth of the holes. 

 There are some fine shoots on the Cotteswolds 

 where this method is practised ; particularly 

 that large tract which is rented by residents of 

 Cheltenham and Gloucester. 



Woodcocks do not frequent Gloucestershire 

 in any considerable numbers. As a rule, at 

 most shoots not more than two or three 

 would be killed. There are woodcocks in 

 the Forest of Dean ; but the best place in the 

 county known to the writer is May Hill, 

 where on 28 December, 1898, 14 'cock were 

 killed. Woodcock shooting on May Hill is not 

 without its dangers, as a man walking at a 

 higher elevation than another runs the risk of 

 being hit by the latter. At one shoot the 

 writer's servant, who was standing by him, 

 got a shot through his hat. The rarity of 

 the bird in some places causes every one to 

 'loose off' at it. A certain sportsman is reported 

 to have said that when he heard the beaters call 

 ' Woodcock forward,' he lay down flat till the 

 danger was over. 



In the winter a good many snipe visit the 

 Severn meadows near Gloucester ; there are also 

 some in the Leadon meadows. About 1881 or 

 1882 quantities appeared at Hartpury, feeding in 

 the mud beside heaps of rotten hay left by the flood. 

 The snipe rose in wisps of five to eight, and 

 seventy or eighty must have been put up out of 

 one meadow. 



The following records serve to show the nature 

 of sport enjoyed on certain estates in the days of 

 the muzzle-loader and in modern times : 



At Lassington (one day), 1845, 2 guns bag 112 head ; 



1848, 4 guns, 130 head; 1852, 4 guns, 150 



head. 

 At Lassington (one day), 1896, 6 guns bag 108 head; 



1897, 6 guns, 57 head ; 1898, 6 guns, 45 head. 

 At Hartpury (one day), 1847, 4 guns bag 1 19 head ; 



1850, 7 guns, 173 head; 1857, 4 guns, 232 



head. 

 At Hartpury (one day), 1903, 4 guns bag 742 head ; 



1904, 3 guns, 741 head and 721 head. 

 At Highnam (one day), 1848, 4 guns bag 90 head ; 



1850, 5 guns, 100 head. 

 At Highnam (one day), 1898, 8 guns bag 187 head 



(171 pheasants) ; 1899, 7 guns, 170 head (146 



pheasants). 



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