PHEASANT SHOOTING 



IT is impossible to say at what date the modern system 

 of pheasant shooting in its simplest form came into 

 vogue. Daniel may have had in mind some elemen- 

 tary kind of ' battue ' (has any one ever heard that 

 word spoken ?) when he wrote the declamation against the 

 ' thoughtless propensity to kill all the game possible ' quoted 

 in the last chapter ; and having regard to the fact that at 

 this time (1813) in any given bag partridges formed the very 

 large majority, it is possible that the pheasants included in 

 these two were hand-reared (of which more anon) and were 

 driven over the guns : — 



' On 28th January 1812 John Moseley, Esq., of Tofts, 

 Norfolk, accompanied by eight friends, within ^i)e Hours shot 

 8 Partridges, 12 Hares, 1 Woodcock, 28 Rabbits, 275 Pheasants. 

 Total 325, notwithstanding nearly six hundred Pheasants had 

 before been bagged on that manor only.' 



' The following is a List of Game, etc., shot this season 

 (1812) upon the Manor of Riddlesworth in Norfolk, the resi- 

 dence of Thomas Thornhill, Esq. Hares 574 : Partridges 

 725 : Pheasants 701 : Rabbits 492 : Snipes 49 : Woodcocks 

 6 : Total, 2548. About 3000 Rabbits have also been killed 

 by the keepers with Nets, etc' 



A century ago the accepted method of shooting pheasants 

 was over spaniels. The principal requirement in the dog was 

 that he should be steady from hares : a spaniel which had 

 ' any taint of the Hound in his pedigree, although generations 

 back, will be sure to hunt Hare in preference to winged game, 

 and the stock may be crossed everlastingly, may attain beauty, 



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