RED GROUSE 227 



The last figure was given to the author by Lord Walsingham 

 about the time the bag of 1070 grouse made in the day by 

 his gun was discussed, and might possibly have been added 

 to later in the season. 



Two points are likely to arise in an examination of the 

 bags. First, was it that the birds were not upon the Yorkshire 

 moors, or only that they could not be killed, that made the 

 season's bags so poor prior to driving ? 



The other point is : Do big day's bags point to great stocks 

 of game on the moors ; and arising out of that, do great bags 

 help to improve the stock ? 



The answers, from the bags to be mentioned, will be found 

 to be that in the early days the birds were not on the York- 

 shire hills, and if they had been there they could have been 

 killed in numbers, except the wild old cocks. The proof is to be 

 found in the facts that, as lately as 1872, there were 1099 brace 

 of grouse killed in a day on Bowes moor over dog's, and 

 that the day after Lord Walsingham made his great one-gun 

 bag at Blubberhouses by driving, he walked up and shot in 

 half a day 26 brace, or more than the whole moor had yielded 

 in many a previous anti-driving season. It will be found, also, 

 that big day's bags do not necessarily point to big stocks of 

 grouse, since, at least twice, one gun has in one day taken 

 more than half the season's total bag off a moor. But that 

 very big driving days on a small moor are better than a 

 constant worry by smaller drivings of the grouse is almost too 

 obvious to name. 



Lord Walsingham killed to his own gun in one day of 1872 

 421 brace of grouse when the season's bag was 807^- brace; 

 and in 1888, after a very bad breeding season, he killed 

 535 brace to his own gun in the day, and there were 919 brace 

 bagged in that season. Similar proof of the skill of drivers 

 and shooters when the stocks of game were but moderate are 

 to be had elsewhere. The late Sir Fred Milbank's best year 

 at Wemmergill was in 1872, when he got 17,074 grouse, and 

 his best bag was 2070 grouse. Lord Westbury, his successor 

 on that moor, had a best day of about the same number, but 



