374 THE COMPLETE SHOT 



was by no means universally bad. That autumn they had a 

 splendid crop of grouse in perfect health at Crossmount, in 

 Perthshire. The Rannoch Lodge ground was only fair that 

 year, but the author's party there was credited in the Scotch 

 papers with the record bag for that season, probably wrongly, 

 as there was not one bird for five compared with the little 

 moor of Crossmount. 1873 was very wet in the August and 

 September shooting season, and the writer never before or 

 since saw so many midges as in that season. That grouse 

 disease does not attack in winter (although many grouse die 

 then and in the spring of various complaints) also tends to 

 prove that the bacilli must have an intermediate host that is 

 not in evidence in the cold weather. Then the disease is not 

 known in Ireland and in the Lews, where the climate is mild 

 and damp and encouraging to midge flies. But there is really 

 no place that the midge can attack a grouse as long as he is 

 full feathered, and in the mild climate even if there were 

 starvation there would not be bad food. But it may very well be 

 that the bacilli do not exist in Ireland or the Lews, and until 

 it is proved that they do exist there it is beside the mark to set 

 aside the evidence to be had where they do exist, only because 

 it does not conform to that of a place where they are unknown. 

 For some reason that the author is not aware of, the Field, 

 which commissioned Dr. Klein's investigations, seems to have 

 thrown over his conclusions entirely. Without any remark 

 upon the wisdom or otherwise of this course, it is necessary 

 to show how thoroughly it disagrees with them. At random 

 the author takes the issue of October 6th, 1906, and he finds 

 therein these four references to grouse disease. At page 581 

 is stated that " pneumo-enteritis is the technical name of the 

 grouse disease." On page 591, Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier writes : 

 " During the present year the number of grouse that I have 

 seen affected by disease has been unusually small, not half a 

 dozen from all parts of the kingdom. The extension of the 

 disease to blackcock is an interesting fact that should be 

 known. The disease appears to confine itself almost exclusively 

 to gallinaceous birds." 



