80 PARTRIDGE SHOOTING. 



upon a wager, out of that county to London, though 

 they were absolutely free, and had their wings 

 grown." It may be remembered how Lord Orford, 

 in 1790, made a bet with the eccentric Marquis of 

 Queensbury, that a drove of geese would beat an 

 equal number of turkeys in a race from Norwich to 

 London. The geese kept steadily jogging on, but 

 the turkeys flew up to roost in the trees adjoining 

 the high-road, and the drivers lost time in dis- 

 lodging them ; thus the geese beat the turkeys 

 hollow. Mr Daniel gives this faithful description 

 of the bird's plumage : " It is larger than the grey 

 partridge, and the bill and irides are red ; the fore- 

 head is grey brown ; the hind head is rufous brown ; 

 the chin and throat white, encircled with black ; 

 added to which, is a band of white over each eye 

 to the hind head : the fore part and sides of the 

 neck are cinereous, with two spots of black on each 

 feather ; the hind part of the neck rufous brown ; 

 the back, wings and rump, greyish brown : the breast 

 pale ash colour ; belly, sides, thighs, and vent rufous ; 

 the sides marked with lunular streaks of colour, 

 white, black, and orange ; quills grey brown, with 

 the outer edges yellowish ; the tail composed of six- 

 teen feathers : the four middle ones grey brown, the 

 next on each side the same, but rufous on the out- 

 side, the five outer ones rufous on both sides ; the 

 legs are red, and the male only has the blunt knob, 

 or spur, behind them." 



