348 BROADLAND SPORT 



day at these birds, can condemn it ? If such there be, he 

 would either eclipse the immortal Ananias or he could have 

 no love for the gun or its usual surroundings ; his soul could 

 never have been roused by the sport of shooting, and he could 

 not realise one spark of that overpowering fascination and 

 enjoyable excitement which takes possession of the true sports- 

 man's every sense and nerve. 



Yet, however good the sport may be, it is a very difficult 

 task to evenly distribute it or bring it about in such a manner 

 as to please all who participate therein, unless the whole party 

 is comprised of real genuine sportsmen, for they alone remain 

 fully satisfied with whatever their position or luck may bring, 

 and realise almost as much pleasure in observing their neigh- 

 bours' success as though they were similarly situated. 



In partridge shooting this is a much easier matter, for there 

 one can either walk the birds up, drive them, or intermingle 

 the two. Positions can be drawn for, allotted by the host, or 

 placed in the hands of a head keeper. They can be reversed 

 or changed each beat, or once only, after lunch. And, as a 

 rule, with these provisions, each gun comes in for his fair 

 share of the shooting, although, of course, " luck," in this as 

 in everything else, will occasionally have its sway. 



But in pheasant shooting it is totally different. The 

 birds almost invariably favour certain corners, where they 

 will break, no matter who or what is there to prevent 

 them. Then there are other places where they now and again 

 break according to the atmospherical effect or fancy, so the 

 chances of the guns occupying more or less desirable positions 

 are, to say the least, uncertain and precarious. Nevertheless, 

 guns must be placed there, otherwise, with the invariable 

 perverseness of nature, the birds would be sure to break on 

 the first occasion of the omission. 



The guns who walk with the beaters have few op- 

 portunities at the genuine rocketer, except an occasional 

 shot at a bird which either from lack of courage or sly 

 cunning endeavours to steal back over the tree - tops. 

 These joys are few and far between ; nevertheless, they 



