i^. NORFOLK. 175 



It is, indeed, an opinion among farmers, 

 who are unfortunately fixed near kept-covers, 

 tliat the pheafants do more injury to their clo- 

 vers, than they do eitb.cr to their turneps or 

 their barley ; or, fome are of opinion, even to 

 the wheat-crop; for the lofs of the clover 

 by pheafants, deranges their farm in a fimilar, 

 thoueh not in fo fenfible a manner, as the lofs 

 of their turneps by hares ; whereas the lofs of 

 the wheat, though great in the firft inftance, is 

 lefs injurious in its confequences. 



To a perfon who has not been eye-witnefs 

 to the deftrudtion whch accompanies an inordi- 

 nate quantity of game, the quantity of damage 

 is in a manner inconceivable. 



Let us fuppofe that a fuite of kept-covers 

 give protedion to five hundred brace of hares : 

 one hundred and fifty brace, it is confidently 

 afferted, have been counted, at onetime, on one 

 fide of a fingle cover. I have myfelf fecn 

 from fifty to a hundred brace under the eye at 

 once. 



Let us further fuppofe, that five hares de- 

 vour, or deftroy, as much food as one of the fmall 

 heath flieep of this country : this, if we may^ 

 depend on an accurate experiment made on the 



quantity 



