GROUSE AND BLACK -GAME SHOOTING. 113 



care of the Divine appointments. The ptarmigan, the 

 colour of its snowy summit in the winter time, and of the 

 gray granite rock in summer ; the grouse, lower down, 

 exactly like its own red-brown heather in the autumn ; 

 while the partridge,* which subsists upon the little patch of 

 corn that skirts the moor, has the yellower shade of the 

 stubble on its wing. 



As the nights grow long, grouse take a far fuller even- 

 ing than morning feed. In mid-winter their crops at dusk 

 are as hard as drums. They seldom fill them in the 

 mornings then. Black-game also often content themselves 

 with heather at this time, from scarcity of other food. 

 Late in the year, both these birds sit best when evening 

 feed begins. 



No man ought to beat the same range oftener than 

 twice a-week, as packs of grouse, after being dispersed, 

 seldom all collect in the evening like partridges, but are 

 often some time before they gather : the best days are 

 those with a warm sun and light breeze. Cold wind 

 and rain, after October, makes them flock ; and it is of 

 no use to disturb them till it is fine again, when they 

 disperse. You may expect good sport the first black 

 frost. A sort of lethargy seems to come over the birds : 

 I have seen several in a day standing up, without an 

 attempt at concealment, within forty yards a rare oppor- 

 tunity for poachers and bad shots. 



Many suppose that grouse change their ground with 



* These moor partridges, which spend much of their time in the 

 heather, are of a daiker colour than those of the Lowlands. 



H 



