118 GROUSE AND BLACK- GAME SHOOTING. 



must remain outside the plantation, striking the trees 

 with a stick, and making all the noise he can. The 

 pointer must not, if possible, range out of his sight. You 

 are thus pretty sure of the shot ; but if your man beats 

 through the belt, the birds are very likely either to fly 

 straight forward, or out at the under side. Two brace of old 

 cocks may be considered a good day's sport. If the planta- 

 tions are very large, beat by sections in the same way. 



Even in woodcock shooting in large covers, unless there 

 are a number of guns regularly placed between the beaters, 

 more harm than good is often done by a noisy crowd. I 

 never take more than one attendant, my retriever, and an 

 old pointer. When I get a point, I choose the most open 

 place, and send my man to strike the bush on the opposite 

 side employing my retriever to beat any very thick cover 

 near. This, however, he is not allowed to do unless 

 desired. Any man who adopts this plan will eventually be 

 more successful than with beaters. More birds may, of 

 course, be put up when a number of people are scouring the 

 woods, but the shots will neither be so many nor so fair. 



Black-game and grouse are easily tamed ; ptarmigan, I 

 believe, never. The keeper of the pheasantry at Eossdhu 

 had a black-cock, a grouse, a partridge, and a pheasant, 

 confined together. They agreed pretty well ; and the 

 grouse, being a hen, hatched two successive seasons. The 

 first year the whole of this cross-breed died ; but the next, 

 with great care, a couple were reared. They were both 

 cocks ; and, when 'come to their full plumage in winter, 

 were a blackish brown, something between the colour of a 



