ROE -HUNTING. 149 



Here let me give two cautions always to dress as 

 near the colour of the ground and trees as you can, and, 

 when concealed, never to make the least motion : if you 

 do, the roe will at once perceive it and stop short. You 

 will most likely only be made aware of its having done 

 so by the hound coming within forty or fifty yards, and 

 then turning away in another direction. When properly 

 dressed, even should your place of concealment not be 

 very good, the roe will be pretty sure to pass if you keep 

 perfectly still. This is even more necessary when expect- 

 ing a hill-fox. Should the roe take a straight course, 

 right out of your beat, you must await its return ; which, 

 if it has not been alarmed or shot at, you may pretty 

 confidently expect. 



In recommending the above manner of roe-shooting, 

 it must be remembered that I do not say it is easy ; but 

 I do say, that, when thoroughly understood, it will be 

 attended with much greater success in the long run, and 

 the roes will be less disturbed, than when many of the 

 passes are kept by novices in the sport. I once, in Ken- 

 mure wood, at the head of Loch Lomond, by this mode 

 killed two in a few hours one of them a very fine old 

 buck without harassing any others ; while a party of five 

 or six of us, and beaters to correspond, after alarming 

 the whole wood, and firing many shots, only got three 

 yearling fawns in four whole days. 



Many gentlemen have a great prejudice against allow- 

 ing hounds to enter their covers, for fear of driving the 

 roes away, when the blame should rather be laid on their 



