86 THE MOOR AND THE LOCH. 



on the " stocks/' with wire no thicker than horse-hair, is a 

 very common way of poaching. Forty or fifty are often taken 

 at a time, during the period between the corn being cut and 

 carried. All these birds are so light in the colour as more 

 nearly to resemble partridges. But let us take the mountain 

 from top to bottom, and admire the wondrous care of the 

 Divine appointments. The ptarmigan, the colour of its snowy 

 summit in the winter time, and of the grey granite rock in 

 summer ; the grouse, lower down, exactly like its own red- 

 brown heather in the autumn ; while the partridge, 1 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 evening 

 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, make 

 them flock ; and it is of no use to disturb them till it is fine 

 again, when they disperse. You may expect good sport after 

 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 the 

 changes of weather, and even lay down rules what parts of the 

 mountain they frequent according to its variations. I have 

 watched them narrowly for many years, and am firmly of 



1 These moor partridges, which spend much of their time in the heather, are 

 of a darker colour than those of the Lowlands. 



