'POTTING' PARTRIDGES. 149 



his best time for shooting ; no keepers at that period can 

 protect them. He also observes where the partridges which 

 roost on the ground assemble nightly as it grows dark, 

 easily ascertaining the spot by their repeated calls to each 

 other, and sometimes knocks over three or four at a shot. 



Occasionally, also, early in the season, before the legiti- 

 mate sportsman perhaps has stepped into the stubble, and 

 while the coveys are large, he sees a good chance, and with 

 two or even three ounces of shot makes havoc among them. 

 He invariably fires at his game sitting, first, because he 

 cannot lose an opportunity, and, next, because he can kill 

 several at once. He creeps up behind a hedge, much as 

 the sportsman in Rubens' picture in the National Gallery 

 is represented, stooping to get a view, himself unseen, at 

 the brown birds on the ground. With the antique firelock 

 such a practice was necessary ; but nothing in our day so 

 stamps a man a poacher as this total denial of ' law ' to 

 the game. 



When the pheasant is shot his next difficulty is with 

 the feathers. The fluffy, downy under-feathers fly in all 

 directions, scattering over the grass, and if left behind 

 would tell an unmistakable tale. They must therefore be 

 collected as far as possible, and hidden in the ditch. The 

 best pockets for carrying game are those made in the tails 

 of the coat, underneath : many poachers' coats are one 

 vast pocket behind the lining. 



When there is special danger of being personally over- 



