COVERT-SHOOTING 277 



have been here for years to act as stops, under 

 the senior woodman, who knows his job to a T. 

 I put pegs in for his guidance at some of the 

 principal rises, where the accurate placing of the 

 stops is of vital importance, since they have 

 practically to act as flankers. Once a rise was 

 ruined here by the stop sheltering from a north- 

 easter too close to the covert. Of course climatic 

 conditions have to be considered on the day of 

 the shoot, but as at one rise here I have practically 

 to run to my place, I cannot casually inspect the 

 stop-flankers on the far side of the glen. 



No mechanical contrivances are used here ; they 

 may be useful in big woods, but I distrust them, 

 because they must be started and stopped by some- 

 body, and we could never allow our stops, who are 

 posted on high ground outside the wood, to go 

 running into the stopping points for this purpose. 

 A word on the subject of wire : at certain rises 

 we use wire to prevent birds running on too far ; 

 but we always try and avoid it, relying simply on 

 thickening the undercover (which is very bad here) 

 by means of quantities of bushing. 



Beaters. We have no trouble in getting men, 

 and good keen ones at that. We divide them 

 into three parties, right, left, and centre, each 

 under an under-keeper, with the head-keeper free 

 to go wherever he can best supervise the whole 

 movement. All keepers' dogs in the beating line 

 have to be on leads. 



The beaters are told that on no account must 



