222 INTELLIGENCE SHO WN B Y GAME 



equally applicable to all winged game), to always 

 make the beater strike the bush on the side opposite 

 the gun, and to instruct him to show himself also, and 

 to make his presence more visible if possible than 

 the gun. I 



Birds often skim out of sight from behind a bush in 

 the most marvellous way, even in the open, and 

 frequently succeed in putting the beater between 

 themselves and the gun, and appear to do so in a 

 perfectly intelligent manner. Most people who shoot 

 must have noticed how wild pigeons almost invariably 

 fly out of a tree on the side farthest from the gun, and 

 give a sudden downward dip towards the ground, and 

 again rise out of shot as suddenly ; and this intelli- 

 gence is shown by many other kinds of game, such 

 as deer, hares, rabbits, capercailzie, etc. 



It is well to remember when shooting large coverts 

 for cock, as is the case in Ireland where there is little 

 other winged game to be got when covert-shooting, 

 that cock seldom fly more than some thirty or forty 

 yards in frosty wenther, and nearly always make for 

 the next soft place where there is some such cover 

 for them as that afforded by holly-bushes, etc. I 

 have frequently, when out alone, or with but one 

 beater only, made a good bag of cock by walking the 

 wood quietly from one soft spot to another ; and 

 though we often failed to see the birds when put up, 

 yet by following in the direction of the flights as far 

 as we could judge the latter to be, and knowing where 

 the best springs and soft spots were, we could often 

 stalk to a good stand, and then, putting the beater 

 round where we fancied the bird would most probably 



