EVENING SHOOTING 229 



them, that they will constantly fly round them and 

 light again on the opposite side, like ptarmigan, and 

 by working round and round the hill in such instances, 

 very good sport may be got. 



When large packs have been marked down in 

 August into good feeding-ground for the evening, if 

 they do not all rise when first flushed again, great 

 care should be taken to let the dogs work backwards 

 and forwards carefully, up wind, if possible, as a large 

 number of birds will probably be left which would lie 

 well to the gun, and under such circumstances grouse 

 will lie as closely as young black-game : at no time in 

 the season will they lie closer than they will when 

 thus scattered on the evening feed ; and it will be 

 readily understood how necessary it is that the dog in 

 use should be steady and staunch. 



When the men employed as markers are new to 

 the moor, the shepherds can offer very valuable assist- 

 ance, where they are well disposed (and I have ever 

 made it a rule to secure their good will by giving them 

 half-a-crown per covey). They are generally ac- 

 quainted with the whereabouts of every pack on the 

 moor, and with their usual lines of flight when flushed, 

 so that it is ever worth while to keep on good terms 

 with them, and to get them to mark down the packs 

 and wounded birds. 



Sport, of course, must depend, in a very great 

 measure, upon the weather which prevailed during the 

 breeding-season. When the latter has been wet, the 

 brows of the hills are the most likely places to find 

 the birds, as being the driest and most sheltered 

 position for the young brood. In hot weather, alter 

 a dry breeding season, the flats between the hills and 



