196 A Bit of Grouse Hunter's Lore. 



matter to see a grouse that has alighted 

 in a large tree at the end of a deliberate 

 flight, as he usually sits bolt upright very 

 close to the trunk and moves not a feather, 

 and unless one scans every foot of the 

 tree systematically the bird will probably 

 not be discovered. Hunters often declare 

 that they have never been able to find a 

 grouse in a tree, just as we hear young 

 women complain that they cannot discover 

 a four-leafed clover, and yet certain eyes 

 are very expert at detecting grouse in 

 trees and four-leafed clovers in the green- 

 sward ; much to the discomfiture of un- 

 trained observers who were not previously 

 aware of their lack of the requisite power. 

 Wing-shooting is the most certain and 

 the most satisfactory way of getting a 

 good bag of grouse, and for this purpose 

 well broken pointers or setters are indis- 

 pensable. Their keen noses enable them 

 to detect the scent of a bird that has 

 walked along the ground perhaps half an 

 hour previously, and they follow the trail 

 until the vicinity of the game is reached. 

 The bird being located in his hiding-place, 



