1 62 THE KEEPERS BOOK 



out any jot of evidence, that birds fly from one moor 

 to another, and thus keep up a change of blood. All 

 evidence, however, tends to show the opposite that 

 birds keep to their own moor, and, if removed, gener- 

 ally return. 



7. The Destruction, in the Aut^lmn, of Old Cocks. 

 This, one of the most important of the gamekeeper's 

 duties, is nowadays so neglected as to be almost an un- 

 known quantity. It is universally recognised that the 

 presence of a large number of old cocks is in every way 

 detrimental to a moor. Old cocks are pugnacious and 

 quarrelsome, and they seem to take a special delight 

 in interfering with the domestic arrangements of the 

 younger birds. They are, in every way, undesirable 

 tyrants. They drive the younger birds from their 

 selected nesting-grounds, and thus interfere with breed- 

 ing. It is on this account that so many authorities 

 advocate driving as a cure for such ill-fated moors, 

 although many old-fashioned keepers are averse to driv- 

 ing. In driving, the old cocks are killed off in much 

 greater numbers than in shooting over dogs, as it is a 

 matter of the commonest observation that the old birds 

 and cocks lead the packs, and it is an established fact 

 that a driven moor generally gives better breeding 

 results than a moor that is worked by dogs alone, for 

 in shooting over dogs the guns are apt to take the 

 nearest birds, which are generally hens. No better 

 example of this can be found than the Moy moor, which 

 is about 1 1,000 acres. When The Mackintosh started 



