174 THE KEEPERS BOOK 



In very hot weather the birds frequent the sloping sides 

 of burns and streams, or seek the cover of mixed bracken 

 and heather, or shelter themselves among the bog- 

 myrtle. In wet weather the birds ascend to the higher 

 grounds. In boisterous weather they are generally 

 found on the sheltered sides of hills. 



5. Strict silence should, if possible, be maintained 

 as the " guns " proceed. There must be no superfluous 

 speech-making either to men or dogs. The attention 

 of the guns should be drawn to a point by some simple 

 ejaculation, such as ''Mark, sir," or "Steady." The 

 question of arresting the attention of the guns is 

 important. Nothing is more tantalising to the keen 

 sportsman than to be told in a casual, indifferent, 

 languid voice to " Look to your right, sir," and to find 

 that a bird has gone away some hundred yards before 

 the sentence is completed. When a bird rises inde- 

 pendent of a point, the keeper should call out emphati- 

 cally, "Mark, sir," indicating "right" or "left" or 

 " behind," as the case may be. Sound carries far on a 

 moor. Nothing spoils sport so much as a noisy keeper, 

 or loud talking by the guns. It puts all the birds on the 

 alert, so that they are off before the dogs come to a 

 point. 



6. The ground should be worked systematically. 

 Towards evening every piece of ground must be care- 

 fully searched. The largest bags of the day may be 

 made when the birds have retired to their roosting- 

 ground. 



