THE MOOR 189 



cock, as black game are polygamous ; you cannot be 

 too severe on him. In attempting to rid the ground of 

 these pests, the keeper has not the same difficulty, how- 

 ever, as in the case of the grouse. Black game are very 

 conservative in their habitats, and generally select a 

 particular spot for their fighting matches and carousals. 

 The keeper will soon discover some place on the fringe 

 of the moor where the birds congregate in the early 

 morning. It will probably be an open space in some 

 old wood, and, by getting up early and planting himself 

 in cover, he will have an excellent opportunity of 

 " potting " the old cocks. When the blackcock is to be 

 stalked as it sits on the top of a dyke on the moor, it is 

 to be recommended that, if the keeper is accompanying 

 one of the guns for the purpose, he should take a 

 different route from the latter, keeping far away from 

 him and yet in sight of the birds, the gun in the mean- 

 time creeping up unobserved from an opposite direction. 

 This practice distracts the attention of the victim from 

 the main danger. 



Black Game Driving 



In driving black game there are several very im- 

 portant points to be observed 



1 i ) The drivers must be absolutely silent. This is 

 even more important than in driving grouse. 



(2) Like partridges, black game cannot be forced to 

 fly contrary to their customary line of flight. On this 

 account they are difficult to turn, and flank men are not 



