THE PARTRIDGE 203 



long before the crops are cut, small bags of partridges 

 are to be obtained by simply walking through these 

 patches of cover. As a rule these strips of " rough 

 ground " are considerably elevated above the cultivated 

 land, and in preparing artificial cover based on the 

 principle of their construction, the question of elevation 

 must not be lost sight of. In proceeding to lay out this 

 nesting cover, common sense must be used in distri- 

 buting the patches of ground equally about the 

 estate, avoiding, if possible, too close proximity to the 

 pheasant coverts, which must naturally be kept as quiet 

 as possible till the day of the first shoot. In preparing 

 these strips of cover, or banks, it is as well that consider- 

 able care be taken with regard to judicious sowing. If 

 the banks be sown with young broom and left unwired, 

 there is a likelihood of the young growths being eaten 

 by rabbits, hares, and foxes ; but if the wiring be too 

 high, there is a danger of the hen partridge not being 

 able to get her young brood on to the slopes of the banks 

 on those occasions when stormy wet weather urges her 

 to seek protection for her young. This remark only 

 applies, of course, to the very early days in the life of 

 the covey ; but it is important, nevertheless, for it is at 

 this very stage that young birds are apt to be washed 

 away by driving storms, or to be drowned in ruts and 

 furrows. With regard to the depredations of foxes, Mr. 

 Wortley rightly points out that "they will not be 

 entirely kept out by wire-netting after it has been up a 

 year or two, but they will always be loath to trust them- 



