THE PARTRIDGE 221 



beaters should wheel ; but if it be desired to force the 

 birds ahead, the line should come back to the original 

 starting-point. 



(8) When a single bird is killed, the place should 

 be carefully marked by the keeper or by one of the 

 beaters, and the line should continue to advance till 

 the place is reached. Where several birds have fallen, 

 sticks should be planted at the nearest points possible 

 to the places where they are likely to be found. When 

 a bird towers or falls at a great distance, an attempt 

 should be made to mark the spot by selecting some 

 object in the field of vision that will give the line of 

 the bird a tree at the end of the field, some outstand- 

 ing piece of growth in the field, or a gap in a hedge, 

 may be useful for this purpose. 



(9) In working the retrievers for picking up birds, 

 the following instructions should be carefully remem- 

 bered : (a) First pick up the birds that have fallen 

 behind the guns, (b) Leave alone all consideration 

 of runners till the dead are picked up. (c) Never allow 

 a dog to go on to fresh ground. Runners or birds that 

 have dropped far out may be picked up in later beats, 

 care being taken to remember their line. If, in the 

 later beats, there be any difficulty in finding, a man 

 may be left behind with a retriever, while the guns pro- 

 ceed to another cover, (d) Only send a dog immedi- 

 ately forward to a killed bird if you can absolutely trust 

 him. (e) In picking up a bird, let the dog have the 

 wind of it. Dogs work better alone, and not with men 



