CHAPTER XVII 



DISEASES OF GAME 



Groiise Disease. There is not much that a keeper can 

 do to directly attack disease in grouse, but as prevention 

 is better than cure, he will take care that the directions 

 given in Chapter IX. for the improvement of ground 

 and stock are carefully carried out. We may in this 

 place recall the principal causes that are known to be 

 favourable to disease in grouse : 



1 i ) The presence on the moor of " peppered " birds. 



(2) Want of draining ; much old and rank heather. 



(3) The presence of decayed or decaying matter, 

 such as the carcases of sheep, grouse, etc. 



(4) Inefficient water supply in dry seasons. 



(5) Absence of grit and lime. 



(6) Interbreeding and overstocking. 



These conditions may not actually be the direct 

 cause of disease, but they are recognised predisposing 

 causes, and such are always taken into account in the 

 study of disease. 



When a dead bird is found, the keeper should en- 

 deavour at once to discover the cause of death. If he 



is satisfied that it has been killed by wire fencing or tele- 



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