68 TEN YEARS OF GAME-KEEPING 



properly covered, or that packs of birds may pass 

 practically unchallenged between guns spread over 

 a wider frontage, to go on and remain unbroken up. 

 One good pack, by meeting the fire of two or three 

 guns, is likely to be split up, and if not given time 

 to re-pack will provide a good day's sport and a 

 respectable bag for shooters of ordinary skill. You 

 must drive early enough if you would drive success- 

 fully for a whole day over a small extent of ground, 

 or over a comparatively large acreage if cut up by 

 villages, or of 'strippy,' irregular outline. In the 

 matter of date people will imitate Lord So-and-so, 

 of five hundred brace a day fame, only to find their 

 sport and their bag more inferior than ever to his. 

 Besides, by driving early you can have short drives 

 orT stubble, sainfoin, and other material available 

 and sufficient for holding birds before they get too 

 strong. Later on it is all very well for sportsmen 

 to grumble and even rave about long drives and 

 long waits ; you may have short drives and short 

 waits, and no shooting to speak of all day long. 

 * Where are the birds ?' is the question put to the 

 unfortunate keeper after each short drive. If ever 

 I hated anything it was to be asked where my 

 partridges were after somebody else had arranged 

 the drives. 



It may be suggested that the provision of two 

 sets of beaters and competent men to manage them 

 would allow the long drives necessary to success, 



