PARTRIDGE-SHOOTING 73 



bag of cartridges without doing any further 

 damage. 



Many people fail to make anything like the use 

 they might of the partridge's habit of getting back 

 at the earliest moment to its usual haunts. This 

 habit is most evident in the earlier part of the 

 season. I remember driving successfully the same 

 drive three times in one day, though never a bird 

 was driven back to it. It was in early October, 

 and the ground comprising the drive was so situated 

 that it could be driven only in such a way that the 

 birds were lost after passing over the guns. Literally, 

 we drove that drive morning, noon, and night. 



During the giving of instructions for a coming 

 day one often hears a keeper admonished to be 

 sure and get the birds driven into the roots and the 

 beaters in their places, so that there shall be no 

 delay in giving the guns something to do directly 

 they reach their stands. This sounds very well, 

 and is not very difficult to carry out so far. But 

 roots almost always are on the wet side so early in 

 the morning, as those who have to go through them 

 and the partridges fully appreciate. No keeper 

 or beaters in the world can keep partridges in roots 

 if they do not wish to stay there. Besides, at ten 

 o'clock on an autumn morning the birds have not 

 finished breakfast. Above all things in the shape 

 of wet roots, partridges hate a solid mass of rape 

 sown broadcast. I have seen hundreds of birds 



