74 TEN YEARS OF GAME-KEEPING 



driven into such stuff to save time and almost 

 every bird rise and clear out within five minutes. 

 The result was that the beaters again had to go 

 round some distance, and the guns, after all, had to 

 wait much longer than if there had been no pre- 

 liminary driving in. 



Partridges will put themselves into dry roots 

 readily enough either when the sun is hot, for 

 shade ; or when there is a hard frost with a wind, 

 for shelter ; or when it rains very, very hard, for 

 protection (by way of the lesser of two damp evils). 

 There is no more likely place to find birds in very 

 wet weather than in tall kale, for beneath its hanging 

 leaves the birds can move without getting wet by 

 contact with wet material. Swedes, which have 

 sprawling leaves, much given to holding water, 

 consequently are not likely to be patronized by 

 partridges, unless dry. When driving is going on 

 other than early in the season, it is well for guns 

 not to lose time in getting to their places after the 

 beaters start to get round a drive, even if it is a 

 long one, and especially when the birds on the 

 ground included in the drive have been driven on 

 to it towards some barrier, such as a village. Often 

 I have known birds to start coming whjen the 

 beaters were only half-way to the base of a half-mile 

 drive. Though red-legs are not of much use for 

 walking up, it is only right that they should have a 

 word of praise for their driving qualities ; they will 



