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England a hundred brace of grouse obtained by driving is a moderate 

 bag, a hundred and fifty to two hundred brace a fair day's sport on a 

 large and well-stocked moor, two hundred and fifty to three hundred 

 and fifty brace a good day, and anything over this very good indeed. 

 It is only in Yorkshire that such large totals as five to seven hundred 

 brace, the result of one day's grouse-driving, are obtained, and the moors 

 on which such sport can be found may almost be counted on the fingers 

 of one hand. 



"In Scotland driving is little practised, as the birds are far less 

 numerous and not nearly so strong and wild as in England. Grouse in 

 Scotland lie to dogs long after August 12. In England they certainly 

 will not do so. In the former country from thirty to forty brace of 

 grouse in a day to one or more guns is considered average sport ; any- 

 thing approaching a hundred brace unusual. 



" In North Wales good bags are made over dogs, especially in the 

 neighbourhood of Bala. 



" In Ireland twenty brace is a very successful day, forty brace un- 

 common, and as far as our experience goes fifty to sixty brace phenom- 

 enal, if not, indeed, unheard of. 



" Partridge-shooting is in some respects akin to grouse-shooting, and 

 the bags made of these birds are generally very similar in number to 

 those of grouse. But partridges are nowadays hand-reared in many 

 parts." 



So far for the shooting. The fishing luckily requires less explanation. 



In no part of the kingdom can you find such abundance of good rod 

 salmon-fishing as is to be had in Scotland, although in some parts of 

 England and Wales very good sport is to be had, while at Castle- 

 connel, Ballinahinch, and one or two other places in Ireland, as good 

 salmon-fishing is to be found as in any part of Scotland. It is, however, 

 to the trout we must look to bring up the figures for the estimate of 

 English and Irish fishing. No doubt it totals a very large amount, 

 but I can't fix it. Even so, I doubt if the fishing can hold its own 

 outside Scotland, as does the shooting. 



After all this explanatory preamble, and dealing only with the items 

 alluded to, I think I may be considered safe and well within the mark 

 when I estimate the annual expense over all parts of the kingdom 

 outside Scotland during, say, six months' shooting and six months' 

 fishing, at double the amount of their cost in Scotland during its season, 



England, in addition, has to be charged with the cost of the dogs, 

 less the sum spent on them in Scotland ; and, as will be seen, it comes 

 to a very nice little sum. 



As I said, nearly all the dogs used in Scotland are brought from 

 England and return for the other shooting, but there are a vast number 

 which are never brought to Scotland, certainly double. That would make 

 in the kingdom a total for pointers, setters, and retrievers of something 

 like 65,500. As they are laid by for half the year, they can be fed for 

 one shilling a week. To keep up the kennels a tremendous lot of puppies 



s 



