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man is not likely to make himself liable to much compensation to the 

 farmer. He rather tries to breed as much as possible on the ground, so 

 as to be able to kill off or sell off as large a quantity as he can. But 

 he often makes himself liable to the farmers for acts of sheer meanness. 

 If he can save a sixpence in food, even although thereby his birds do 

 harm to his neighbour, he will do it. If he can by not keeping up his 

 fence?, or in any other way, obtain an advantage, he has no regard to 

 the interest of his neighbour. It is not to be feared that he will cause 

 very much complaint, except, perhaps, in this, that he will be unwilling 

 to pay for the damage his servants and friends, or even himself, may 

 do in the pursuit of game. He may be permitted to take care of 

 himself without causing very much harm. But the rich snob is a 

 different and more dangerous person. He seems to increase, and to be 

 likely to increase. So long as it is fashionable to kill a large bag, so 

 long shall we have him with us, and so long as he is patronised by 

 great people, year by year we shall hear more of him. Pheasants are all 

 very well, but if a man wants them he should feed them on his own land 

 at his own cost, and not at the cost of his neighbours." 



More than a year after putting together the MS. of this chapter, 

 and while it was in the printers' hands, there appeared in the Daily 

 Telegraph (August 8 and 12, 1893) two articles which I, with great 

 pleasure, reproduce. 



The year 1893 was phenomenal for sunshine and little rainfall. 

 Game of all sorts were never more plentiful and seldom as forward as 

 they are now, the near approach of the glorious "Twelfth." In 

 years to come it may therefore be interesting to read what was said in 

 that paper about the prospects of sport and other matters relating to 

 Scotch shootings, which happen to be germane to this chapter : — 



The approach of gi-ouse-shooting has been causing the tenants of Scottish 

 sporting domains to troop northward for the past fortnight. The traveller 

 down the Highland line during these days has found his progress impeded 

 at everj^ stage by trains of portentous length, conveying sportsmen to their 

 respective quarters. The time has been, not so very long ago, when, on 

 this same Highland line, business was so slack that the engine-driver has 

 been known to pull-up in order to give a lift to the stray shepherd and his 

 dog whom he might overtake in climbing the slopes of Drumuachdar, or 

 rounding the end of Monadhliath ; but in these days of continuous brakes 

 and corridor carriages, the traveller to the Highland capital hnds himself 

 whirled along as swiftly and as comfortably as if he were on his way to the 

 metropolis itself. Not even on the eve of the Twelfth, however, when every 

 station-master and porter is working his hardest to cope with the demands, 

 is the dislocation of traffic so serious as was quite common in these parts 

 a few years ago. The only fear, from the visitors' point of view, is that 

 they may be getting the tag-end of the best season on record. Never, in 

 the memory of the oldest inhabitant, has there been such summer weather 

 in the North, It is not in the least degree paradoxical to say that the 

 summer this year commenced in the middle of spring, and until three weeks 

 ago the weather had shown one unbroken record of sunshine. It has 



