292 PARTRIDGE MANORS ANT) 



A wise " old saw " informs us that, " if you want 

 anything done well, do it yourself ; " and this 1 

 certainly advise in this case, unless you have a 

 keeper you can really trust. 



Do not take a manor that has too much grass 

 land. There ought to be plenty of cover — turnips, 

 clover, potatoes, rape, stubble, heath, &c, to insure 

 good sport ; for, if your ground is bare, although 

 you may have plenty of birds, it will soon be impos- 

 sible to get at them, for, as you enter a field, they 

 will be away at the other end, and not having any 

 cover to drive them to, you may follow them for 

 hours and never get a shot. 



A manor, too, should not be all low ground, or 

 the enclosures too small. In such a country, good, 

 fast and free-going dogs soon become cramped in 

 their range and potterers. It is, in an enclosed 

 country, impossible to mark the birds ; and con- 

 stantly getting over stiff fences not only tires you, 

 but it unsteadies your hand, which will lose its cun- 

 ning. 



A partridge country should be as open as pos- 

 sible ; then you can see your dogs work, which, in 

 my humble opinion, constitutes the greatest charm 

 of shooting. 



Farms are often let at eighteenpence an acre, 

 which is an absurd price — a shilling is quite 



