vi PREAMBLE 



about the weather, perhaps, and possibly also on 

 the benefits in cash received by the keeper at the 

 day's end. Many carry little pocket note-books 

 wherein they keep an account of dates and places 

 the date of all dates in the year being, of course, 

 that on which the first wild pheasant's egg was 

 found among the primroses. A page of the book 

 may be filled with the names and nicknames of 

 poachers caught, and a record of their transgressions 

 and penalties. For the rest, for all the details, that 

 should clothe the nakedness of these briefly written 

 words, one must go to the keeper's mind. And the 

 best of all a keeper's notes are the ones he never 

 jots down. 



In this book the notes set out are culled chiefly 

 from a series of genuine note-books, covering a 

 certain keeper's ten years' experience of game- 

 keeping and life-long experience in woodcraft : 

 we have taken the rough jottings of his pocket- 

 books, and have done our best with thoughts and 

 memories to sketch in the foreground and back- 

 ground of his facts. Where he has merely noted, 

 " April , first wild pheasant's egg seen," we 

 have tried to picture him as he set out hopefully 

 expectant, and to describe his feelings as he found 

 that egg, to him more precious than all others of 

 the year. Where, again, he only says, " Saw cubs at 

 play," we have sympathised with him as he noted what 

 wings of partridges and pheasants, what legs of hares 

 and bones of rabbits, littered the play -ground. 



