134 A GAMEKEEPER'S NOTE-BOOK 



is rather the absence of moisture-supplying insects 

 that is fatal to the birds. 



Of Op Of 



Midsummer Day might be marked as the partridge's 

 birthday, since the majority of birds are hatched 



about that time a month later than the 

 The majority of pheasants break their shells. 



Opening People are sometimes puzzled when they 



realise that pheasants are preserved for 

 two months longer than partridges. The reason, 

 of course, is that pheasants mature slowly, and par- 

 tridges quickly. But are partridges given fair grace ? 

 We think not and would advocate a later opening 

 day for partridge-shooting. Not a partridge of the 

 year is matured on September 1, in size, or strength 

 of flight, or endurance. The young birds are still in 

 the drab-feather stage ; their legs are bright yellow, 

 an infallible token of youthfulness ; and it is rare, 

 before October, to find one with the horse-shoe 

 chestnut feathers on its breast, or with rufous head 

 the signs of maturity. The heavy toll taken on 

 small shoots during the first fortnight of September 

 is not only unfair, but unwise, and often fatal to the 

 good prospects of future seasons. Another mistake 

 commonly made is the shooting of too many hares 

 in September. Many of the does are still suckling 

 leverets ; and does, that breed for the most part in 

 the fields, form a large proportion of the hares met 

 with in September partridge shooting. 



