"VARIOUS" THE LANDRAIL 191 



keepers whose cubs are found by hounds. One 

 hunt works on the irrational plan of giving a keeper 

 a sovereign for each litter found, and ten shillings 

 extra if a cub is killed. This is almost as much as to 

 ask the keeper to take steps towards handicapping 

 the cubs when the pack presses. The keeper knows 

 how important it is that the young entry shall taste 

 blood at this time, and he knows that if scent fails, 

 the best way to ensure a kill is to allow the cub to 

 run to ground. Instead of completely stopping an 

 earth, he arranges a slight barricade of twigs ; and 

 then he may know, by whether the cub has broken 

 the barricade or not, if it has run to ground. He 

 takes care to have a spade and a pick-axe close at 

 hand. The well-intentioned reward really ends in 

 spoiling sport. 



In the bag of September partridge-shooting, the 

 landrail is often the only bird booked under the 



heading " Various," save for an occasional 

 "Various" W ood-pigeon ; a t any rate, many look to 

 Landrail ^ e landrail to fill the " Various " column, 



if they often look in vain. On a calm day, 

 the landrail is a weird mark, with its heavy, laboured 

 flight, and its dangling legs ; the bird hardly suggests 

 a sporting shot. But few who have shot landrails 

 have not also missed them. Landrails will even put 

 to shame the sportsman who has been bagging his 

 brace of partridges with wearisome monotony. So 



