WHAT RAINY DAYS A BRING 285 



A mild open autumn and a green winter also mean 

 much to the farmers and to the gamekeepers ; a blessing 



on many accounts, a curse on others. The 

 What farmer groans because his land is so wet 

 D^ y and heavy that he cannot sow his winter 

 bring seeds ; the keeper sees the ruination of many 



a promising day's sport. The keeper gains 

 when there are no frost and snow by having the 

 pleasure of showing bills for corn reduced to a mini- 

 mum in a mild winter he will not need half the 

 amount of corn that must be distributed to his birds 

 in hard weather, when they are actually in need of 

 food. What little he gives them in open weather is 

 to keep them together, as natural food is abundant. 

 But a low bill for corn hardly compensates the keeper 

 for rain-spoiled sport, or for day after day of outdoor 

 work in the wet. The work cannot be done in a way 

 to satisfy the keeper or possibly others. And the 

 rain means that he falls behind with that everlasting 

 tax on his time entailed by keeping rabbits within 

 bounds. After a mild, open winter, by the time the 

 game-shooting season is ended, and coverts are avail- 

 able for rabbit -killing, young rabbits have already 

 made their appearance. The keeper welcomes a 

 short spell of really hard weather in February, so 

 that he may the more easily catch up all the pheasants 

 he needs for penning. Otherwise the kind of winter 

 that best suits him is a dry one without hard frost. 



