GAME-COVERTS 165 



drug, herb, or simple mixed with their 

 water being certain to reach every bird 

 in the covert. To this fact he attributed 

 a total immunity from the complaint 

 of gapes — often so fruitful a source of 

 trouble among young birds after they 

 have been turned down in the coverts. 

 Apart from medical prescriptions for 

 specific diseases, his young pheasants in 

 covert enjoyed rude health on a constant 

 supply of weak nettle tea. 



To take up the tale of what good game- 

 coverts should conform to, it is of some 

 importance to avoid having open drains 

 that are cut narrow and deep ; they 

 should rather be made with sloping sides 

 up which young birds may scramble to 

 safety after the tumble to the bottom, 

 which curiosity or carelessness makes 

 almost inevitable among all young things. 

 The rides should be cut straight, dividing 

 the wood into regular sections ; they 

 should always stop short of the marginal 

 wind-break, and whUe those running east 

 and west may well be cut as wide as fears 



