130 TEN YEARS OF GAME-KEEPING 
come sailing back,' streams of them; nothing seems 
to stem the tide of wings. A few shots, and the 
beat is finished. All is wrong, and nothing right. 
There is no absolute cure for this state of 
things, but there are several ways of bringing 
about an improvement. The worst, though it is 
better than none at all, is to place the guns so 
near to the wood that the retreating birds are 
within their reach. Another is to have butts 
made some time before, of hurdles or lengths of 
wire-netting, draped with fir-boughs, bracken, or 
other suitable local material. And then, though 
the birds may come forward in fair numbers, they 
are low—most of them too low to be taken in front. 
Pits could be dug, so that the heads of the guns 
are below the ground-level—the birds doubtless 
would come forward well enough, but only about 
far enough from the ground to allow them to use 
their wings, and a good many would be content 
to use their legs. Where expense is no objection, 
or underwood is of little value, and landlords and 
others are willing, another plan is this: Cut down 
and clear a strip right across the covert, about thirty 
yards wide, and the same from the guns’ end of it. 
Before beating begins, erect netting along the edge 
of the clearing nearest the guns. Then the birds 
must rise, and they have a clear start. Not finding 
enough width of wood to allow them to settle again, 
théy go to the guns decently. But the best way of 
