218 TEN YEARS OF GAME-KEEPING 
wont to congratulate him. The curious thing 
about men who are so erratic is that they are 
much more inclined than others to be indignant if 
you offer a timely hint with the view of preventing 
them from ruining your best beat. 
There is a simple rule. for beaters which is the 
whole secret of success under a competent director : 
To do as they are told. Often have I heard a man 
say, ‘Oh, I thought so-and-so.’ Just imagine the 
result of from half a dozen to a hundred beaters 
each doing only what he thought. A few might 
think usefully, but the thoughts of the crew, collec- 
tively, would be—well, a little too divergent. It 
is most unwise for a host and his keeper continually 
to be shouting contradictory orders to beaters. 
Nothing is more likely to upset them. Neither 
is it well that sportsmen should address beaters 
in any but simple phraseology. Once a beater 
came to me saying, ‘The guv’nor wants we to 
bring a “da’meter” to ‘im—but J never heerd tell 
0’ sich a thing.’ Another beater complained to 
me that a shooter had reprimanded him, mo¢ for 
shouting ‘Mark!’ when game rose, but for not 
giving detailed information as to where. ‘When,’ 
said the shooter, ‘a bird rises, you should first 
draw my attention to it by the exclamation 
“Mark!” and then proceed to describe its direc- 
tion by adding ‘“‘to the extreme left,” as the case 
may be; it is no good for you to say ‘“ Mark!” 
