234 TEN YEARS OF GAME-KEEPING 
the keeper is lucky to have arrived before three or 
four birds were seen to fly up, probably from their 
unseen nests. Times without number I have been 
obliged to interfere with the innocent pleasure of 
supremely happy children. When there are ever 
so few nests and truck-loads of primroses, Fate seems 
always to lead children to the vicinity of what nests 
there are. There is no doubt that ‘flowering’ and 
nutting occasionally are used as a blind for poaching. 
But if those with a genuine desire to gather flowers 
or nuts would only first ask permission, I think few 
keepers are at heart so churlish as to refuse to name 
places where no disturbance of game would result. 
The keeper hates to see flowers picked and thrown 
wantonly away, or hazel-stems hanging bent and 
broken across the rides. 
Egg-stealing is the easiest and least risky of all 
forms of poaching. And it never will cease till 
greater care is taken by shooting-men to make 
sure that eggs they buy have not been poached. 
Hundreds of eggs may be taken without a poacher 
going off the public road or path. A keeper may 
not search an individual on a public right of way, 
however certain he may feel that he would find 
eggs; and by the time the services of a policeman 
are obtained the chance has gone. To be able to 
swear that you saw anyone take eggs from a nest, 
you not only must be very near, but have an un- 
obstructed view (which is not easy to manage with- 
