A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



years from 1 856 to 1 887 many more rabbits 

 were slain than are shown in the game book, as 

 only those killed on shooting days are entered ; 

 as many as 20,000 rabbits were killed in one 

 season in traps, wires, &c. The reduction in 

 numbers is due to the loss of the Sandhills 

 for sporting purposes, as these were formerly a 

 large warren. The Ground Game Act has 

 never affected the shooting on this estate ; the 

 tenants have always behaved well and, owing 

 to the good feeling which has always existed 

 between them and the Clifton family, have 

 seldom if ever availed themselves of their rights 

 imder the Act. 



The game book has been carefully kept since 

 1 856, and that year shows a total of 1 2, 1 96 head, 

 but this probably includes trapped rabbits, as the 

 numbers read 9,250 rabbits. The best total 

 bag of game shot at Lytham appears by the 

 records to have been 12,162, of which 2,756 

 were pheasants, obtained in the season 1893-4. 

 We learn from the same source that the season 

 1859-60 was the best for partridges, the total 

 bag being 1,652 ; in no other season has the 

 total reached 1,000 birds — never, indeed, during 

 the last ten years (with the exception of 1901-2, 

 when 589 partridges were killed) have more 

 than 357 been obtained in one season. This 

 reduction is principally due to the growth of 

 building on the estate, as the Sandhills and 

 much of the land adjoining, which was in 

 former days the best partridge ground, is to-day 

 either covered with buildings or occupied by golf 

 courses, and thus rendered useless for sporting 

 purposes. Another reason for the reduced 

 head of partridges is that a large area of land 

 formerly under cultivation is now laid down in 

 grass. 



The Lytham estate was till quite recently 

 famous for its large stock of hares, the largest 

 number killed being in the season 1893-4, 

 when no less than 1,756 were accounted for. 

 Owing to a disease of a most serious nature, 

 which first made its appearance in 1902 and 

 spread through the stock, it has been found 

 necessary to reduce the stock very materially, as 

 being the only effectual means of stamping out 

 the disease. 



Very good shooting is obtained over the Earl 

 of Lathom's property, which is about 4^ miles 

 from Ormskirk. This estate is about 5,000 

 acres in extent, and of this a little more than 

 500 acres consists of coverts, the largest of 

 which, known as Spa Roughs, is 368 acres in 

 extent with a length of about three miles. It 

 lies about three-quarters of a mile from Lathom 

 House, and extends along the whole of the 

 eastern side of the park. The next best covert 

 is the Beacon Covert on Dalton Hill, so named 

 from the beacon to which it is quite close. 

 There are many other smaller coverts in which 

 excellent sport can be obtained. This shoot is 



most excellently situated as regards its accessibility, 

 no part of it being more than four miles away 

 from the house ; the most distant coverts are 

 those at Dalton. 



The partridges at Ormskirk are not so nume- 

 rous as they once were ; the land which was 

 formerly under cultivation being now laid for 

 grass, birds are not able to get the same amount 

 of food. The record bag of partridges was made 

 in the season 1867-8. In this season on one 

 day 100 brace were shot by three guns, and the 

 birds were all obtained by walking them up. 



Although this is the record for one day's 

 sport, yet the season of 1897-8 heads the list of 

 partridges killed, the number being 896. At 

 the present time the partridge bag averages 

 from 400 to 500. 



The number of pheasants killed depends 

 chiefly on the number reared, as there are not 

 many wild birds at Ormskirk. The pheasants 

 on this estate require a deal of stopping, and 

 from the fact of the guns being well placed 

 away from the coverts, and the trees being lofty, 

 the birds give really high sporting shots. The 

 best stand in the covert shoots is that known as 

 the High Rise in the Spa Roughs. The guns 

 and beaters in line make a turning movement 

 until a place called The Trenches is reached, 

 when the beaters are drawn out, and the guns 

 placed ; the beaters then fetch all the birds back 

 from the end of the wood over the guns. The 

 birds come well over the tops of the trees, and 

 on seeing the guns give an awkward curl whicli 

 makes the killing of them very difficult. 



On looking through the records in the game 

 book, which has been most carefully kept since 

 1869, it is noticed that the record bag for the 

 three days' covert shoot was made in November 

 1904, when 4,492 head of game were killed, 

 of which number 4,032 were pheasants. This 

 bag was made in spite of the fact that on the 

 third day the wind was blowing a gale, and the 

 only way to obtain the pheasants was to beat the 

 coverts in the opposite direction, which wasdirectly 

 off Lord Lathom's land, and this meant that over 

 500 birds were lost. The season of 1904-5 also 

 shows the largest results of game killed, the 

 total obtained being 10,225 ^^^^ i the fol- 

 lowing season shows almost as good an average, 

 though the total killed only realized 7,667, yet 

 in this season three beats had been given up. 

 Hares are very numerous on the estate, and the 

 records show that between fourteen and fifteen 

 hundred are accounted for in a season. 



Particulars of the Knowsley and Croxteth 

 shoots have, we regret to say, not been obtainable. 



There is only one place where black-game 

 are obtained in the county, and that is in 

 Winster Districts, where they are fairly nume- 

 rous ; an attempt made in 1864 to introduce 

 the species in Bowland resulted in failure. The 

 great snipe or Lancashire snipe has been noticed 



484 



