136 SHOOTING THE PHEASANT 



England need be no object of ambition to anyone, 

 since, granted a favourable soil, it is a mere question 

 of how much money is spent upon rearing and feeding 

 birds. 



The guns in the back row should always be allowed 

 to move about to a certain extent, so as to cover a 

 good deal of ground, and to feel themselves at liberty 

 to run in either direction to intercept any great burst 

 of pheasants, or to keep in the main stream of the 

 flight, which will vary somewhat according to which 

 portion of the clump they are flushed from. 



Keepers with good dogs should be posted in the 

 main covert behind the guns, to pick up running birds 

 or those which carry on and drop dead or severely 

 wounded, both in the interests of humanity, and 

 especially, where there are foxes, to rescue them from 

 these midnight depredators. 



The above method is, as I have said, the ideal 

 one, and should be followed wherever practicable, 

 whether on a large or a small scale, for it is almost as 

 useful, as a principle, for small coverts or belts as for 

 large woods. 



But we must also consider how to apply it when 

 it is not possible to have a detached clump or covert 

 to deal with. In the first place, you can work it 

 equally well should you have a heath or common 



