232 A YEAR OF SPORT AND NATURAL HISTORY. 



many British preserves ; his weight, howeyer, being out of propor- 

 tion to his strength of wing, is rathei^ against him, and he falls an 

 easy victim to stoats, foxes, and polecats. 



Battue shooting, of course, accounts for the vast majority of 

 pheasants which are killed in this country, and on this subject 

 innumerable volumes have been written, and a good deal of 

 acrimonious talk indulged in. Bromley Davenport criticizes in 

 amusing language the fallacies put forward by many of those who 

 speak and write against battue-shooting, and describes the great 

 amount of skill and management required to ensure success. The 

 fact is that this form of shooting has its own special attractions, 

 but can only be indulged in by the rich, and is on that account 

 much cavilled at. To bring about a big and successful battue, 

 large sums of money must, in the first place, be expended in 

 breeding and rearing the young birds, and in preserving them ; 

 the responsible manager of the drive, too, the man whose duty it 

 is to bring the birds together, and make them fly over the line of 

 guns, as arranged and distributed beforehand, has no easy task. 

 He must be thoroughly acquainted not only with the ways and 

 habits of the birds, under all conditions and circumstances, but he 

 must be alert to recognize the modifications to which these are 

 subject, from wind, weather, or other temporary influences. As I 

 have above remarked, the Pheasant is much fonder of running 

 than of flying, and a not unimportant part of the head-keeper's duty 

 is so to manage that the birds are brought forward as much as 

 possible by means of their legs, and that they do not take wing in 

 any considerable numbers until brought into contact with the line 

 of guns. Asa rule, it is preferable to begin by driving in the birds 

 from the most outlying coverts and woods, the fear of scaring 



