SHOOTING 107 



which have reference more especially to rabbit-shoot- 

 ing in covert, and are designed to give some insight 

 into that particular phase of sport. Such prelimin- 

 aries as the placing of ' stops,' and the pegging down 

 of low nets along the rides where the woods are of 

 considerable extent, and have to be beaten in sections, 

 may be taken for granted. It goes without saying 

 that inattention to such matters as these will have an 

 important bearing on the results of a day's covert- 

 shooting. 



Both hares and rabbits are possessed of a keen 

 sense of hearing, and no sooner do they hear the 

 ' tapping ' of the beaters, or the bark of a spaniel, 

 than they at once begin to move forward, and seldom 

 pause until they are beyond the reach of such disturb- 

 ing sounds. The forward guns then get plenty of 

 shooting, and the campaign is generally opened with 

 a good show of rabbits. The instinct of the pheasant 

 on the other hand induces him to crouch on hearing 

 a noise, and to seek safety, in the first instance at all 

 events, by trusting to the protective coloration of his 

 natural surroundings rather than to flight. As the 

 beaters come nearer, he will run forward a little way, 

 and crouch again, repeating this manoeuvre as long 

 as it is feasible, until he is suddenly scared by the 

 appearance of a dog or beater, or until he has run up 



