Practical Game-Preserving. 62 



birds, and at times it is almost impossible to prevent them 

 from straying. This is notably the case in open seasons 

 when natural food is plentiful. Bearing this fact in view it 

 follows that the bulk of the hand-reared birds should be 

 disposed in and around the coverts lying away from the 

 boundaries of the preserve. It is a too frequently adopted 

 practice almost entirely to denude the outlying coverts of 

 eggs and nests during the laying season ; consequently it is 

 almost certain that if hand-reared birds be put down in 

 these border coverts a large proportion are bound to stray, 

 as they will find few wild birds there to associate with and 

 restrain their wandering propensities. When this is the 

 condition of things prevailing, it is better rather to over 

 than to under-stock the centrally-situated coverts, and leave 

 the outlying ones comparatively sparsely provided. It is 

 necessary to differentiate between the actual home coverts 

 upon a large preserve and the main in-lying ones, because 

 inasmuch as the former will in all probability not be 

 shot until quite late in the season, they do not enter into the 

 main subject of these remarks. 



Some coverts, irrespective of acreage, will carry many 

 more birds comparatively than others, and it will be 

 necessary to ascertain by close observation to what extent 

 birds can be put down. It is scarcely possible to place 

 in writing what indications may be taken as a guide in this 

 direction ; but, as a general rule, the prevalence or scarcity 

 of wild-birds' nests in the respective coverts may be taken 

 as a sign of their capacity to hold birds. Of course, it can 

 only be ascertained by actual experience, more or less of 

 an experimental character, extending over two or three 

 seasons, how many birds the coverts in particular, and 

 the ground in general, will carry. It is possible to give 

 actual figures of what has been and can be done, but 

 I am afraid that any facts which I might offer in this 



