173 



Partridges. 



weather they will be along the hedgerows (the lee sides), 

 in rough broken ground, brakes, and the like, and upon 

 any stubbles in fact, in any places where the nature of 

 the ground is calculated to break the mantle of snow or 

 frost. Having ascertained where the birds seek their 

 food, arrangements may be made to feed them according 

 to the nature of the places chosen. 



If it is a hedgerow or a stone wall which has to be 

 dealt with, a kind of 

 food -store is necessary. 

 To form this, drive some 

 stakes, from 2ft. to 3ft. 

 in length, into the hedge- 

 row. The stakes should 

 be driven in at an angle 

 of about 45deg., and be 

 in couples, sufficiently 

 close to admit of two or 

 three battens, 3in. wide 

 and |in. thick by about 

 1 5ft. long, being laid and 

 fixed between them (Fig. 

 26). In and out between 

 these battens, bunches of Fig ' 26 '~? e n c J e 

 heather, broom, gorse, or 

 spruce branches should be laced, with their ends sloping 

 upwards against the hedgerow, and the other extremities 

 extending towards the ground, which they may just 

 touch here and there, but not closely enough to prevent 

 the ingress or the egress of the birds coming to feed. 

 In this way a form of sheathing is constructed along 

 the lower side of the hedgerow, giving ample room for 

 partridges to pass freely along, and beneath which the food 

 may be scattered. It is, in fact, a miniature sloping-shed. 



