203 ** c< * Grouse. 



they may easily reach and mingle with naturally-reared 

 birds and learn the mysteries of grouse life. Broods of 

 young birds so turned away should be visited every day 

 or so, for a week or two, to make sure that they are 

 thriving and not being killed off by vermin, &c. At 

 first, perhaps, a few oats and wheat may be thrown down 

 every morning, in case, owing to inexperience of wild life, 

 they may not otherwise obtain a sufficiency of food. 



I am inclined to the opinion that it would be possible to 

 bring Red Grouse into a state of semi-domestication and 

 obtain from them a large supply of eggs, as is done with 

 pheasants. With Black Game it has proved satisfactory 

 and easy of accomplishment, but for Red Grouse reliance 

 is usually placed on bought or exchanged eggs to furnish 

 the regular supply. 



I now propose to give particulars and results of some 

 carefully-pursued experiments made during the last two 

 seasons in connection with the hand-rearing of Red Grouse. 

 Speaking generally, it may be said that the system em- 

 ployed is based upon different lines from what has hitherto 

 been adopted by those rearing Red Grouse by hand. The 

 information is contributed by Mr. W. A. Nicholson, of 

 Portobello, N.B., and I think we may regard this original 

 information as a valuable addition to our knowledge of the 

 subject. I give it in this gentleman's own words : 



" Individual efforts to hand-rear grouse have been 

 attempted, and have proved fairly successful, but these 

 have not been worked upon a large scale, and no practical 

 system dealing with the matter has yet been put forward. 

 For many years I have given the habits of the Red 

 Grouse considerable study, and in the following pages a 

 system of rearing the birds is described which has yielded 

 very successful results, and that from the very first experi- 

 ment undertaken. The first trial was conducted on a plot 



