U4 The Natural History of British Game Birds 
places. Here in West Sussex where I live we have a case in point. Twenty-five years 
ago gunners used to kill seventy and eighty brace a day ; now a bag of forty brace for 
the season is about the limit. Within the last ten years all the nice wild spots of 
furze common have been reclaimed ; all the old-fashioned double hedgerows have fallen 
before the bill-hook ; and the few Partridges that are left nest by the roadsides, where 
predatory dogs and boys give them no peace, or in the clover fields, where the cutting 
machine destroys the nests in June. Two years ago I found ten nests in one clover 
field thus destroyed. 
A bird so local in its movements must have nesting-places secure from disturbance, 
and without these no shooting tenant can hope to have a stock of Partridges. Most 
keepers and tenants utterly neglect this essential point, and waste their time and money 
in introducing Hungarians or in artificial rearing — both very good ways of increasing 
a stock, but in no wise equal to natural conditions. 
A writer in the Field (March 28, 1908) thus describes a suitable Partridge ground : — 
"The partridge is essentially the poor man's game bird, being hardy, prolific, and re- 
quiring less attention throughout the year than the pheasant. If the ground is not shot over 
too much it strays little, provided the soil is suitable, and affords sufficient food, and shelter in 
bad weather. Before taking a partridge beat the prospective tenant should first satisfy himself 
as to the suitability of the soil. Cold clay is bad, both in very wet weather and also in dry, 
as in the former case water lodges badly, and is apt to drown young chicks, and in the latter 
the clay cracks, leaving large fissures, into which the young birds fall and are unable to extri- 
cate themselves. There are one or two shootings which I know well, and which never carry 
a large head of birds. If a heavy stock is left to breed, many of the birds simply disappear 
and spread over the neighbouring manors, as the ground they are on will not support more 
than a certain quantity of game. Further, I do not think that the same amount of insect life 
hatches out on heavy as on light land. One has only to lie down on a bit of old turf growing 
on light soil during spring or early summer to satisfy oneself as to the abundance of spiders, 
grasshoppers, beetles, and other insects which form part of the food supply of game birds. 
Many farmers nowadays cut their hedges down so low that not only are they of no use as 
shelter, but frequently the hedges themselves die off and have to be replanted, being unable 
to stand such drastic treatment. Hedges take root and grow more slowly on clay land than 
where the soil is light, and it is realised in the latter case that a fairly tall hedge acts as a 
screen, and prevents, to a certain extent, the light soil from being blown away. Of course, 
I am speaking of arable land only, for where stock are grazed hedges must be allowed to 
grow in order to afford them sufficient shelter. 
"Personally, I believe that the best land for partridges consists in a good variety of soils. 
Let the greater portion of the beat be light, loamy soil, with stretches here and there of some- 
thing stronger and heavier. There must be a certain amount of grass, too, and all the better 
if it does not flood. I like also an occasional bit of waste land or heather, which is generally 
quiet and where birds can rest in peace when work is going on in practically every field of 
arable land on the shooting. 
"Needless to say, the shooting should have several warm, sunny slopes, be fairly well 
drained, and, most important of all, be well supplied with water. Shallow dykes running right 
through or across the manor are excellent. Partridges love to nest on a bank with a dyke 
below it, possibly because their instinct tells them that water is essential to them during incu- 
bation. Always provided that there is an abundant dew, partridges can do without water ; but 
once a real drought appears and no dew falls, then it is that the shootings which have a good 
and sufficient water supply show their superiority. On beats where water is scarce it is essen- 
tial during dry seasons to provide birds with a liberal supply. If this is not done they die 
