The Common Partridge 123 
instinct. Just such birds have also been flooded off their bad pheasants' eggs, but when the 
waters have abated have returned, and with their return their own live eggs and others are 
given to these proud parents of children not their own. So far partridge preservation has gone 
on without the birds suffering in wildness in the slightest degree, since they never know the 
difference, and hand-rearing is not in either case resorted to." 1 
A French preserver has lately discovered that the cock Partridge may be utilised 
to as great an extent as the hen in the case of hand-reared broods, and this principle 
is being largely used on the Continent. As soon as the young are hatched they are 
allowed to run about in front of a cage where a Hungarian cock is kept. Under the 
doorway is left a space for the young to run in and out. In a very short time they 
are adopted by the male foster-parent, who is presently allowed to go free with his 
adopted family. The system is said to work very well, as it avoids all the dangers of 
early life. 
Enormous numbers of Partridges are killed in the eastern counties of England, 
whilst parts of Hants, Yorks, and Notts are scarcely inferior in the stock of their 
birds. In no estate in England have such immense quantities of Partridges been shot 
as at Holkham, in Norfolk. During the years when walking up was employed, 3308 
birds were killed in 1868, and 3385 in 1869; but after 1880, when driving was ex- 
clusively employed, the bag increased considerably ; the two best years until recently 
being 1885 (8100 Partridges) and 1887 (7512 Partridges). These records were over- 
topped at the Grange, Lord Ashburton's place in Hampshire, when 4109 Partridges 
were killed in four days in October 1887 by seven guns, whilst a second week yielded 
2604 birds to six guns, thus averaging 420 brace per day for eight days' shooting. 
Eight days' shooting in 1892 at the Grange produced 4746 Partridges. Even these gun 
records are surpassed by four days' shooting at Holkham in 1905, of which Lieutenant- 
Colonel the Hon. W. Coke kindly sends me the following particulars : — 
SHOOTING AT HOLKHAM, 1905. 
Date. 
Beat. 
c 
CL. 
Partridges. 
13 
Ci 
T3 
0 
'Si 
Q 
Pigeons. 
I Golden 
| Plover. 
Total. 
Nov. 7 
Warham 
IO 
1671 
26 
2 
4 
'7'3 
„ 8 
Quarles and Egmere 
3° 
1030 
40 
3 
1 103 
9 
Wighton ..... 
8 
1294 
2 1 
1 
'3 2 4 
„ 10 
Branthill and Crabbe 
29 
754 
36 
2 
... 
821 
77 
4749 
123 
3 
4 
4961 
Eight guns : Prince Frederick Duleep Singh, Colonel Custance, Major A. Hood, Major Hon. Charles Willoughby, 
Mr. W. Forbes, Mr. W. Barry, Lord Coke, W. Coke. 
At Stratton, in Hants, 530 brace of Partridge have been killed in a day. Longford has 
produced 400 brace and Witchingham (Norfolk) 500 brace in the same time, and lists 
of this kind could be extended to several pages. 
1 Daily Tikgraph, Sept. 9, 1907. 
