THE GUN AT HOME AND ABROAD 
rise in the middle of the field the head keeper will blow his whistle, and 
so on. This only applies when the fields to be driven are large. Where they 
are small, one man with a whistle is sufficient, and by blowing once 
for the right, twice for the centre, and three times for the left, the same 
object is attained. 
In a country where the fences are high, the flankers should carry their 
fiags on long wands, so that the partridges may see them before topping 
the side fences. These flankers should be selected from the more 
experienced and intelligent men, otherwise much harm may be done by 
continually flicking the fiags to and fro. This terrifies partridges so much 
that they will lie like stones, or creep into hedges and remain there for 
the rest of the day. 
It is a pleasant custom at many places for the guns to subscribe 
a small sum each for the benefit of the drivers if they have done their 
work well. These little acts tend to cement the good understanding 
between employers and employed. 
When the beat is a large one, and the fields of great size, there will 
probably be a field in the centre with good fences, which may be chosen as 
the point d'appui for nearly all the drives. This was the principle that used 
to be carried out with great success by the late Lord Leicester at Holkham. 
The first two drives of the day were down -wind, and having collected 
a large number on perhaps the lower half of the beat, the remaining drives 
were nearly all carried out to the common centre. Occasionally it happened 
that large numbers broke out or back, and then it was necessary to go 
back after lunch and again bring in the hinterland of the morning, in order 
to replenish the centre. These first drives were rather nerve shattering 
to a new-comer, as one stood under a hedge on a bitterly cold December 
morning, with fingers so cold that the trigger could hardly be felt. 
Suddenly one would hear a covey get up in the distance off the frozen 
ground, soon followed by many more, and in a moment or two, with a 
thundering roar, from 300 to 500 partridges would burst over the guns 
at fifty miles an hour. It was only the most level-headed who could fix 
attention on particular birds and get off all their barrels with any sort 
of success. 
By the last few drives of the day the big packs were, as a rule, broken 
up, and they came in small lots or singly, getting such a hammering 
that the beat could never stand a second dose, even in the very best 
years. 
180 
