195 
of taking an Ornithological Census. 
it. It is a pretty general belief among those who have to do with 
game, that there are few, if any, manors which, one year with 
another, will yield the gun a bird to the acre; on the other 
hand, in the majority of cases the proportion will not be anything 
like as large : so that, admitting the truth of each of these hypo¬ 
theses, their combination serves to show that in no one species of 
bird in England do the numbers reach one to an acre; and thus, 
though on very unsatisfactory grounds, do we obtain a limit in 
one direction of the ornithological population of this country. 
As regards reducing to practice any of the suggestions I have 
here mooted, I also desire to speak with great diffidence. I may 
on a future occasion have to detail a method of recording obser¬ 
vations, which during some years has been followed by my brother 
and myself, and which, though not originally begun with any 
such design as that here advocated, still would undoubtedly 
furnish means of determining many points in connexion with an 
ornithological census. It seems to me, however, that materials 
for attaining the end I seek already exist, as regards at least one 
species, to a considerable extent. I allude to the “ Game Books 37 
which are now so commonly kept on different manors; and I think 
that nothing but a little ordinary care in applying the results to 
be obtained from a somewhat general inspection of these useful 
registers would furnish a sufficiently accurate return as far as 
relates to the Grey Partridge. No doubt many proprietors might 
evince a disinclination to submit such valuable records to be 
examined by a stranger; but much of this might also be overcome 
by the tact of the ornithological statistician, who could with good 
reason urge that, by the comparison of local registers of this 
description, he would from them very possibly supply preservers 
of game with many deductions of a highly important nature. 
For from an extended examination of such books, or abstracts of 
books, it is not unreasonable to suppose that he would be enabled 
to tender many recommendations worthy of attention. He would 
be in a position to state, with authority in proportion to the 
amount of information communicated to him, in what districts 
it would be possible, and in what districts impossible to increase 
the stock; and in the former case he would at least be able to 
give advice as to the means whereby the wished-for result might 
