UPLAND SHOOTING. 
55 
poise. But the eagerness of the sportsmen is so great, that a 
large proportion of those they kill are but a few months old, 
and have not attained their complete growth. Notwithstanding 
the protection of the law, it is very common to disregard it. 
The retired nature of the situation favors this. It is well under¬ 
stood that an arrangement can be made which will blind and 
silence informers, and the gun is fired with impunity for weeks 
before the time prescribed in the act. To prevent this unfair 
and unlawful practice, an association was formed a few years 
ago, under the title of the L Brush ClubJ with the express and 
avowed intention of enforcing the game law*. Little benefit, 
however, has resulted from its laudable exertions ; and, under a 
conviction that it was impossible to keep poachers away, the so¬ 
ciety declined. 
w i At present the statute may be considered as operating very 
little towards their preservation. Grouse, especially full-grown 
ones, are becoming less frequent. Their numbers are gradually 
diminishing ; and, assailed as they are on all sides, almost with¬ 
out cessation, their scarcity may be viewed as foreboding their 
eventual extermination. 
u £ Price .—Twenty years ago, a brace of Grouse could be bought 
for a dollar. They cost now from three to five dollars. A 
handsome pair seldom sells in the New York market now-a-days 
for less than thirty shillings—three dollars and seventy-five 
cents—nor for more than forty, five dollars. 
u ‘ These prices indicate, indeed, the depreciation of money and 
the luxury of eating. They prove at the same time that Grouse 
are become rare ; and this fact is admitted by every man who 
seeks them, whether for pleasure or profit. 
“ £ Amours .—The season for pairing is in March, and the breed¬ 
ing time is continued through April and May. Then the male 
Grouse distinguishes himself by a peculiar sound. When he 
utters it, the parts about the throat are sensibly inflated and 
swelled. It may be heard on a still morning for three or more 
miles ; some say they have perceived it as far as five or six. 
This noise is a sort of ventriloquism. It does not strike the ear 
