UPLAND SHOOTING. 
57 
and swampy places, and are remarkably attached to dry ground. 
The low and open brush is preferred to high and shrubby thick¬ 
ets. Into these latter places they fly for refuge, when closely 
pressed by the hunters; and here, under a stiff and impenetrable 
cover, they escape the pursuit of dogs and men. Water is so 
seldom met with on the true GRousE-ground, that it is necessary 
to carry it along for the pointers to drink. The flights of Grouse 
are short, but sudden, rapid and whirring. I have not heard of 
any success in taming them. They seem to resist all attempts at 
domestication In this, as well as in many other respects, they 
resemble the Quail of New York, or the Partridge of Penn¬ 
sylvania 
“ ‘ Manners .—During the period of mating, and while the fe¬ 
males are occupied in incubation, the males have a practice of 
assembling principally by themselves. To some select and cen¬ 
tral spot, where there is very little underwood, they repair from 
the adjoining district. From the exercises performed there, 
this is called a scratching-place. The time of meeting is the 
break of day. As soon as the light appears, the company as¬ 
sembles from every side, sometimes to the number of forty or 
fifty. When the dawn is passed, the ceremony begins by a low 
tooting from one of the cocks. This is answered by another. 
They then come forth, one by one, from the bushes, and strut 
about with all the pride and ostentation they can display. Their 
necks are incurvated, the feathers on them are erected into a sort 
of ruff; the plumes of the tails are expanded like fans ; they 
strut about in a style resembling, as nearly as small may be il¬ 
lustrated by great, the pomp of the Turkey-Cock. They seem 
to vie with each other in stateliness, and, as they pass each other, 
frequently cast looks of insult and utter notes of defiance. These 
are the signals for battles. They engage with wonderful spirit 
and fierceness. During these contests, they leap a foot or two 
from the ground, and utter a cackling, screaming and discordant 
cry. They have been found in these places of resort even earlier 
than the appearance of light in the east. This fact leads to the 
belief, that a part of them assemble over night. The rest join them 
