PHEASANT SHOOTING

AN inspection of an old Shooting Diary revives most pleasant memories of a very enjoyable day in December, 189-. I was then staying with my old friend B—-—, and one morning he received an invitation-in which I was most kindly included-from his relative Lord B-, who requested that we would come on Tuesday evening in time for dinner, sleep there, and shoot on Wednesday and Thursday. Wednesday morning found us making a start to shoot some detached outlying coverts, which were in a somewhat dangerous locality as regards the proximity of poachers.

With the doings of this particular day, however, I will not concern myself.

Thursday was the day which had been arranged to shoot the home woods, and it is with a description of the sport we then had that I will endeavour to describe, and I hope interest my readers.

We were six guns altogether, each with a louder and second gun. The first beat was a wood of about 150 or 200 acres, almost in the shape of a new moon well advanced in its first quarter; the beaters commenced at one horn and terminated at the other, which was made "the hot corner." A considerable portion of the wood consisted of high oak and fir trees. Towards the middle or widest part of the covert, however, there was a wide patch of fifty or sixty acres which had been cleared of heavy timber some two years previously, but it was covered with hollybushes and dwarf or copse oak, and beyond this patch, forming the other horn of the wood, there were high oak, fir, and larch

trees. The wood, I should mention, was situated on the side of a gradually sloping hill, and through the centre of the cleared portion, where the hollies grew, a broad ride ran from top to bottom. The guns were divided, three going along the top and three at the bottom; two of the top and two of the bottom guns went forward to line the centre ride, whilst one gun on either side walked a little ahead of the beaters. Upon the signal being given the beaters advanced, keeping excellent line. Before many yards had been traversed a single bird rose, then a little further on three or four got up together, some being accounted for, others "carrying on" to the far end. Presently a shout from the top side, "Mark cock! "Mark cock!" put us on the alert, when suddenly, like a flash of brown, a woodcock swept over the lower gun ahead

of the beaters, and was dropped in excellent style

Pheasants were now rising at pleasant intervals, and as the beaters got amongst the hollies a couple more woodcock were flushed. One was brought to bag, but the other doubled back and escaped for the nonce. The birds were rising more thickly now, and the shooting became pretty lively. At length this first beat was finished, and the result given as fifty-three pheasants, two woodcock, and five rabbits. On the beaters making a fresh start-four guns having again gone on to the end--it was soon evident that the birds had run forward as only an occasional shot offered. Another woodcock, however, got out of the lower boundary fence of the wood, and the gun with the beaters cut him over. Where the wood began to narrow slightly, the beaters were halted and instructed to keep perfect silence, but to keep their sticks constantly tapping, whilst all the six guns went on, and took up their

respective stands, forming a semi-circle round the horn of the wood, which had been arranged to give the "bouquet." Everything being in readiness, the signal was passed, and the advance was resumed. The pheasants began to rise more thickly and frequently, and the shooting was almost incessant. At length the head-keeper again halted the beaters, and with only an underkeeper accompanying him advanced quietly, giving a tap here and there with their sticks: this was in order not to rise too large a number of birds at a time, which would have been the case had all the beaters continued to advance together. As the guns were well out in the field below the wood, the ground being sloping, the birds came out very high, and gave difficult and sporting shots; but most of the party could handle their shooting-irons rather better than well, so the result of this second beat was satisfactory,

K