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Vol (II as first place English)

II as first place, English grouse are as a rule hatched somewhat earlier than are those in the bleak North, and are therefore stronger on the wing when the 12th of August arrives.

Fewer coveys, in consequence, lie well to the dogs when walking after them. This is partly due to their precocity, and possibly, also, to the relatively larger number of birds on an English moor, the latter fact tending to increase wildness. It is a very difficult matter to get a decent bag of grouse when shooting over dogs on an English moor after the 20th of August, even if it can be done so late as that, and this makes the upkeep of a kennel of pointers and setters an exaggerated and undue expense, in which few sportsmen care to indulge.

Again, the great majority of English moors lend themselves so admirably to BB grouse driving that those who shoot over them avail themselves at once of the good fortune thus placed to their hand.

More grouse are killed by driving than by any other method of shooting; grand sport is obtained; and, what is very important, the number of birds is largely increased, and the health of the stock [GROUSE which beset grouse is largely obviated. The interference with the nesting arrangements of the younger birds by the older ones is diminished. And this is important, as old grouse are most quarrelsome and pugnacious, and drive off from their proposed nesting-grounds many of the younger birds which are desirous of breeding and multi- THE INTERIOR OF A PEAT BUTT. maintained and improved. It seems an odd and inconsequential thing to say that the more grouse you kill by driving, the more you improve and increase the breed; but it is so, and this is why. In walking grouse, should the weather be favourable, and the birds lying well, whole coveys are sometimes entirely destroyed, the great improvement both in guns and shooting, which has of late years taken place, being largely responsible for this; whereas, in driving, the older birds are usually the pioneers of the packs, and are therefore most liable to suffer should the shooting be accurate.

In this way, the younger birds are to a certain extent spared, at any rate till they are stronger and more able to take care of themselves.

Furthermore, by killing a considerably larger number of the old birds than would be possible were the moor only to be walked, one of the breeding difficulties plying in peace and quiet. Moors which have been regularly and carefully driven for the last thirty or forty years now present such a wonderful difference in their game records that it must be evident to all that this system of shooting is very advantageous to any grouse ground to which it is adaptable.

The game books of a well-known English moor are now before me, and, as far as I can discover, the earliest mention of grousedriving in them is in 1849. In September of that year a note is made that "on this day (September 11th) the birds were unmanageable, and at three o'clock we took station by a wall and killed a few birds out of packs which were driven past." This is by no means, I believe, the earliest record of driving, shooting in this manner having been attempted on other moors as early as 1842, if not before then; but it gives an approximate date as regards the commence- GROUSE] ment of that system which is now so prevalent on most English and many Scotch moors.

While dealing with this branch of grouseshooting, a few suggestions may not be out of place with respect to the best method of laying out a moor for driving purposes, and the most necessary points to be observed for the attainment of sport, when the ground has been decided on. Should the moor never have been regularly driven, two or three men should walk those portions of it which seem most promising, towards the ground on which it is proposed to build the butts, or batteries, as they are indifferently called. The usual flight of the birds can then be noticed and the necessary arrangements determined for placing the butts in the most favourable positions.

The batteries should, if possible, be erected towards the centre of the moor, as then the grouse will not be driven off it: but of course all moors vary much, and the local peculiarities must in every instance be carefully considered. The butts themselves ought to consist of blocks of turf, and should be about five feet high, and from six feet six inches to seven feet across the opening.

If it is intended that they should be used for drives both from the front and rear, then their shape should be eithe. oblong or almost circular, with the entrance at the side; in fact, I think this, where practicable, is in any case the best plan. They should always be made large enough to hold three persons and a dog or two. a The plan of the internal arrangements of a butt must be left to the fancy of the owner of the shooting: some like a small piece of wood inserted as a shelf, to put spare cartridges or anything else on. A built-up seat of turf in the corner is advisable, and a trench should be cut outside to drain the battery. Sometimes a few pieces of planking on the floor are almost essential if, as is often the unavoidable necessity, the butts have to be placed on swampy ground. Opinions vary greatly as to the proper distance that one battery should be from another. To a certain extent, this must depend on the breadth of ground to be covered by the guns; but, as a rule, fifty yards is a "workable" distance. If the guns are much nearer to one another than this, not only is the danger increased, but the picking up after a drive is more confusing, and natural jealousy comes out in a strongly developed manner, which does not tend to enhance the pleasure of a day's sport. a Sometimes, where the front of the drive is very broad, eighty or even ninety yards must be allowed between the butts, and a false battery, consisting of a couple of turf walls just higher than the butts themselves, with a man to separate and turn the packs of grouse which n may come straight towards him, should be constructed equidistant between them. By this means, the great majority of the birds will fly over the adjacent guns. Having arranged the batteries and the direction of the drives, the next thing is PICKING UP THE BIRDS AFTER A DRIVE. to see how the general plan of action with regard to the management and carrying out of the drive is to be effected.

For an ordinary sized moor, thirty men in addition to keepers and "flankers" are sufficient. They should be divided into two parties, so that one may be ready to commence another drive as soon as the previous one has ended, the killed grouse been picked up, and the guns placed in their new positions.

Both drivers and flankers should carry flags, white in colour for choice, with a conspicuous one for the centre man, who must control the proceedings. Opinions vary as to the best colour for flags, but, as a generality, white is the safest and best. The line of drivers should be slightly horseshoe in shape, but, with a strong cross wind blowing, the down-wind flank ought to be strongly advanced.

Allusion has been made to flankers: they are most important, and should be men with an intimate knowledge of the moors and of the usual flight of the grouse. Their duties are to act in advance of the driving-line on either side, and to prevent the grouse from breaking away, thereby not going over the BB 2 guns. A good "flanker" will not put his flag up till the exact moment arrives, as otherwise he might head the birds back instead of sending them forward, or turn them so much that they would break away over the flankers on the far side.

There are, needless to say, many occasions when grouse will go where they please, even straight back over the drivers, and then no flankers in the world can turn them. The earlier driver of the day should [GROUSE much of the pleasure of a day's grouseshooting depends on them that it is needless to add much on this subject. It will suffice to say that if dogs are headstrong and badly broken, they not only spoil the ground over which they range, and by this means destroy all chance of a good bag, but they also completely demoralise the temper of the sportsman, thereby minimising the probability of his killing whatever grouse may, notwithstanding the conduct of the A CIRCULAR PEAT BUTT. be down-wind, if practicable; for, later in the day, aided by their natural inclination, the birds can be brought back to their original ground, and will carry with them grouse from the other drive.

Shooting over Dogs.-Turning to the older branch of grouse shooting, namely, that of walking them up over dogs, the points to be insisted on are:- (1) The importance of procuring wellbroken dogs, whether pointers or setters. (2) The necessity of the sportsman getting himself into some sort of "condition " before attempting to go through the hard work entailed by this method of shooting; and (3) The advisability of working the outside higher ground of the beats early in the day.

With regard to the question of dogs, so dogs, come within range. [See also SHOOT- ING, TRAINING, SETTERS, and POINTERS.] As to the "condition" of the sportsman, undoubtedly not only much inconvenience, but a certain amount of danger exists should an attempt be made to go through a hard day's grouse shooting over dogs when the gunner comes straight to it from office, House of Commons, or any occupation or business of a sedentary nature. I have myself known of two or three persons who did themselves irreparable harm by coming straight from a compulsorily inactive life in London to Scotch moors, which required really hard walking, and who seriously injured their hearts by trying to do too much during the first few days of the season.

The wisdom of working round the outside of the beat in the early part of the day must be patent to all. It is partly by After Archibald Thorburn.

GROUSE DRIVING.

GROUSE] this means that the grouse are induced to move towards the better feeding-grounds near the burns and the lower parts of the beat, and then they may be more satisfactorily attacked in the afternoon, when, as a general rule, they lie better than at any other time. (I am premising that the beat has, as is usually the case, the low flat grounds in the centre, and that the higher, wilder ground is on the outside.) If this cannot kill grouse, then the fault lies, humanly speaking, behind the gun and not in it.

RUTLAND.

MOORS. In the Encyclopædia Britannica a moor is described as a "tract of land usually overrun with heath"; and in Chambers's Dictionary it is laid down that "a moor is a word sometimes used to express a heath or barren tract of ground." WAITING FOR BIRDS. THE CORRECT POSITION (H.M. KING GEORGE V. manœuvre is carefully executed, the sportsman will probably be rewarded for all the hard walking of the morning by a successful afternoon on the easier ground near the lower portion of the moor.

Guns. One word as to guns and cartridges in connection with grouse-shooting, whether walking or driving. Everyone has his own views on this subject. But I do not think that any better "all-round" charge can be recommended than 3 drs. full, of whatever powder the sportsman may prefer, and 11/8 ounces of No. 6 shot.

As regards the gun, the only advice to be given is, go to a good gunmaker and he will sell you a good gun.

If, with a weapon thus supplied, 12-bore, slightly choked in the left barrel only, and with the above-mentioned charge, a man Both these definitions are generally correct.

For while it is absolutely necessary that a moor, to be a satisfactory one as regards carrying a large head of grouse, should be possessed of good heather-bearing qualities, nevertheless there are many which in a large degree could be classed under the definition of "barren tracts of ground."

That these latter do not produce so great a number of grouse as would be the case if they were better supplied with the various heaths, is of course obvious. But, as will be shown later, it is wonderful what a quantity of grouse is found on moors which are almost denuded of heather. In the mountainous districts of Scotland there is far more bare, broken, precipitous and stony ground on a than is the case in England. moor or " The main essentials requisite in a moor, if it is to produce a quantity of grouse commensurate with its size, are:- (1) A sufficient amount of heather. (2) An adequate supply of water.

As regards the first of these points, the necessary step to be taken to aid Nature to produce such a result is to burn every season certain selected portions of the ground. By so doing, the old rank heather [GROUSE as fast as a man can walk, and two people should accompany it, one on either side, to beat it out should the flames be spreading too wide. When, in the opinion of the keeper, enough has been burnt, those in attendance beat out the fire, and the blackened ground is then left to produce in due time the fresh young heather so requisite for the sustenance of the grouse.

Slight differences of opinion occur as to CHANGING GUNS. THE LOADER HAS CARTRIDGES READY FOR THE EMPTY GUN IN HIS RIGHT HAND. is destroyed, and young fresh plants grow, and form the staple food of the grouse.

To burn a moor properly requires care and knowledge on the part of the keeper.

The writer thinks that the following directions and remarks on this subject may perhaps be useful. They are the result of his own experience, and suggested after consultation with some of the most experienced keepers. The best time of year for burning is towards the end of January, during February and March. As long strips as possible should be burnt, the width of each being 40 to 50 yards. If the moor be sufficiently dry, and the wind favourable (both of these are matters for the careful consideration of the keeper in charge of the operation), then the fire will move nearly how long it takes before the new growth of heather appears. One English keeper, in whose judgment I have every confidence, writes: "The young heather just begins to appear the first year after burning." But others say that a considerably longer time must elapse before this is the case. As a matter of fact, the depth to which the fire penetrates greatly determines this; the condition of the peaty soil at the time of burning is very variable, and is dependent on the amount of rain or snow that may have fallen before the burning was undertaken.

Accidental moor fires may at times be very destructive in their effect if the ground be thoroughly dry. A match dropped after a shepherd has lighted his pipe, a spark GROUSE] from an engine, should a railway run through the moor, heather intentionally set alight by some ill-conditioned ruffian, may destroy for years hundreds, and even thousands, of acres of heather. The worst conflagration of this sort which has come under the writer's notice is one which occurred in 1872 on the Marquess of Ripon's moors at Studley Royal, in Yorkshire, when considerably over a thousand acres of valuable Owing to its becoming more and more boggy and wet in its nature, from what cause he can hardly say, the heather gradually disappeared, and what was admirable ground for holding grouse became practically useless for that purpose. Steps were taken to drain the land carefully, with the result that for the past few years the heather has been steadily reappearing.

LOADING. grouse-moor were burnt so deep that up to 1895 but little new heather had made its appearance on the damaged ground.

With regard to the second point previously mentioned-viz., the necessity of there being enough water on a moor to meet the requirements of the grouse-a nicely balanced medium between overdraining and under-draining should be observed. Grouse require a certain number of swampy, damp places on a moor, and enough and easily reached water. But if a moor is too swampy and wet, then the heather gradually disappears, and so do the grouse. The writer is well acquainted with one large tract of low-lying ground which formerly consisted of beautiful heather.

Sheep, if there are not too many of them, do not do much harm to a moor. But an over-large number is very undesirable. Cattle are very objectionable on a moor, and, where there are many, the heather suffers greatly, and the rank grasses become strongly in evidence. Careful trapping of vermin (stoats, weasels, &c.) is necessary if a moor is to be good for grouse. Foxes do much harm; and crows are much too fond of grouse eggs. Much also might be written about moor poachers and their habits and customs, especially as regards those who hire small patches of arable land near the moor-edges and grow various kinds of crops to induce the grouse to leave the moor to feed thereon.

It has been mentioned that there are certain moors which fairly answer to the dictionary definition of "barren tracts of ground." On these but little heather is to be found. Colonel Royds, formerly M.P. for Rochdale, possesses a moor which is a good example of this peculiar kind of ground. It is within half an hour of the town of Rochdale, which has a population of some 70,000, and is in close proximity to several other large centres of industry.

The owner forwarded to the writer an account of this moor, which runs as follows:a "On the moor itself there is practically no heather (Calluna vulgaris, or common ling); in some very well drained situations it is just possible you might be able to find a sprig. There are several small patches of heather within two or three miles of the moor, and at a lower altitude; but it must be five or six miles before there is any moorland with any amount of heather upon it. Five-and-twenty or thirty years ago there was any amount of beautiful heather upon this moor. The cross-leaved heather (Erica tetralix) grows fairly well, and seems to have improved the last few years, when there has been a smaller rainfall.

The Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus) does not do so well as formerly, and does not fruit. The Crowberry (Empetrum nigrum) is also found, but in a diminishing quantity. The other plants to be found on the moor are: - Mat grass (Nardus stricta), Waved Hair grass (Aira flexuosa), Blue Moor grass (Sesleria cærulea), Hairtail cotton grass (Eriophorum vaginatum), Narrow-leaved cotton grass (Eriophorum Polystachyon polystachyon ), Common rush (Juncus conglomeratus), Heath rush (Juncus squamosa), Common brake (Pteris aquilina). The nests of the grouse are almost invariably found in the mat grass, which has the local name of 'white louk.' They feed in the spring largely on the hair-tail cotton grass, pulling up the stalks and eating the tender roots. Later in the season, they feed on the seeds of the moor or heath rush. Of course, some birds go morning and evening to the patches of heather in the vicinity of the moor, especially in bad weather; otherwise they do not seem to leave the moor. The birds breed well, their greatest enemies being the rooks."

From this interesting account it is evident that a "heatherless moor," on which grouse may breed and exist in numbers, is to be taken into consideration when at any time dealing with this subject.

RUTLAND. [GROUSE THE WILLOW GROUSE (Lagopus Terra-novæ) bird is more affected by its habitat and environment than the grouse. It is well known that British grouse vary so much that the experienced game-dealers will tell you what moors they come from. In North America grouse found on islands are always much smaller than those found from the mainland, and the southern birds in Newfoundland are always much larger and finer than those from the northern part of the island.

When Europeans first visited North America the grouse were very abundant, and even in the last century one man killed 300 in a single day in Southern Avalon.

Habits. The habits of the willow grouse and the Scotch grouse are much alike.

They are both monogamous, and pair early in the year. The nest is always a very rough affair, a mere hole in the sandy soil, hidden behind some bushes, and lined with leaves, dry grass, and a few feathers. The number of eggs varies with both, from ten to fourteen. The cock and hen are most devoted parents. The young are, from WILLOW GROUSE. their very birth, wonderfully active and vigorous. Over all North America there has never been the smallest sign of the deadly grouse disease, the scourge of British moors, which is probably caused by overcrowding.

In winter the willow grouse are often found in large packs that move about a great deal.

GROUSE] Man with his gun, and natural enemies, such as hawks, eagles, foxes, and lynx, keep the stock down. The grouse are very much influenced by weather changes. The sportsman will find the moors suddenly deserted, not a sign of a bird. This means that an east wind is coming up, and the birds have all gone into the woods. The birds lie best with a warm southerly or south-west wind. Besides their wellknown habit of rooting in the sandy soil and dusting themselves, they also frequent boggy ground, probably in search of insects or to cool their feet in the hot summer weather. “ Shooting. In Newfoundland all the grouse shooting is done over pointers and setters. The best sport is to be had on the open moors, known locally as barrens," which are generally covered with small bunches of low spruces called "tucks."

The time to start shooting is just as the sun is gilding the eastern hills with a soft roseate light, which shines over the broad open moors, interspersed with verdant marshes.

For your companion and guide you will probably have a Terra Novian fisherman, who, if not so picturesque a figure as the Scotch gillie, for keenness of sight, knowledge of the habits of the birds, and for endurance, courtesy, and kindly manners, has no superior.

GROUSE DISEASE.¹ - Since the issue of the first edition of this Encyclopædia, the Grouse Disease Inquiry has been investigating the subject of disease in grouse under the auspices of the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. Their final report has not yet appeared, so that what is written here must not be regarded as necessarily representing the finding of the Committee of Inquiry.

However, several of the members of the scientific staff have published interim reports which have thrown a large amount of light upon the cause of death in these birds, and their results are here summarised.

Sick and dying animals are apt to creep away into corners and hide themselves; thus it comes about that when these animals die patently and in large numbers, the public is apt to regard this mortality as due to some disorder peculiar to the animal in question, and the disease receives the name of the species which is afflicted.

Hence we hear of such illnesses as "horsesickness," "silk-worm disease," and "grouse " disease."

The grouse disease which was investigated twenty years ago by Dr. Klein was an epizootic which was said to appear, as a rule, but with varying severity, in the spring and autumn. The existence of this disease is testified to with great unanimity by sportsmen and gamekeepers.

In 1892 Klein investigated many dead and dying grouse, and he came to the conclusion that they were suffering from pneumoenteritis, caused by a specific bacillus which he found in the blood and tissues of the birds. It now seems probable that Klein's bacillus is one of the Bacillus coli group which, it is well known, invades the tissues with great rapidity at the time of and after death. Klein's disease, of the existence of which the present Commission has found no evidence in recent years, is characterised by other symptoms, such as discoloration and congestion of the lungs, exudation from the smaller blood-vessels, and other characteristics which are now known to be due to post-mortem changes in the tissues, It is a fine open country, and for success you want good, steady, wide-ranging dogs.

At first you will often come on a false scent.

It is where the birds have lain in the night.

Soon, however, the dogs stand, slowly you walk up to them, they begin to draw, you look about wondering-where are the birds? when, whirr! a dozen brown birds are in the air; with your right you pick off the old cock, and with your left down goes another. Your man will mark down the covey. They have gone into the big tuck at the side of the hill. Here they lie scattered and keep very close; one by one you will work them all out and have many varieties of shot. On you go, meeting more grouse and getting a shot at an odd snipe. By eleven o'clock you should take a good rest and have your lunch. It is all, of course, different from shooting over well- Fantham, of Christ's College, Cambridge, to stocked moors at home, emphatically wild sport, but to the real sportsman always most enjoyable.

The Newfoundland ptarmigan (Lagopus leachii) was once plentiful in the island, but of late years it has become rather scarcer, though in some localities it is to be met with in fair numbers.

D. W. PROWSE. 1 The section of this article on the Coccidiosis of young grouse has been written by Dr. H. B. whom the investigation of the protozoal diseases of the grouse was entrusted by the Grouse Disease Enquiry. 2 This must not be understood to imply that the Government has given any pecuniary support to an inquiry which means so much to our one (with the doubtful exception of the St. Kilda wren) peculiar British bird. They, whilst willingly, and even generously, accepting the services of all the investigators engaged on the inquiry, have been unable to help it financially. and to occur in birds which were quite healthy when killed. One other feature, which, according to the game-keepers and sportsmen, accompanied the disease, was that the birds were plump and apparently healthy until suddenly attacked by the disease, when they rapidly fell victims to the epizootic. But here again it should be pointed out that in investigations previous to the present inquiry it does not appear to have occurred to anybody to weigh the grouse. The present Commission has, however, weighed each grouse they have examined, and in every case diseased grouse have shown a marked loss in weight.

Before proceeding to consider the present state of our knowledge of the causes of death in grouse, a word or two must be said about the parasites of the bird, which are intimately associated with the presence of more than one disease from which the grouse suffer. The grouse, like other animals, has a large fauna, one section of it living outside the skin amongst the feathers, the other living within the skin, in the tissues and cavities of the bird's body.

Since certain parasites (e.g. tape-worms) always inhabit two hosts, the larval stage being in some animal (second host) which must be eaten by the first host which contains the adult, and since there are three species of the tape-worm living in the alimentary canal of the grouse, it was natural that those insects which live on or about the grouse or in its nest should be first investigated to see if they reveal the secret of the tape-worm life-history.

At present this search has proved almost fruitless, but there is some hope that the problem of the life-history of these parasites may soon be solved. The ecto-parasites, or animals which live on the skin of the grouse, are as follows:- Insecta.

MALLOPHAGA (Bird-lice or Bitinglice).

I. Goniodes tetraonis (Denny). - This insect (Figs. 1, 2) lives on the skin of the grouse amongst the feathers. It is an animal with stout and powerful jaws, which it uses to bite off the barbules of the feather or the finer plumules which form its sole nutriment. What fluid it obtains to moisten this somewhat arid diet is not apparent, but the animals are active and by no means so easy to catch as one at first thinks. Few grouse free from this bird-louse, perhaps hardly ten per cent., and the number on each bird is to some extent a measure of are [GROUSE its ill-health. On a healthy grouse perhaps but two or three are found. On a piner hundreds may be met with. They lay very beautiful eggs (Fig. 3) attached in small groups to the base of the after-plume of the feather or between it and the main shaft.

The young hatch out as miniatures of the parents, and there is no metamorphosis.

The same species occurs on the Black Grouse and upon the Willow, or Hazel Grouse. 2. Nirmus cameratus (Nitzsch). The second bird-louse of the grouse is less FIG. I.

Goniodes tetraonis (Denny), male seen from above. The legs are shown on the left side only. The forked character of the antennæ, the upper lip and the lyriform organ are well shown in the head and the male genital plates in the abdomen. common than G. tetraonis. It is a narrower form, but its habits and its life-history resemble that mentioned above except for the fact that N. cameratus lives more frequently upon the skin and upon the base of the shaft of the feathers, whilst G. tetraonis is more often found upon the vanes of the larger feathers. It seems probable that both species breed throughout the year, though eggs were perhaps more frequently found in the summer.

Both of these bird-lice cast their skin several times; the exact number of times is, however, not known, but cast skins are frequently met with. The young birds are probably infected with these ecto-parasites whilst in the nests, the bird-lice passing from one bird to another when they are con- GROUSE] tiguous. They have also been known to cling to the grouse-fly, and in this manner may be transported to a new host. In no (cysticerci) of tape-worms in an allied species, C. ceratophyllus, which lives on rats and other rodents. The adult of this larva is thought by Mr. Nicoll to be Hymenolepis diminutus, which infests the rat. Should the grouse-flea prove to be the second host of one of the grouse cestodes, it will confirm the astute suggestion put forward, privately, by Dr. Leiper. 4. Ceratophyllus garei (Roths.). The second flea which infests the grouse we have only found on one or two occasions. It has been recorded from the nest of the lap-wing and the ring-dove, and the water-hen, and has been taken on the stoat, the weasel, the water-rat, and the vole.

FIG. 2.

Goniodes tetraonis (Denny), female seen from below, showing the upper lip, the mandibles, the lyriform organ and the legs. case was any specimen of either of these two species found in the crop of the grouse.

SIPHONAPTERA.