picked up in the wood later. A few birds were shot, and the cover now held
some forty partridges, though they are very wild in the low slop, and
seldom leave more than one or two stragglers behind when the wood is
beaten. The rabbit-shooting in the cover is difficult unless firing at
"creepers" from the cover in front is indulged in. The rides are often
very narrow, and the rabbits cross like lightning. Shooting "creepers" is
also highly dangerous if there are many guns, or if the men are near. They
do not seem to mind; indeed, I have known them shout out exhortations for
us to fire, when only screened by a row of thistles. One thing I have
learnt by shooting this big wood. The hares, and late in the season the
rabbits, move at least one square ahead of the beaters. If a single gun is
kept well forward, choosing his own place and taking turnabout with the
others, the bag--if it is wished to kill down the ground game--will be
considerably increased. One object when shooting this wood is to get the
ground beaten quickly; if there are twenty squares to be beaten, and five
minutes are wasted at each, it means a loss of one hour forty minutes. The
guns consequently go best pace to their places forward after each beat.
What with running at a jog-trot down the rides, shooting hard when in
place, and then getting on quickly to the next stand, often along spongy
or clayey rides on a nice, warm, moist November day, this is by no means
the armchair work which people are fond of calling wood shooting. The
variety of scenery in the wood added much to the charm. Sometimes we were
in the narrow rides covered with short turf and almost arched over by the
tall hazels; sometimes we were in low slop or walking through last year's
cuttings, shooting at impossible rabbits. There we had an occasional rise
of those most difficult of all birds to kill, partridge in cover, killing
both French and English birds; or a cock pheasant would rise and hustle
forward, an agreement having been made to leave these till properly beaten
up later in the day. Two very pretty corners were perhaps the most
enjoyable parts of the sport. By the river was a flat reed- and