On December 27th, in the Home Counties, a sportsman of
long and wide experience expressed to me his horror at the idea of anyone shooting partridges at that date. The reason, of course, was that he had seen a number of pairs. Now, if in a moderately normal season such as this partridges have paired by Christmas Day, how do we justify the extension of the open season till February 1st It was, of course, a mere mistake of drafting when February 1st was included in the shooting season.' It was perhaps a mistake in natural history when the whole of January was included. I believe it would be of no little advantage to the bird if the season were curtailed, say, by a fortnight. Very few sportsmen kill partridges in that last fortnight ; but quite a large number are killed on the farms by those who cannot approach the birds while they are in coveys. It would well suit our general social organization if 'the close season, at any rate for partridges—the most ideal parents among birds—were to begin with the end of the Christmas holidays.
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