COUNTRY LIFE
IN a quaint old volume—The Book of Days—I came upon a quotation from that famous sportsman Col. Hawker, which strongly urged the post- ponement of the shooting season from "The First" (of September) till October, partly on the ground that there was less chance of offending the farmers, partly because fewer " squeakers " would be shot and fewer coveys exterminated. His reasons, however good, hardly apply any longer, at least to those who walk up their birds. Harvest is a much shorter and quicker season, the stubble no longer gives cover, and shooting over dogs is a rare occurrence. This year harvest is early as well as quick, and some, at any rate, of the broods are early. Walking over a cleared stubble in August to see whether any birds were feeding on the plentiful grain left on the field, I failed to get within reach of any. They rose far out of shot and flew a long distance. There are some half-grown birds, which were hatched late owing to the destruction of the earlier nests in the process of hay-making.
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