Midsummer Day might be marked as the partridge's birthday, since the
majority of birds are hatched about that time--a month later than
the majority of pheasants break their shells. People are sometimes
puzzled when they realise that pheasants are preserved for two months
longer than partridges. The reason, of course, is that pheasants
mature slowly, and partridges quickly. But are partridges given fair
grace? We think not--and would advocate a later opening day for
partridge-shooting. Not a partridge of the year is matured on September
1, in size, or strength of flight, or endurance. The young birds are
still in the drab-feather stage; their legs are bright yellow, an
infallible token of youthfulness; and it is rare, before October, to
find one with the horseshoe chestnut feathers on its breast, or with
rufous head--the signs of maturity. The heavy toll taken on small
shoots during the first fortnight of September is not only unfair,
but unwise, and often fatal to the good prospects of future seasons.
Another mistake commonly made is the shooting of too many hares in
September. Many of the does are still suckling leverets; and does, that
breed for the most part in the fields, form a large proportion of the
hares met with in September partridge shooting.
* * * * *
[Illustration: THE LONG DAY CLOSES