The Sun.
London, England, 1867-12-27 00:00:00

THE MOORS AND GROUSE DISEASE.

In consequence of the failure of the past grouse
season to a great extent on many of the best and
most important moors of Perthshire, fears were en-
tertained that no shooting could be enjoyed next
year. It seems, however, from reports we have re-
cently received, that on some extensive moors where
the distemper had apparently scarcely left a bird in
the end of August a good many grouse have lately
been seen ; and the birds seem healthy, in fine plu-
mage, and good condition. Ou the extensive grounds
of Drummond Castle, especially, which were
thinned to a great extent by the malady, grouse
again appear to be pretty numerous ; and unless
disease again appears during the spring months, or
the birds suffer from the storms of winter, there
will be a much larger stock for breeding than many
anticipated two months ago. We learn also that
on the moors where the distemper broke out first,
it was most deadly, and in spreading from moor to
moor it became less virulent. At Glenahnond and
Cannachan the greater part of the birds fell victims
before the malady appeared on the neighbour-
ing hill of Monzie, and then disease extended
gradually westward, and appeared but to a very
limited extent on a range west from Glenturret.
The accounts from all the moors stretching
from Auchnafree to Aberfeldy in the north to Dun-
keld in the north-east, are more favourable in regard
to the stocks of grouse than many predicted; and
in several instances the effects of sportsmen con-
fining themselves to the shooting of only the old
birds are now to be seen in a pretty fair stock of
grouse, though the birds in many places are at least
from 60 to 70 per cent. fewer than at this time last
year. It seems that numerous sportsmen are about
to get up a movement to change the opening day
for grouse shooting from the 12th to the 20th
of August, for the experience of the last few
years has shown that, generally speaking, the
birds at the 12th have invariably been too small
in size to kill, and consequently in many instances
little was done at shooting the young birds till near
the end of the month. The reports now all show
that the distemper which devastated so many moors
has disappeared in the meantime ; but many are
looking forward with anxiety to the spring months,
when it may appear as it did the two last sea-
sons. In some places, however, the malady pre-
vailed more or less from the spring of 1866 uP
to a recent date. The sportsmen have now all
left their shooting lodges for the season, of ter
enjoying unprecedentedly good sport at the moun-
tain hare shooting and other kinds of game. In
the Crieff district of the county the rental of the
several moors where no shooting took place, owing
to the scarcity of grouse, amounted to about
£5,000. Some notices have been published by us,
on what we understood to be reliable information,
to the effect that the present scarcity of pheasants
and partridges on the Drummond Castle estates
was attributable to the great destruction of these
birds during the previous season. We have been
requested to state, on authority, the exact number
of these birds killed during the season 1866-67,
namely : —Pheasants, 357 ; partridges, 390. When
the vast extent of the coverts and cultivated ground
on this estate is kept in view, the above small pro-
portion of these birds killed in one season cannot
be considered excessive, and the probability is that
the great destruction complained of on this estate
among these birds took place in the months of Juno
and July last from natural causes, from which fey/
estates in the district were exempt.—Scotsman.

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