stock. The fact that Grouse annually shift from place to place over a wide area forces one to the conclusion that co-operation is necessary rather than individual effort. For the same reason it is doubtful whether the benefit of introducing fresh blood (either in the form of eggs or of living birds) is confined to the moor on which the fresh blood is introduced. This remark would not, of course, apply to an isolated moor, or one in which for any reason the shifting habits of the birds are not fully developed.
Various opinions have been expressed as to the age which a Grouse can attain, and a few observations on the subject may be quoted. On a Yorkshire Age of
Grouse moor a cock Grouse, which was recognisable owing to its having a broken leg which stuck out permanently at right angles, was known to have lived for nine years in a wild state. An Ayrshire gamekeeper, one of the Committee's correspondents, can vouch for a Blackcock living twelve years, and is of opinion that Grouse live as long. Another correspondent, a Forfarshire gamekeeper, is sure that many of the old cocks on the tops are ten years old, and if appearance goes for anything the black old cocks so often killed on the high tops of many moors must have reached a not less patriarchal age. In view of the many dangers to which they are exposed the wild Grouse seldom gets the chance of dying of old age, and the duration of its life depends more on the severity of the shooting and the numbers of vermin than upon the bird's own longevity.
Observations on Grouse in captivity tend to support the view that they can live to a considerable age. Unfortunately, in every case reported to the Committee where a tame Grouse has reached the age of ten or twelve years the bird has died an accidental death.
