27 OCTOBER 1939, Page 17

The French Way

In the neighbourhood where these American quail are at large, the so-called French partridge has been very much in evidence this year. It is in general a bad partridge year, but the hardier Frenchman has, it seems, not succumbed to the conditions that punished the English bird. Within one small area the only birds shot this season have been Frenchmen, and in some market-garden lands near by the percentage has been even higher than usual. The superior powers of resistance in this species is apparent both on the heavy clay lands and on the light sandy soils.