Copy to Mr. King

\mricanx~ '>onula~r Service
AMERICAN CONSUIATE
Edinburgh, Scotland, July 1, 1930
Mr. F. F. Bowman
Cedarwood Farm, R. D. 2
Madison, Wisconsin
Sir:
The receipt is acknowledged of your letter dated June 16,
1930, respecting the conditions of grouse shooting in Scotland. You
understand that when grouse lands are leased it is usual for the lessee
to undertake to shoot a minimum number of birds which prevents the too
rapid multiplication of grouse and thereby lessens the chances of "grouse
disease." If this fact is true you believe that it is important in con-
nection with the problem of gue Preservation in the United States.
A conmiission was set up some years ag'o in Scotland to study
grouse disease and while the commission found many itens of interest
regarding grouse the cause of the disease was never discovered. It was
learned that the disease occurs more often in flocks of large size but on
the other hand it has occurred in small coveys and thus it cannot be said
that the size of the flock causes the disease.
Grouse shooting in Scotland is of two kinds: (a) by grouse
driving, and (b) "over the gun." The former method lessens the chances
of the disease occurring because by flushing many coveys the birds inter-
mingle and inbreeding is prevented. Inbreeding, which is thought to be
a contributing factor to grouse disease, of course weakens the birds and
makes thea more suscentible to the disease. &Xperienced grouse hunters
aim to shoot off the old birds, particularly the cocks, and when this is
not done by a lessee through ignorance, the owner generally instructs the
gamekeepers to shoot off the cocks in order to "round out" the coveys.
In addition to the above it has been found that grouse disease
is less apt to occur when the heather on the moor is, in a sense, rotated.
That is to say, the owner burns off the heather in small patches every
year. Thus in a small area there will be a heather growth of several
different years.
The Consulate has been advised that a lessee never undertakes
to shoot a minimum number of birds but a maximum figure is usually fixed.
However, in a spirit of fair play and for the preservation of gane the
lessee will not shoot the maximum number if the land is not as well stocked
as calculated.
Very respectfully yours,
Harold D. Finley
American Consul