while the stems of the heather are so short and stiff that they are little affected by the wind. If this type of heather is examined, it will be found that immediately below the weathered canopy there is a rich growth of bright green shoots even in the most severe winter (see Pl. xxiii., Fig. 2).
There is no doubt that it is on the moors which have a large proportion of this short, close-growing heather that the largest stock of birds can be carried over the winter. But it is only on a special class of ground that this type of heather is found to grow naturally; it is usually associated with dry, hard soil, good natural drainage, a rocky subsoil, and only a shallow layer of peat on the surface; it is uncommon in districts with a heavy rainfall.
Even on the best ground there is a tendency for the heather to grow too long and bushy; but this tendency can fortunately be controlled by artificial Heather
culture. means. In another part of this Report the subject of heather burning is fully described,[1] and it is only necessary here to state that, for purposes of food, heather ceases to have any value after it has been allowed to become rank.
With the advent of May comes a great change in the condition of the heather plant. In this month every twig breaks out into green shoots, Young
growth in
May. even the oldest and most ragged stick heather will produce young growth the kind most valuable as food for Grouse; but it is now too late for this tardy recovery to be profitable, for the days of famine are past, and there is sufficient food to feed ten times as many birds as there are upon the ground. Even in this month of plenty, however, the close, short heather of from 4 to 8 inches in height is superior to the straggly forest of overgrown plants, for there is an ever present risk of a late spring frost, when the tender young shoots will require all the shelter they can get.
The appearance of the young growth is marked by an immediate change in the diet of the Grouse. On referring again to Table III., it will be seen that the consumption of fresh green heather shoots rises suddenly to 691⁄2 per cent, while that of the dry winter heather drops to 12 per cent. At the same time the proportion of miscellaneous foods is more than doubled, owing doubtless to the fact that every moorland plant is throwing off its winter sleep and bursting into appetising young buds.
Just as the first flush of early pasture is more nourishing than the later growth, the first heather shoots of spring probably contain a larger percentage
- ↑ Vide chap. xviii. pp. 392 et seq.
