Shooting Times & Country – 17 July 2019

Expert tips and advice

Latinname:Centaureacyanus

Commonname:Cornflower

Othernames:Batchelor’sbuttons,

blaver,bluepoppy,break-your-

spectacles,corn-blinks,happy

skies,hurtsickle, ragged sailor,

witches’ bells

Howtospotit andwheretofind

it:Anuprightannualofbright,

unfussybeauty,thecobalt-blue

cornflowerwasoncecommon

inBritain’scornfields,butit has

declinedrapidlyinthepast 60 years.

Meadowsfullofcornflowerswere

lastseenbetweentheWorldWars.

It flowersfromJunetoAugust.

Interestingfacts:Sobeautiful

is thecornflowerthatitsnameis

a recognisedshadeofblue.The

mostvaluablesapphiresarea

medium-darkvioletblue,called

cornflowerblue.Cornflowerswere

foundinTutankhamun’stombin

Egyptand,despitebeingmore

than3,000yearsold,theyretained

theircolour.Thecornflowerhas

hadmanymedicaluses.Herbalist

NicholasCulpepernoted,in1653:

“Thejuicedroppedintotheeyes

takesawayheatandinflammation

ofthem.”Thisexplainshowit

camebythecharmingfolkname,

break-your-spectacles.It wastaken

totreatpoison,plague,wounds,

feversandinflammations,andthe

driedflowersarestillusedtomake

medicine.Thecornfloweris worn

bytheFrenchinmuchthesameway

asweweartheredpoppy,andis

known as theBleuet de France.

Native

Britain

Plants,flowersandfungi

of Great Britain at a glance

Footpath law for Guns

Elusive quail callings

SHOOTING TIMES & COUNTRY MAGAZINE • 85

FIREARMS LAW

Oneofthedrivesonour
shoothasa coupleofpegson
a publicfootpath.Lastseason,I was
standingononewhenanaggressive
dogwalkersaidthatI shouldnotbe
shootingonthefootpathandthat
hewouldtellthepoliceif I didnot
move.I movedtohumour him, but
washeright to say so?

Yes,I thinkhewas,andyouwere
wisetogetoutofhisway— a visit
fromthepoliceis alwaysbestavoided.
Thepurposeofa publicfootpathis
toallowthepassageandre-passageof
pedestrians. That was established by

HarrisonvsDukeofRutlandin1893.

Inthiscase,thecourtruledthatan

umbrella-wavingprotestertryingto

disruptgrouseshootingfroma footpath

wasa trespasserbecausehewasnot

usingthefootpathto“passandre-pass”,

whichwasitspurpose.I know it is old

lawbutit is stillgoodlaw.

A Gunwhosepegis ona public

footpathis actuallya trespasserbecause

heis notusingthefootpathtopassand

re-pass.Ashehasa gun,heis anarmed

trespasserforthepurposesofSection

20 ofthe 1968 FirearmsAct.Thereis

thedefenceofreasonableexcuse,but

astheburdenofproofliesontheperson

accusedthiswouldbedifficulttosatisfy.

Section 20 is a seriouscriminaloffence

carryingon conviction a fine, prison

orboth.

Myadviceis nevertostandona

footpathwhileshooting.It is easy

tostandslightlyoffit andbydoing

soyouwillbebombproofif youare

challenged.Theshootalsoneedsto

relocate its pegs to reflect this.BH

GAMEBIRDS

I ama memberofa partridge
shootingsyndicateonthe
SouthDowns.EveryJulyandAugust
wehearquailcallingontheshoot,
typicallyfromcerealfields,butwe
rarelyseeanyofthesebirds,even
ondrivendaysinearlySeptember.
Wehaveonlyonceseena small
coveyofwhatwerepresumably
successfulbreedingbirds.Dothey
migratesouthbefore the start of the
partridge season?

QuailareheardinBritainevery
year,ingreatlyvaryingnumbers,
with records from the Isles of Scilly in

thesouthtoShetlandinthenorth.Many

oftheserecordsareofcallingmales,

whichmoveonaftera fewdaysif they

failtoattracta mate.Thismakesit near

impossibletoestimatethenumberof

breedingpairs.Ingoodyearsthere

mightbe2,000callingmalesreported.

Thechalkdownsofsouthern

Englandareoneofthemostreliable

placestohearquail.Thereis a theory

thatthebirdsheardhereinhigh

summerareyoungbirdsthathatched

someweeksearlierinNorthAfricaor

southernEurope.Theymigratenorth,

butthoughtheymaycalltheyrarely

breedandmosthavemovedback

southbytheendofAugust.Thiswould

explain why you see them so rarely.DT