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The Country Gentleman's Magazine 



behind. This damage, however, could not 

 well be seen without going over the land 

 before reaping. Rabbits eat all before them 

 near the woods, burrows, &c. The practical 

 farmer knew the value of an early seed field. 

 April and early in May was the most ex- 

 pensive time for the keeping of sheep until 

 the seeds were a pasture, especially when all 

 the roots were consumed, and if sheep had to 

 be kept on dry food, they did not improve 

 much, and it was very costly. He had seen 

 a clover field so eaten by hares and rabbits 

 that it was fully two weeks later than it other- 

 wise would have been to turn the sheep into. 

 He had known many acres of land sown with 

 oats instead of wheat because of the ravages 

 of hares in a wheat field. The hare will eat 

 wheat in preference to oats, and this, in many 

 instances, entailed great loss on the farmer. 

 Another serious loss he might mention, aris- 

 ing out of the fact that they could not sow 

 winter tares where much game was kept, 

 unless they were particularly anxious to pro- 

 vide for the hares and rabbits a continual 

 feast. Again, where ground game abounds, 

 the farmer must have all the turnips off the 

 land and piled before or early in December ; 

 for if there came a storm, he would witness 

 the destruction which was made. This in- 

 volved an extra expense, for the turnips must 

 be well covered, and, in consequence of the 

 scratching of rabbits and hares, must be ex- 

 amined almost daily in frosty weather. In 

 his opinion the land did not grow so much 

 barley where the swedes were pulled off so 

 long a period before they were consumed on 

 the land. 



THE ELIMINATION OF HARES AND RABBITS 

 FROM THE GAME-LIST. 



The hare is an epicure, who just tastes and 

 tries, and then passes on, leaving the work of 

 destruction either to other offenders or gradual 

 decay. They heard of several instances where 

 gentlemen shared the hares and rabbits with 

 their tenantry, and had better partridge shoot- 

 ing than before, the tenants being allowed to 

 course the hares and trap the rabbits. Per- 

 sons had no more right to take a hare or 

 rabbit without lertve than a sheep or pig, yet 

 there were many more prosecutions against 

 stealers of game than of farming produce or 

 stock. The occupier of the land has to pay 

 towards prosecuting the poacher, also often 

 towards keeping his wife and children when 

 he was imprisoned, as well as towards the 

 police who were now the principal takers of 

 poachers. In 1871, in England and Wales 

 alone, the total number of persons proceeded 

 against summarily under the Game-laws was 

 10,771. After stating that he should not like 

 to see any person killing hares, and that the 

 facts he had brought forward sufficed to prove 

 the enormous cost and evil of ground game 

 in Great Britain, Mr Peacock recommended 

 that hares and rabbits should be struck out of 

 the Game Bill altogether. He also urged the 

 expression of a unanimous opinion on this 

 subject by petition, that a favourable oppor- 

 tunity now presented itself for doing so in the 

 fact that a committee of the House of Com- 

 mons had been appointed to take evidence 

 on the Game Bill, and that if the farmers did 

 not take action for themselves, they could not 

 expect to be reheved. 



