THE WARREN 8i 



moorland, in rocky ground, or in a country unvisited 

 by fox-hounds, the warrener probably will not be 

 much troubled with conscientious scruples in regard 

 to the destruction of foxes, when, if they should prove 

 to be too numerous, a poisoned bait, an iron trap, or 

 a well-timed shot, will put a stop to the too rapid 

 consumption of coneys. 



Wandering cats, as every gamekeeper knows to 

 his cost, are an unmitigated nuisance, and when they 

 take to feeding on young rabbits, of which they are 

 very fond, the warrener will have to put a stop to such 

 proceedings as soon as possible. The quickest way 

 to get rid of them is to shoot them, although, by the 

 expenditure of a little more time and trouble, they 

 may be cleared off by poisoning, or trapping. In wet 

 weather cats will walk along the wall of a plantation, 

 when it will be found a good plan to hollow out a 

 coping stone and set a round trap in it. 



Rats, also, have to be reckoned with, and in 

 warrens are best got rid of by ferreting ; but by digging 

 out and bolting them, a good many may be killed 

 with the aid of the ' scratch pack ' above referred to. 

 The ferret, however, is so indissolubly associated with 

 the rabbit, and so important an ally of the warrener, 

 as to deserve special treatment in the next chapter. 



