no THE RABBIT 



success ; but in the big straggling Sussex woodlands 

 that once formed part of extensive forests, the sport is 

 frequently indulged in. In these localities, after the 

 regular season is finished there are still a few rabbits 

 to be killed down, and an opportunity is afforded to 

 give the farmers and their friends a day's rabbit- 

 shooting. The employment of an army of beaters to 

 drive the rabbits to the guns would be expensive, and 

 therefore beagles take the place of human beaters. 

 Many of the farmers keep a beagle or two, and 

 frequently a man may be the possessor of a good 

 hard-working dog, which secures his owner many an 

 invitation to a day's rabbiting. As a general rule 

 the keeper is allowed to invite the guns, and he, as a 

 matter of policy, asks first the tenants whose land 

 adjoins his coverts and then a few others to make up 

 the party, but invariably those farmers are first asked 

 who are likely to suffer most damage from the depreda- 

 tions of the rabbits.^ 



' The owner of a couple of good beagles is tolerably 

 sure of some shooting during the season, and often 



' For these remarks on rabbit-shooting with beagles we are 

 indebted to a writer in The Field, who is evidently well qualified 

 to deal with the subject, but who chooses to be anonymous. We 

 can say from experience in the county to which he refers, that 

 his description is quite accurate, and on that account we prefer 

 to quote his own words rather than paraphrase them. 



