154 THE RABBIT 



Some keepers advocate turning out a few white 

 rabbits, which are more readily seen at night than 

 the others, and by keeping a watch on them observe 

 whether they disappear. This will show whether there 

 is any poaching going on or not ; though a wily 

 poacher who knows his business will, of course, take 

 care to let any white ones go that he may happen to 

 capture. The most effectual way, however, to prevent 

 ' long-netting ' is to bush the fields around the coverts, 

 not with fixed bushes or stakes, but with loose thorns, 

 or short pieces of bramble or furze strewn loosely about 

 in the field. These will be dragged by the net and 

 cause it to become so hampered and entangled as to 

 be useless. A gamekeeper, writing in The Field of 

 August 4, 1894, recommended the scattering of small 

 pieces of wire netting,^ but although this might defeat 

 the poachers, it would hardly suit farmers who have 

 sheep or other stock to turn on the land. 



When coverts are surrounded by stone walls, it is 

 usual to leave openings called ' meuses ' here and there 

 for the hares and rabbits to go in and out. A poacher 

 who intends to use a ' purse-net ' will previously block 

 up all the ' meuses ' except those in which he intends 

 to hang his nets, and, to enable him to distinguish at 



' This was also recommended by another correspondent, 

 The Fields January 25, 1896. 



