Pasturing. 137 



pins or rivets instead of being nailed, as this allows the 

 sticks to work freely one against the other. The cross- 

 pieces at the top should be joined by a " thumb " or 

 " fly " nut, in order to be easily parted when the apparatus 

 is put on the animal. When applied to goats having no 

 horns, the fly nut is unnecessary, as, if the pieces are 

 fixed, the whole thing can be put over the creature's head. 

 To the inside of the sticks a couple of straps must be 

 attached, which buckle over the goat's neck, their object 

 being to support the weight of the puzzle and ensure a 

 better fit. To prevent it from slipping on to the horns 

 when grazing, another strap is necessary, which buckles 

 round the body, and is joined to the former by a shorter 

 piece of leather having a loop at each end through which 

 both pass. The leather handle of an ordinary double rug 

 'strap answers very well for this purpose. The arrange- 

 ment will be better understood by a glance at Fig. 24 ; 

 a a represent the two straps which go over the 

 neck, b that which fits round the body, and c the short 

 piece joining the two together.* 



* Under the title "A Protection against Goats," &c., the fol- 

 lowing interesting note appeared in Notes and Queries, gth Oct., 

 1880, signed Geo. A. Muller, St. Martin Lautosque, Alpes Mari- 

 times : " Nearly everywhere in the Maritime Alps, in a good 

 many parts of Switzerland, in Southern Germany and Tyrol, 

 people who want to protect their land from the inroads of goats, 

 sheep, and cattle in general put up a stick surmounted by a 

 small bundle of straw, or simply tie a small bundle of straw to 

 a branch, and thereby find their ground as safely guarded as if 

 they had placed a policeman there. Is this custom to be found 

 anywhere in England ? I fancy I have noticed it in North 

 Wales. What is its origin? " 



