IN THE HIGHLANDS 153 



Strychnine is a wonderfully handy drug. I remember 

 once laying a poisoned egg in the hope of killing a pair 

 of hoodies which were doing an immense amount of 

 damage stealing grouse eggs, and returning in a very 

 short time to find both the hoodies lying on their backs 

 dead, though still warm, one on each side of the egg. 

 On another occasion when stalking hinds in January 

 I was crawling along at the foot of a rock when I noticed 

 an egg which I knew to be a poisoned one. Just a little 

 beyond it I saw two small white spots which looked like 

 little lumps of snow, and when I got to them I saw 

 that they were two dead pure white ermines. They 

 must only just have put the tips of their tongues into 

 the small hole at the top of the egg, for it was still quite 

 intact. 



