The Ferret. 221 



In ferreting this place the greatest care has to be 

 taken that the ferret is lined with a long string,' or so 

 fed that he will not lie in ; otherwise, if he is not 

 picked up the moment he appears at the mouth of 

 the hole, he will become so excited at the number of 

 rabbits, and so thirsty for blood, that he will refuse 

 to come forth. 



To dig for him is hopeless in that catacomb of tun- 

 nels ; there is nothing for it but to send a man day 

 after day to watch, and if possible to seize him 

 while passing along the upper ground from one bury 

 to another. In time thirst will drive him to wander ; 

 there is no water near this dry, sandy, and rather 

 elevated spot, and blood causes great thirst. Then 

 he will roam across the open, and by-and-by reach 

 the hedges, where in the ditch some water is sure to 

 be found in winter, when ferreting is carried on. So 

 that, if a ferret has been lost some time, it is better 

 to look for him round the adjacent hedges than in 

 the warren. 



Long after leaving the bury it is as well to look to 

 your footsteps, because of solitary rabbit-holes hidden 

 by the grass growing up round and even over them. 

 If the foot sinks unexpectedly into one of these, a 

 sprained ankle or even a broken bone may result. 

 Most holes have sand round the mouth, and may 

 therefore be seen even in the dusk ; but there are 

 others also used which have no sand at the mouth, 

 the grass growing at the very edge. Those that 

 have sand have been excavated from without, from 

 above ; those that have not, have been opened from 

 below. The rabbit has pushed his way up from an 

 old burjr, so that the sand he dug fell down behind 

 him into the larger hole. 



