DESTROYING RABBITS 229 



gess & Co., Malvern Wells), or hammer, dig out the place for the 

 trap, making it the proper form and size and deep enough so as to 

 admit of covering the spring about J-in. Set the trap, try it 

 in the dish and fitting properly, neither too shallow nor too deep, 

 as the jaws and plate must only just be covered up, and flatten- 

 ing the soil in the square for the jaws, the trap being removed for 

 the purpose, replace it, and taking a small piece of wood or twig, 

 hold it over the jaw and under the plate, touching each on the oppo- 

 site side to the flap in order to prevent the trap springing while 

 being set. Commence covering up by the spring and chain, then 

 cover the plate and jaws with earth by means of the riddle or sieve 

 just hiding all ; and smoothing and making as like the surrounding 

 parts as possible, withdraw the stick, fill up the little hole, and 

 the trap is set. In case of the runs leading up over the grass, the 

 covering should be done by picking short, not long, grass, and sprink- 

 ling it over till the trap is covered, pressing gently down. The 

 spring and chain can be covered by raising a flap of turf, hollowing 

 out the soil to admit them and gently turning the flap of turf back 

 again. The traps should be seen to soon after nine in the morning 

 and again about five in the afternoon during the spring, gradually 

 getting earlier in the morning and later in the evening as the season 

 advances. If the weather be rainy the traps will require frequent 

 re-setting or re-covering, but in the ordinary way the traps will not 

 need to be moved or re-set until the third or fourth day. 



As the summer advances and the first batch of young are able 

 to take care of themselves, the old rabbits begin to lie out more, 

 and by June all will be seeking suitable places for their seats, but 

 with a distinct run from the burrows. In these grass runs the 

 patches are much more distinct than on bare ground, and the traps 

 must be set in these or at pi ay holes at right angles to the run. 

 Sometimes rabbits make numerous horse-shoe shaped places as 

 if having commenced to burrow and " rued " ; trapping at such spots 

 should be in the middle of the place and at right angles to the run 

 leading up to it. These sham-seats or burrows are not uncommon 

 in stubble fields, and the runs leading into small expanses of brake 

 are good places wherein to set traps. 



The real trapping season commences in September and October, 

 according to locality, and continues for three or four months, and 

 may be practised in runs, hedges and burrows, the latter being the 

 general procedure, and almost invariably by what is known as under- 

 ground trapping, i.e., the trap is placed so far in the mouth of the 

 burrow as to be out-of-the-way of pheasant-feet or creatures 

 other than the rabbits. The traps are seen to early in the morning 

 and late in the afternoon, though in some cases the traps are set 

 in the afternoon and seen to in the morning : the traps being re-set 

 either at that time or in the afternoon as most convenient. 



The trapping of rabbits has always been a " bone of contention " 



