WILD SPORTS OF THE HIGHLANDS 



— by trap or gun, I forget which — in lamenting her death 

 to me, said it was a great pity so valuable an animal should 

 be killed, as she brought him every day in the year either 

 a grouse,ayoung hare.orsomeotherheadof game. Another 

 man told me that his cat brought to the house during the 

 whole winter a woodcock or a snipe almost every night, 

 showing a propensity for hunting in the swamps and wet 

 places near which the cottage was situated, and where these 

 birds were in the habit of feeding during the night. A fav- 

 ourite cat of my own once took to bringing home rabbits 

 and hares, but never winged game. Though constantly 

 caught in traps, she could never be cured of her hunting 

 propensities. When caught in an iron trap, instead of spring- 

 ing about and struggling, and by this means breaking or 

 injuring her legs, she used to sit quietly down and wait to 

 be let out. There is a cat at the farm now, who is caught at 

 least twice a- week, but from adoptingthe same plan of wait- 

 ing quietly and patiently to be liberated, she seldom gets 

 her foot much hurt. 



The animal that requires the greatest care in trapping 

 is the fox. If the trap is too smooth, he slips his foot out; 

 if too sharp, he cuts off his foot, and escapes, leaving it be- 

 hind him. I consider the best manner of having fox-traps 

 made is to get them without teeth, but with about three 

 spikes of an inch in length on each side of the trap; these 

 entering the animal's leg without cutting it, hold him firmly 

 and securely. The surest way, however, of destroying foxes 

 (I amspeaking,of course, of foxes of the Highlands, where 

 no hounds are kept) is by poison. But then the rabbit or 

 bait in which the poison is laid should not be touched by 



56 



