28 NOTES TO THE 



to this old fellow, but on being questioned, lie said he only passed 

 the warren to go down on the rocks to get his rod and catch 

 grey mullet ; but, acting on the advice of one of the workmen 

 in the garden, my friend kept a look-out, and at last saw the 

 lame old rascal, when in the warren, look round first to see if he 

 was observed, and sit down above the most frequented burrow. 

 He then took from his pocket a couple of the small green crabs 

 so common on the seashore and put them into the hole, and 

 they at once ran down ; soon after, up bolted a fine rabbit, a7id 

 our infirm friend knocked it over at once with his broomstick 

 and hid it in a furze-bush. He then repeated the trick, and 

 soon killed live fine rabbits." 



Mr. Matthias Dunn increases the efficacy of the above pre- 

 scription thus : " Allow me to say the crab, to do the work as 

 he ought, when put in the rabbit-hole, must have a lighted end 

 of candle stuck fast to his back, with a little clay or grease to 

 hold it firm, and a formidable creature, thus armed, is he ; for 

 neither fox, badger, nor rabbit can withstand his fiery torch. 

 This, then, is the impromptu ferret used in this neighbourhood, 

 and the business is said to be a failure without the candle. 

 Hence I expect the old man had the same machinery at work 

 to get the rabbit." 



HEMAKKABLE HYBRID. I have heard the following story of 

 the great Duke of Wellington being completely sold by a show- 

 man. A man had advertised an exhibition of a hybrid creature 

 between a tench and a rabbit. When the Duke went to ex- 

 amine it, the exhibitor told him he was very sorry he could 

 not show the specimen itself, as it had gone to Court to be 

 shown to the King ; but, if it was any satisfaction, he would 

 show him both the father and the mother stuffed and in glass- 

 cases. Mr. Bartlett tells me that more than once a hybrid 

 between a cat and a rabbit has been brought to him. He says 

 a cat with a short tail will not prove the argument ; he wants 

 a rabbit with a long tail. 



WOOLMER FOREST, p. 22. Large lakes such as those men- 

 tioned by White often contain one large pike, who is king of the 

 pond. A good example of this is the huge pike that I obtained 

 through the kindness of his Royal Highness Prince Christian, 

 and which I have described as follows : His Royal Highness 

 Prince Christian was so very kind as to send me, in October 

 1874, in charge of Mr. Keene, head fisherman in Windsor Park, 

 the most splendid pike I ever beheld. Having understood that 

 Rapley Lake, near Bngshot Park, which belongs to the royal 



