A MANOR HOUSE IN DEER LAND. 179 



the head of a cover — that is, where the wood 

 joins the meadows. Besides rabbits a hare 

 now and then runs in, and a fox is occa- 

 sionally caught. Everything out in the fields, 

 on being alarmed, scampers back to the wood, 

 and the large net, invisible in the darkness, 

 intercepts the retreat. Bluish-green meshes 

 are scarcely noticeable even in daylight when 

 laid in ferns, on bushes, or by tall grass. This 

 net down at the hall cost the poachers two 

 or three pounds, and was taken from them 

 the very first night they used it. It is heavy 

 and forms a heap rolled up — enough to fill 

 a bushel basket. The meshes are very 

 strong and will hold anything. A very 

 favourite time to set these nets, and indeed 

 for all kinds of poaching, as with wires, is 

 after rain, when rabbits, and hares too, feed 

 voraciously. After rain a hare will run at 

 night twice as much as other nights ; these 

 evenings are the best for shooting rabbits out 

 feeding. 



The poacher who goes out to net hares 



N 2 



