io6 Studies in Rat Catching, [ch. vi. 



is ; but I must say I never lost a ferret in a 

 hedge or felt the want of a belled one. I 

 consider a bell a useless dead weight on a 

 ferret, and the cord that goes round its neck 

 to fasten it is apt to get hitched on to a root 

 and hold the ferret a prisoner. A bell is 

 only good for a sharp shopman to sell to a 

 flat. 



I need hardly say, never muzzle a ferret 

 when rat- catching. It would be brutal not 

 to let the ferret have the use of its teeth to 

 protect itself with. Muzzling ferrets apper- 

 tains solely to rabbiting, but it is useful to 

 know how to do it. Take a piece of twine 

 a foot long, double it, and tie a loop at the 

 double. Tie the string round the ferret's 

 neck, with the loop on the top ; bring the 

 two ends down under the chin and tie them 

 together there ; pass them over the nose and 

 tie them there, shutting the mouth tight; 

 pass one string along the nose, between the 



