250 WILD LIFE IN A SOUTHERN COUNTY. 



and out a labyrinth of holes, the earth about some of 

 them perceptibly yielding to your weight. There 

 must be wagon-loads of the sand that has been thrown 

 out. Beyond this central populous quarter suburbs 

 of burrows extend in several directions, and there are 

 detached settlements fifty and a hundred yards away. 

 In ferreting this place the greatest care has to be taken 

 that the ferret is lined with a long string, or so fed 

 that he will not lie in ; otherwise, if he is not picked 

 up the moment he appears at the mouth of the hole, 

 he will become so excited at the number of rabbits, and 

 so thirsty for blood, that he will refuse to come forth. 



To dig for him is hopeless in that catacomb of 

 tunnels ; there is nothing for it but to send a man 

 day after day to watch, and, if possible, to seize him 

 while passing along the upper ground from one bury 

 to another. In time thirst will drive him to wander ; 

 there is no water near this dry, sandy, and rather 

 elevated spot, and blood causes great thirst. Then 

 he will roam across the open, and by-and-by reach 

 the hedges, where in the ditch some water is sure to 

 be found in winter, when ferreting is carried on. So 

 that, if a ferret has been lost some time, it is better 

 to look for him round the adjacent hedges than in 

 the warren. 



Long after leaving the bury it is as well to look to 

 your footsteps, because of solitary rabbit -holes hidden 

 by the grass growing up round and even over them. 

 If the foot sinks unexpectedly into one of these, a 

 sprained ankle or even a broken bone may result. 



