GROUND GAME SHOOTING (PART /) 379 



he, at the same time, takes precious good care he 

 has plenty in his fences to catch, and sell in the 

 market. 



If an owner of land desires to have rabbits 

 sufficient for sporting purposes without the least 

 chance of unpleasantness with his tenants or neigh- 

 bours, the only way he can do so is by keeping 

 the animals exclusively on land that is in his own 

 hands, as, for instance, in a park, warren, or heath, 

 or perhaps in a wood that is surrounded by wire 

 netting. 



The first and indispensable requisite for the 

 existence of rabbits in any number, and for the sport 

 of rabbit shooting, is a sufficient acreage of light dry 

 soil the more sandy the better. 



The second requisite is plenty of cover for the 

 rabbits to shelter in when driven from their burrows, 

 as, however numerous they may be, good sport with- 

 out such shelter is out of the question. 



The third requisite is a supply of food, in the form 

 of grass, for the rabbits to feed on, without straying 

 to places where they might cause damage to crops. 



The fourth requisite is banks or slopes, facing 

 south or south-west, for the rabbits to breed in and to 

 dry themselves on after wet weather. 



On a clay soil, particularly if the ground is flat, or 

 insufficiently drained, rabbits will never thrive, for 



