.\xiv. GROUND GAME SHOOTING (PART /) 393 



By surrounding any large burrows, whether 

 in covert or in the open, as here described, every 

 rabbit will corne outside the wire that surrounds 

 them in the course of three days in order to visit the 

 spots they frequent for food, and thus avoid starva- 

 tion. 



Sprinkle a little dry soil or sand at the top of the 

 turfed ladders in the evenings, and you will soon see 

 if the rabbits are coming out at night as they should, by 

 noticing in the mornings if they have disturbed the 

 sand with their feet in jumping off the ladders. 



In the case of burrows that can be treated in this 

 fashion, it is an infallible method of supplying sport 

 for the gun. 



It is always better if you have some convenient 

 cover for the rabbits to hide in when they are outside 

 the wire, or they may wander a long distance in search 

 of it when they find they cannot possibly return home. 

 A^ain, if there is no cover to protect the rabbits, and 

 cold and wet occur, they may die of exposure in the 

 open ; do not risk this, but remove or lift the wire as 

 soon as you can, and thus allow them to reoccupy 

 their burrows. On the other hand, if the weather 

 is line and dry and the rabbits are in a park or 

 other inclosure, from which they cannot stray, a 

 want of shelter will not spoil your sport, for the 

 animals will then sit about on land as bare as a 



