PRESERVATION 105 



a dinner of two courses, and the keeper is 

 hoist with his own petard. A further 

 refinement is to lay a trail of the par- 

 ticular * stink' used along the fence, 

 passing wide of the nest by describing a 

 semicircle round it; the fox may then 

 follow the trail and miss the nest. 



Wire of a mesh large enough to allow 

 free passage to the bird but none to the 

 fox is sometimes put up a yard or so from 

 the nest on either side of the fence, and 

 well fastened down into the hedge bottom. 

 This may at times effect its immediate 

 purpose, but is very liable to disturb the 

 sitting bird, and further advertises the 

 exact position of the nest to all and 

 sundry, which is obviously undesirable. 



Mr. Allington quotes 1 a keeper who 

 improved on this device by placing a 

 white flag on each side of the fence 

 opposite to and about a yard from the 

 nest, or farther off at first if the sitting 

 bird showed any signs of uneasiness, and 

 gradually brought nearer as she got used 



1 In Partridge Driving, edition of 1910. 



