VERMIN 187 



unpopular theory to advance, but it is 

 best to have justice all round, freely admit 

 our partial responsibility in this respect, 

 and impress on our keepers the absolute 

 necessity of placing the rat first on his 

 list of proscription. 1 There are too many 

 keepers who would regard the presence 

 of a hawk's nest on the most distant 

 corner of their ground as a serious re- 

 flection on their professional character, 

 at the same time regarding with com- 

 parative equanimity a hedgerow overrun 

 with rats at their very door. 



Yet rats are in reality the keeper's 

 worst enemies, confirmed and pertinacious 

 egg-stealers, deadly foes to all young game, 

 both winged and ground. Their destruc- 

 tive powers are almost incredible; Mr. 

 Nelson Zambra describes, in a recent 



1 Since these lines were written the Chambers of 

 Agriculture have, by request, presented to the Government 

 their views on the rat question, urging immediate legisla- 

 tion on the subject. Inter alia they recommend that 

 "complete protection should be afforded to all species 

 of owls, kestrels, hawks, and weasels the natural enemies 

 of the rat." Comment on the effect that such protection 

 would have on game preservation is needless. 



