VERMIN 193 



on the other side is considered it would 

 be almost impossible to convict the 

 individual offender, for he works under 

 cover of darkness, and only by the rarest 

 of chances can the hedgepig be caught 

 flagrante delict o. 



Had the lines quoted above been 

 applied to the kestrel or any of the owls, 

 they would have been very much to the 

 point, but written as they are about the 

 hedgehog, we cannot help feeling that 

 this conclusion is erroneous, and the 

 suggestion based on it impracticable. 

 Gamekeepers of any experience in the 

 matter always claim to recognize at a 

 glance the handiwork of a hedgehog in 

 a partridge's nest ; the traces are those of 

 a clumsier marauder than rat or stoat, 

 and the egg-shells are all bitten to pieces. 

 Traps then set by the damaged nest 

 constantly catch the supposed criminal, 

 especially if there are any eggs left in the 

 nest good enough evidence in itself for 

 a strong prima facie case against the 



accused. But more direct proof is avail- 

 is 



