GROUND VERMIN 311 



the spot whence the stoat vanished from sight. In a 

 second or two, as likely as not, if not overmuch scared, 

 the white waistcoat of Mr. Stoat comes into view again, 

 but if this does not occur he may generally be induced 

 to take another peep, provided the intruder upon his 

 happy hunting-ground will imitate the squealing of a 

 rabbit, a noise quite easy to make with the lips, and 

 which is commonly used as a call when enticing a 

 sluggish ferret to leave a rabbit's burrow. Then on 

 reappearing the stoat has not time to see and retrieve 

 his mistake before a charge of shot stretches him out. 

 In this way I have killed many stoats ; but it is essential 

 that the gun should be at the shoulder, for the act of 

 raising and aiming it would fully alarm the stoat, and 

 in all probability give him time to slip out of harm's 

 way. 



THE WEASEL, Mustela vulgaris, is too well known 

 to need much description. These active pests of the 

 partridge-manor and the pheasant-covert the stoat 

 more particularly than the weasel require to be kept 

 down to the smallest possible limits by every means at 

 the keeper's disposal. To accomplish this all known 

 forms of trapping must be employed. The deadfall trap 

 with figure of 4 trigger, the box-trap, as also the spring 

 steel-trap, may in these cases be used with satisfactory 

 results. 



