114 ENGLISH ESTATE FORESTRY 



into the ground they burrow underneath, and if not wide 

 or high enough they jump over. It is much better economy, 

 therefore, to do this work thoroughly at the outset, than 

 to run the risk of loss and disappointment afterwards. 



In the first place, netting of more than 1J in. mesh 

 should never be used. Most people imagine that 1|- in. 

 is quite small enough for anything ; but young rabbits easily 

 get through it, and the result is that, in about two years 

 after planting, the ground is fairly well stocked with 

 rabbits which have entered when small, and grown too 

 large to get out again. The netting should be fixed into 

 the ground by taking out a trench from 6 in. to 9 in. 

 deep, at the bottom of which the lower edge of the netting 

 should be placed and the soil or turf returned. In very 

 light or sandy ground it is advisable to bend the netting 

 down in the bottom of the trench, so that when rabbits 

 burrow down they come upon and are stopped by the 

 horizontal portion. The width of the netting should not 

 be less than 48 in., or from 39 in. to 42 in. above 

 ground. The upper edge should be tied to a No. 6 or 

 barbed wire, supported by stakes from 9 to 1 2 feet apart ; 

 and we have found it a good plan to drive these stakes 

 in about 6 in. from the netting at the surface of the 

 ground, so that it projects outwards and leans away from 

 the plantation at the top, as, when so fixed, rabbits are 

 less likely to climb over. 



The cost of erecting the netting in the above manner 

 amounts to about 8d. per yard, including material. With 

 an excessive number of rabbits, however, more expensive 

 netting may have to be used, which chiefly differs from the 

 above in its size of mesh and width. 



DRAINING. 



The question as to what extent ground to be planted 

 should be drained is one which is rarely considered so 

 carefully as it should be. Whenever a patch of swampy 

 ground is noticed, the forester invariably considers it his 

 duty to cut drains through it until all superfluous moisture 



