Poachers and Poaching. 



as needles, and the bird is trained how to use 

 them. Upon the latter's crowing one or more 

 cock pheasants immediately respond and advance 

 to meet the adversary. A single blow usually 

 suffices to lay low the pride of the pheasant, and 

 in this way half a-dozen birds may often be taken 

 whilst the poacher's representative remains un- 

 hurt. 



The most cruelly ingenious plan adopted by 

 poachers, however, is also one of the most success- 

 ful. If time and opportunity offer, there is scarcely 

 any limit to the depredations which it allows. 

 A number of dried peas are taken and steeped in 

 boiling water ; a hole is then made through the 

 centre with a needle or some sharp instrument, 

 and through this a stiff bristle is threaded. The 

 ends are cut off short, leaving only about a 

 quarter of an inch of bristle projecting at each 

 end. With these the birds are fed, and are 

 greedily eaten. In passing down the gullet, 

 however, a violent irritation is set up, and the 

 pheasant is finally choked. 



The birds are picked up in a dying condition 

 from beneath the hedges, to which shelter they 

 almost always run. The plan is a quiet one ; 

 may be adopted in roads and lanes where the 

 birds dust themselves, and does not require 

 trespass. 



The methods here set forth both with regard 

 to pheasants and rabbits are those ordinarily in 



