Sketches from Nature. 295 



poachers invariably use white ferrets. Game- 

 keepers who know their business prefer ferrets 

 taken from poachers to any other. The poacher 

 carefully selects his ferrets, and from the nature 

 of his trade he cannot afford to work bad ones. 

 Some ferrets cause rabbits to bolt rapidly, while 

 others are slow. Sometimes a ferret will drive a 

 rabbit to the end of a blind burrow, and after 

 killing it will not return until it has gorged itself 

 with blood ; and more trouble is added if the 

 ferret curls itself up for an after-dinner sleep. 

 Then of course it has either to be left or dug 

 out ; if the former, it is well to bar every exit 

 and to return with a dead rabbit when hunger 

 has succeeded the gorged sleep. Ferreting is 

 mostly practised in winter; and it is to guard 

 against such occasions as these that working 

 ferrets are generally muzzled. A cruel practice 

 used to obtain of stitching together -the lips of 

 ferrets to prevent their worrying rabbits and 

 then "laying up." But the most humane 

 method of muzzling is with soft string ; a muzzle 

 constructed of which may be quite effective and 

 at the same time not uncomfortable to wear. 

 Care must be taken not to hurt the ferret, as if 

 the string annoys him he will do nothing but 

 endeavour to get it off. Occasionally ferrets are 

 worked with a line attached ; but this is an 

 objectionable practice. There may be a root or 

 stick in which the line may get entangled, when 



