Ferrets Diseases. 203 



of the nitre to one of cayenne pepper, and make as strong 

 a solution of it as possible. Lay two strips on a board, 

 paint them well with the solution, fold the treated sides 

 together, and, having painted one side of another, repeat 

 the process until about six are all thoroughly saturated on 

 both sides, when the whole may be dried, rolled up, and 

 put away for use ; keep it in a tin box. To use, take one 

 slip, roll it up, and, having placed it well in on the wind- 

 ward side of the burrow where the ferret lies, set it alight, 

 close the mouth of the hole with a scad of turf, and wait the 

 result ; if the ferret is where the fumes can reach, it will 

 come out with singular promptitude. 



Another wrinkle is worthy of mention in connection with 

 ferrets lying up. When they get on to a rabbit in a burrow, 

 it is often necessary to dig them out, but this is not so 

 much the difficulty as to discover their exact whereabouts. 

 A great aid for this purpose is a well wrought iron rod 

 or steel, if it can be had about five feet or six feet long, 

 and pointed at one end. If this be struck sharply into the 

 ground and the ear placed close to the end, if it be at all 

 near the ferret and rabbit, it will distinctly convey the 

 sound of the former scratching and working. With a little 

 manoeuvring and experience in its use, one can hit the 

 whereabouts of the truant animals, and by merely digging 

 downwards both ferrets and rabbits are secured, all the 

 worry and labour of digging as the hole leads being done 

 away with. 



The diseases of ferrets are not numerous, but they are 

 severe and virulent. Moreover, they are very contagious, 

 and an outbreak invariably extends throughout the whole 



