288 Practical Game Preserving. 



breeze," the stoat, or whatever vermin it may be, would 

 endeavour to discover the source of the " aroma" with a 

 view of further and more satisfying acquaintance with 

 it, most likely getting caught in the steel trap placed there 

 for its immediate discomfiture. Further, it is advisable, 

 if convenient, to scent one's boots, and essence of musk 

 or oil of aniseed are equally efficacious for this purpose. 



When baits are used to lure the vermin into the trap, 

 the situations and surroundings need not be so minutely 

 considered as in other cases, and the distribution of the 

 gins may be more indiscriminate. The most suitable spots 

 are along hedges or banks near to or enclosing a wood, 

 plantation or copse, at the corners adjacent to gates and 

 gapways, about good sized heaps of large stones, and in 

 and about small pieces of low rough covert. Further, 

 all along low earth banks running right across some planta- 

 tion, and similar dry ditches to those already mentioned ; 

 about the edges of any small pits that may exist ; or, 

 if a rough road runs through the wood, along the sides 

 of this; besides any drives made for sporting purposes. 

 All these are eminently suited for the situation of a number 

 of vermin gins, and they have the further advantage of 

 being easily found, so that there is not much searching 

 about for traps. 



The bait that we should prefer to use at these spots 

 would be either a young and newly killed rabbit, or a bird 

 of some sort, say, for preference, half a woodpigeon, 

 a blackbird, or even a partridge, dead, of course. This 

 should be firmly pegged down to the ground in about the 

 position it would be when dead, and the trap set at its 



