362 Practical Game Preserving. 



The chains themselves should be strong and thick, of 

 not too great a length, while the ring at the end must be 

 of really good strong iron necessarily so, as will presently 

 be obvious. Too much examination cannot be given, and 

 each and every link must be carefully gone over in search 

 of cracks, &c. The swivel, generally the really weak 

 place in the chain, must be also examined. More especially 

 will weakness be found in the shaft of it, and the turn 

 which joins it to the adjacent link. What is called the S 

 hook, forming the connection with the frame of the gin, 

 is generally very soft, and in some cases as pliable as 

 wire. Its strength should be, therefore, thoroughly ascer- 

 tained, and if found faulty it should be replaced by one 

 more trustworthy. 



Lane, of Wednesfield, makes a gin, which he terms his 

 " Improved Trap" (vide Fig. 13, page 273), and the altera- 

 tion he has introduced is certainly in the right direction ; 

 for, besides constructing the chains in a workmanlike 

 manner, he has substituted for the S hook a link which 

 goes round the bow of the spring itself, this being riveted 

 under, instead of on, the top of the back piece, thus making 

 the trap more easy to cover, and replacing an insecure 

 arrangement by one both safe and much handier. 



The next portion of the trap requiring attention is the 

 stake, and although this is a . particular to which often 

 little or no importance is attached, it is, however, so highly 

 essential, that a due amount of care and trouble is 

 requisite to produce one of sufficient reliability. Referring 

 back to our former remarks with regard to the stakes 

 suitable for vermin gins, those necessary for traps for foxes 



