458 Practical Game Preserving. 



large portion of their scrutiny, and if our advice as to tilling 

 a trap or two be followed, a fair portion of their presence 

 too. The most favourable situation in which to set the 

 gin is a tuft of long grass, such as is very often found 

 growing in plantations, and termed, for the most part, couch 

 or sedge grass. If a good-sized clump of this can be 

 secured as site in a suitable spot, it should be parted up 

 forwards, leaving a space in the form of an angle in which 

 to till the trap, which must be placed crossways to and 

 have the jaws covering the space made the flap of the 

 gin, if possible, on the inner side. The setting, of course, 

 is as usual. It is, however, preferable to use some of the 

 couch cut fine to effect the hiding of the plate and jaws, 

 both for making it look less conspicuous, and because it 

 keeps green far longer than would either common herbage 

 or a small square of turf. The bait a rabbit or something 

 similar should be placed a few inches past the trap, which 

 brings it probably to the extremity of the opening made. 

 Along any watercourses through plantations many first- 

 rate places may be found and duly taken advantage of, 

 while any opportunities which may occur of partly eaten 

 rabbits, &c., evidencing a crow as the mischief-maker, should 

 be equally useful in aiding the capture of the marauder, as 

 very often the carrion corbie returns subsequently to the 

 repast temporarily adjourned. When crows attack young 

 poultry it is a very difficult matter to put traps in positions 

 likely to effect the capture of the vermin which, at the 

 same time will not catch, and so consequently injure, the 

 ducklings or chickens themselves ; hence, it is better to 

 depend, for the most part, on one's gun to put a check 



