82 The Confessions of a 'Poacher. 



which it allows. Here it is : A number of 

 dried peas are taken and steeped in boiling 

 water ; a hole is then made through the centre, 

 and through this again a stiff bristle is threaded. 

 The ends are then cut off short, leaving only 

 about a quarter of an inch of bristle projecting 

 on each side. With these the birds are fed, 

 and they are greedily eaten. In passing down 

 the gullet, however, a violent irritation is 

 set up, and the pheasant is finally choked. 

 In a dying condition the birds are picked up 

 beneath the hedges, to the shelter of which 

 they almost always run. The way is a quiet 

 one ; it may be adopted in roads and lanes 

 where the birds dust themselves, and does 

 not require trespass. 



In this connection I may say that I only 

 used a gun when every other method 

 failed. Game-keepers sometimes try to outwit 

 poachers by a device which is now of old 

 standing. Usually knowing from what quarter 

 the latter will enter the covert, wooden 

 blocks representing roosting birds are nailed 

 to the branches of the open beeches. I was 



