124 The Confessions of a 'Poacher. 



known as the polecat-ferret ; the other, the 

 common white variety. The first is the hardier, 

 and it is to secure this quality that poachers 

 cross their ferrets with the wild polecat. Unlike 

 lurchers, ferrets require but little training, and 

 seem to work instinctively. There are various 

 reasons why poachers prefer white ferrets 

 to the polecat variety. At night a brown 

 ferret is apt to be nipped up in mistake for a 

 rabbit ; while a white one is always apparent, 

 even when moving among the densest herbage. 

 Hence mouchers invariably use white ones. 

 Gamekeepers who know their business prefer 

 ferrets taken from poachers to any other. I 

 was always particularly careful in selecting 

 my stock, as from the nature of my trade I 

 could ill aiford to use bad ones. Certain 

 strains of ferrets cause rabbits to bolt rapidly, 

 while others are slow and sluggish. It need 

 hardly be said that I always used the former. 

 Even the best, however, will sometimes drive 

 a rabbit to the end of a " blind" burrow ; an 

 after killing it will not return until it ha 

 gorged itself with blood. And more troub 



