The Confessions of a Poacher. 127 



become entangled ; and this allows one to 

 ferret long and silently. Rabbits bolt best on 

 a windy day and before noon ; after that they 

 are sluggish and often refuse to come out at all. 

 This is day ferreting, but of course mine was 

 done mainly at night. In this case the dogs 

 always ranged the land, and drove everything off 

 it before we commenced operations. On good 

 ground a mound or brae sometimes seemed to 

 explode with rabbits, so wildly did they fly 

 before their deadly foe. I have seen a score 

 driven from one set of holes, while five 

 or six couples is not at all uncommon. When 

 ferrets are running the burrows, stoats and 

 weasels are occasionally driven out ; and among 

 other strange things unearthed I remember a 

 brown owl, a stock-dove, and a shell-drake 

 each of which happened to be breeding in the 

 mounds. 



The confines of a large estate constitute a 

 poacher's paradise, for although partridge and 

 grouse require land suited to their taste, rabbits 

 and pheasants are common to all preserved 

 ground. And then the former may be taken 



