146 MANAGEMENT OF HOUNDS. 



good, holes were made at certain distances in the bank, 

 in which these boxes were placed ; and, by allowing the 

 rabbits to pass through them for a few days, until accus- 

 tomed to the run, they were, when set, a sure and safe 

 trap. By visiting them several times in the evening, 

 many rabbits were caught, and the traps were then 

 thrown open for the rest of the night. When these 

 wooden traps are set in the runs of weasels or stoats, a 

 bait is seldom necessary, as these vermin are naturally 

 very inquisitive, and pry into every hole they find open. 

 With the figure of 4 trap a bird recently killed is the 

 best bait, placed on the horizontal stick which combines 

 the trap ; the falling stone or tile may be sufiiciently 

 heavy to kill instantly any of these smaller variety of 

 vermin, or even a cat. The common house cat, when 

 once accustomed to the woods, is never afterwards of 

 any service as a mouser, and makes great havoc amongst 

 all kinds of game ; the sooner she is disposed of then the 

 better. Crows and magpies may be easily caught, by 

 placing a piece of carrion — part of a dead sheep or 

 rabbit — in a pollard tree or on the ground, with strong 

 horsehair nooses upon and around the bait, secured by a 

 strong piece of twine, either tied to the limbs of the tree 

 or pegged down to the ground. In the breeding season, 

 also, their nests are easily found, and the old birds may 

 be shot, by waiting their return to them in the^evening. 

 Kites and hawks may be destroyed in the same manner, 

 without torturing them in steel traps, or destroying them 

 by poison, for which there is no excuse. 



Although entertaining a strong prejudice, in which I 

 am not singular, against the battue system, yet I am 

 by no means an enemy to the moderate preservation of 



