Trapping, &c\, in a Hunting Country. 89 



away. Snares are always made of brass or copper 

 wire, because these materials are ductile, and both 

 have bad effect on the flesh, causing a gangrenous 

 sore which either kills Reynard or renders him too 

 lame for hunting purposes. Snares used in the 

 game-preserve should not be made too strong, 

 and, while weak enough to give at once to the pull 

 of so large an animal as a fox, they w^ould still be 

 able to detain either hare or rabbit. A fox would 

 then break away before the wire became deeply 

 embedded in his flesh. A fox does not get rabbit- 

 snares round his neck, but his legs become 

 entangled as he moves about where they are set. 

 If every person using snares in a hunting country 

 could be persuaded to tie a knot in each about 

 four or five inches from the eye, that snare would 

 still run up sufficiently to hold a rabbit, but 

 Reynard might withdraw his leg. The eye could 

 not pass over the knot, and in this way the snare 

 would never tighten on a fox's leg. 



A fox and hare have been seen caught in one 

 snare, and it must have been made unnecessarily 

 strong. In this instance, while endeavouring to 

 escape the fox, the hare had run in a circle at 

 the extreme length of its tether, firmly twisted 

 the wire round the hind-leg of the fox, and there 

 both were found by the keeper. 



