Trapping, &c., in a Hunting Country. 91 



being between it and a fox seeking a supper, 

 Reynard is beaten. If he can seize the rabbit 

 without the necessity of touching the trap, which 

 he will be able to do if it is set at the entrance, 

 he has no compunction whatever in stealing that 

 rabbit ; this is why so many are lost, and the fox 

 instead of the trapper condemned. 



It has been the writer's endeavour to give the 

 fox his due throughout, so it is only fair to state 

 that he performs some good work as regards 

 vermin, for a game-preserve in a hunting district 

 where foxes abound is seldom infested with rats 

 as estates are where not a fox exists. Rats are 

 the most harmful of all vermin to winged game, \ 

 and the most difficult to get rid of, so the fox is to 

 be commended for killing them. Many stoats and 

 weasels are also destroyed by foxes. 1 



