122 The Gamekeeper at Home. 



instantly his teeth are in your hand, and it is said 

 such wounds sometimes fester for months. Stoats are 

 tough as leather : though severely nipped by the iron 

 fangs of the gin, struck on the head with the butt of 

 the gun, and seemingly quite lifeless, yet, if thrown on 

 the grass and left, you will often find on returning to 

 the place in a few hours' time that the animal is gone. 

 Warned by experiences of this kind, the keeper never 

 picks up a stoat till ' settled ' with a stick or shot, and 

 never leaves him till he is nailed to the shed. Stoats 

 sometimes emit a disgusting odour when caught in a 

 trap. The keeper has no mercy for such vermin, 

 though he thinks some of his feathered enemies are 

 even more destructive. 



Tvvice a year the hawks and other birds of prey 

 find a great feast spread before them ; first, in the 

 spring and early summer, when the hedges and fields 

 are full of young creatures scarcely able to use their 

 wings, and again in the severe weather of winter when 

 cold and hunger have enfeebled them. 



It is difficult to understand upon what principle 

 the hawk selects his prey. He will pass by with 

 apparent disdain birds that are within easy reach. 

 Sometimes a whole cloud of birds will surround and 

 chase him out of a field ; and he pursues the even 

 tenour of his way unmoved, though sparrow and finch 



