146 The Gamekeeper at Home. 



with the ' oak's mysterious roar ' overhead, the snap- 

 ping of dead branches, and the moan of the gale as it 

 rushes through the hawthorn, it is difficult to distin- 

 guish the low, peculiar thumping sound of a rabbit 

 in his catacomb. The rabbit is not easily dislodged 

 in rain ; for this animal avoids getting wet as 

 much as possible : he i bolts ' best when it is dry and 

 still. 



A judicious man rarely uses a gun, for the reason 

 that noise is inconvenient, and a gun is an awkward 

 tool to carry concealed about the person even when 

 taken to pieces. There is a certain prejudice in rural 

 places against a labouring man possessing a gun ; it is 

 sure to draw suspicion upon him. A professional 

 poacher is pre-eminently a trapper, relying chiefly 

 upon the dexterous employment of the snare. If he 

 •does shoot, by preference he chooses a misty day, 

 knowing that the sound of the report travels scarcely 

 half the usual distance through fog ; and he beats the 

 meadows rather than the preserves, where the dis- 

 charge would instantly attract attention, while in the 

 meadows or ploughed fields it may pass unnoticed as 

 fired by a farmer with leave to kill rabbits. 



When the acorns are ripe and the pheasants 

 wander great distances from the plantations along the 

 hedgerows is his best time for shooting ; no keepers at 



