90 SHOOTING THE HARE 



is concerned, and in the period we speak of hares 

 swarmed all over the county, and heavy bags were 

 made on most of the great manors. At Gunton, on 

 December 3, 1875, 614 were killed by eight guns; and 

 in former years hares were very abundant on this 

 manor, where game-preserving has always been most 

 admirably understood and carried to great perfection. 

 It used to be the practice here to kill down the super- 

 abundant jack hares rigidly, and a shilling per head 

 was given to the keepers for all that they could 

 bring in during the months of February and March. 

 In some years as many as four hundred have been 

 thus accounted for, which will give some idea 

 of the abundance that was to be found on this 

 manor. A notable day's shooting took place on 

 November 17, 1881, wlien in Antingham Wood, a 

 spinney of thirteen acres, the following bag was killed 

 by seven guns, viz. : 



Mares ....... 257 



Rabbits .124 



Pheasants . . . • jij 



Partridges ...... 39 



111 

 Very rarely has such a bag been realised in so 

 small an acreage of covert ; and as regards the hares 

 killed, the numbers will perhaps never be obtained in 

 this country again on a similar extent of land. 



