SHOOTING IN NEW FOREST 273 



But earlier in my New Forest times, I had 

 far better days than these. They came just at 

 the time that I realised that if rabbits were to 

 be kept down I must see to it myself, or else 

 run the risk of seeing them allowed to multiply 

 so that the keepers should make a profit out 

 of their excessive numbers. But at that date 

 some of the young plantations were still of the 

 height and growth to hold woodcocks. 



Sloden, above referred to, was one; King's 

 Garn was another not so much that it harboured 

 rabbits of itself, as that our good neighbour Sir 

 Henry Paulet, across a narrow strip of open 

 forest, chose to maintain a considerable head of 

 rabbits in his excellent coverts of Canterton 

 Manor. I found I had to take this in hand, 

 and in 1887 had the rabbits well ferreted and 

 attacked them in force. The keeper had told me 

 beforehand that a great number of woodcocks 

 were using the covert, but I did not think they 

 were in anything like the numbers that really 

 were there. As soon as I realised what was actu- 

 ally the state of affairs, I was rather in a dilemma. 

 Here was a great number of woodcocks, and a 

 chance of a record day. On the other hand, the 

 rabbits had all been got ready for the day, and 

 we were there to kill them down. So I stuck 



to business, and we killed 126 rabbits all we 



s 



