46 AN ENGLISH GAMEKEEPER. 



peaking, had been shooting with my father, so 

 his hands were more or less scented with gun- 

 powder and blood ; therefore he took up a 

 handfull of mould from the ground, and well 

 rubbed his hands with it, to take away the 

 scent, and this he called "washing hands" 

 before handling the snares. He then took the 

 wash-leather, and pulled the wires into their 

 proper shape, after having set the snare, 

 without having actually touched the wire at 

 all. My father had his own ideas about this 

 leather, and clung to them with all an old 

 man's tenacity; but he was wrong, for I could 

 not use it either to draw or entice rabbits into 

 my snares, but by not using it I could prevent, 

 to a great extent, the rabbits coming near. 



In setting snares, first wash your hands with 

 soap and water, and then with some earth 

 taken from the place where you wish to set the 

 snares. This not only takes off the scent, but 

 prevents your hands from getting clammy. 

 Again, you should never set snares in the 

 latter part of the day. Snares set in the 

 morning catch twice as many rabbits as those 



