396 AN ENGLISH GAMEKEEPER. 



ratting ferret. A rabbit ferret that has been 

 set ratting is almost sure to be badly bitten 

 by the rats, and this makes him nervous, and 

 vicious, and dangerous to handle. The bite 

 of a ferret often turns into a nasty wound, 

 especially if the animal has been fed on 

 carrion food. 



It is a good plan to muzzle ferrets when 

 you use them in large earths, where there is 

 very little chance of digging them out when 

 they lay up, it also keeps the ferrets from 

 killing the rabbits in the earth. Dead rabbits 

 lying in a large earth do a great deal of harm, 

 you cannot get at them without digging the 

 earth all to pieces, and even then it would 

 be a matter of some hours, if not days. The 

 earth would be spoilt by over digging, and the 

 dead rabbits, if left there, become carrion, so 

 that the next time you run your ferrets 

 through, they lie up alongside the dead 

 animal, and get themselves in a filthy mess, 

 instead of hunting the earths, thus detaining 

 you for an hoar or two, and perhaps making 

 you waste the best part of the day. 



