LIFE OF THE KAT-CATCHEE. 51 



The trade is not what it was some years ago 

 when Eat-pits were allowed. I think it was 

 one of the worst things they ever did for this 

 country when the authorities stopped the Eat 

 pits, for when Eat killing was allowed in pits, 

 it was a common thing for a Eat-catcher to 

 recieve an order for 100 Eats, all to be killed at 

 one time ; then the Eat-catcher would get the 

 Eats and wherever he got them from he was 

 ridding that district of a nuisance. But when 

 the authorities stopped Eat-pits and Eat- 

 coursing, the consequence was that the Eat- 

 catcher left the Eats to breed in thousands. 

 Eats being vermin, I don't see why they should 

 not be killed 50 or 100 at a time in the pit, 

 but the Humane Society maintain 'that it is 

 cruelty to dogs to put them in a pit with a lot 

 of Eats. I don't see where the cruelty comes 

 in, but from what I have seen of Eat-pits 

 during my time I approve of them, and I think 

 if they were in existence again there would be 

 a clearing of many thousands of Eats. Some 

 15 or 20 years since, I supplied 400 Eats in 

 one week, all to be killed in Eat-pits. 



Many of my readers may not understand 

 what a Eat-pit is, and so I will just give an 

 outline as well as I can. 



The Eat-pit is of circular construction, say 

 ten feet diameter, and about four feet six 



