THE RABBIT. 235 



steals into the wood, selecting as the position for 

 the nets a gap in the wall or an open gate which 

 the rabbits are known to use on returning from 

 their nightly wanderings. Silently then the nets 

 are fixed out in the open opposite the gap, two 

 of them being used, placed vertically, running 

 parallel about eight inches apart. The net which 

 the rabbits will first encounter is of fine mesh too 

 fine for a rabbit to escape through ; but the other, 

 erected behind it, is of very large mesh so large 

 that if used singly the rabbits could run straight 

 through it almost unhindered. The idea is that 

 the rabbits bolt into the first net, and, such is 

 the force of their rush, they pass through the 

 meshes of the second net also, carrying with them 

 the portion of the first net in which they are 

 enveloped. They thus become drawn up in a bag, 

 as it were, and are quite unable to escape, even 

 though left for some minutes. If a single net is 

 used, many of the rabbits, encountering it, at once 

 turn back and probably escape ; so that the man 

 in charge of the net must catch each rabbit as it 

 comes. In so doing he turns more than half 

 the rabbits aside, and thus spoils his chances of 

 a good catch. Hence the advantage of the double 

 net. 



As soon as the nets are fixed, the men working 

 them hide behind the wall in readiness ; they 

 then give the word to the dog, who has been 

 waiting in shivering excitement for this part of 

 the performance. The dog, knowing his work 

 well, quietly circles round to the far side of the 

 rabbits, where he begins to show himself, slowly 

 quartering the ground towards the net. 



The men crouching behind the wall hear the 

 ' thump-thump-thump ! ' of an approaching outpost 



