2l8 AN ENGLISH GAMEKEEPER. 



slightest hint of danger. He does not, as a 

 rule, sit out on arable or ploughed land ; take 

 a strip of wood, with grass land on one side 

 and ploughed or newly-sown wheat land on 

 the other, and you will find ten rabbits put up 

 on the grass land to one on the ploughed or 

 wheat land. 



You will seldom find small woods surrounded 

 by arable land full of rabbits. Why is this so? 

 for, if young rabbits really spoil the wheat, 

 that would seem to be the most likely place 

 for them to settle. On the other hand, take 

 any wood partially surrounded by pasture land, 

 and you will find any quantity of rabbits there. 

 In beating large woods you will invariably see 

 that the rabbits congregate in the beats nearest 

 the meadow lands, rather than in any other 

 part of the wood. 



The rabbit is certainly destructive to young 

 trees, more especially larch trees, but nine- 

 tenths of the rabbits that are put upon the 

 table for eating are grass-feeders pure and 

 simple. As there are many different specimens 

 of grasses, he is probably an epicure, but, in a 



