130 BABBIT SHOOTING. 



the hills, rabbits may be approached. In this case 

 lie down, and make a rest for your gun. Then push it 

 gently forward, close to the ground, without exposing 

 yourself, until you feel that it is sufficiently far 

 advanced for the stock to fit your shoulder. Then 

 raising your head, without your hat, endeavour to 

 pick out a double shot, if possible. If the ground be 

 a level, without ambush of any kind, you may make 

 one with hurdles twined with furze bushes, or other 

 bushes, with which the rabbits are familiar. The 

 subjoined rules for this sport are abbreviated from 

 an authority already quoted : 



Avoid walking over the burrows, when you can 

 do so : being connected with each other, not only is 

 the ground thereby shaken, but the sound is conveyed 

 to a greater distance than would be easily credited. 

 Being quick of hearing, rabbits will not stir if they 

 suspect an enemy is nigh. 



As their sense of smelling is even more acute 

 than that of hearing, never attempt to approach them 

 with your back to the wind. 



The moment you have fired at a rabbit with a 

 single gun, if he be not quite dead, run up to him ; 

 for rabbits are exceedingly tenacious of life, and how- 

 ever severely wounded, will instinctively scramble 

 into a burrow, if possible. But as it will often 

 happen that a long arm and a screw-ramrod will 

 recover them, whenever rabbits are supposed to be 

 hit, the burrow they take should be always examined 

 at the least, if not probed in this way. 



