120 THE GAMEKEEPER AT HOME. 



gregarious creatures of this kind. Rooks intermarry 

 generation after generation ; and if a black lover brings 

 home a foreign bride they are forced to build in a tree at 

 some distance. Near large rookeries several such outlying 

 colonies may be seen. 



The rabbit, failing to find a cover, hides in the grass 

 and dry rushes ; but across the meadow, stealing along the 

 furrow, comes the weasel ; and, shift his place how he may, 

 in the end, worn out and weary, bunny succumbs, and the 

 sharp teeth meet in the neck behind the ear, severing the 

 vein. Often in the end the rabbit runs to earth in a hole 

 which is a cul-de-sac, with his back towards the pursuer. 

 The weasel, unable to get at the poll, which is his desire, 

 will mangle the hinder parts in a terrible manner as will 

 the civilised ferret under similar conditions. Now and then 

 the rabbit, scratching and struggling, fills the hole in the 

 rear with earth, and so at the last moment chokes off his 

 assailant and finds safety almost in the death-agony. In 

 the woods, once the rabbit is away from the ' buries,' the 

 chase really does resemble a hunt ; from furze-bush to 

 bracken, from fern to rough grass, round and round, back- 

 wards, doubling, to and fro, and all in vain. 



At such times, eager for blood, the weasel will run 

 right across your path, almost close enough to be kicked. 

 Pursue him in turn, and if there be no hedge or hole near, 

 if you have him in the open, he will dart hither and thither 

 right between your legs, uttering a sharp short note of 



