124 THE GAMEKEEPER AT HOME. 



he lies apparently dead, but lift him up, and instantly his 

 teeth are in your hand, and it is said such wounds some- 

 times fester for months. Stoats are tough as leather : 

 though severely nipped by the iron fangs of the gin, struck 

 on the head with the butt of the gun, and seemingly quite 

 lifeless, yet, if thrown on the grass and left, you will often 

 find on returning to the place in a few hours' time that the 

 animal is gone. Warned by experiences of this kind, the 

 keeper never picks up a stoat till ' settled ' with a stick or 

 shot, and never leaves him till he is nailed to the shed. 

 Stoats sometimes emit a disgusting odour when caught in 

 a trap. The keeper has no mercy for such vermin, though 

 he thinks some of his feathered enemies are even more 

 destructive. 



Twice a year the hawks and other birds of prey find a 

 great feast spread before them ; first, in the spring and 

 early summer, when the hedges and fields are full of young 

 creatures scarcely able to use their wings, and again in the 

 severe weather of winter when cold and hunger have en- 

 feebled them. 



It is difficult to understand upon what principle the 

 hawk selects his prey. He will pass by with apparent dis- 

 dain birds that are within easy reach. Sometimes a whole 

 cloud of birds will surround and chase him out of a field ; 

 and he pursues the even tenour of his way unmoved, 

 though sparrow and finch almost brush against his talons. 

 Perhaps he has the palate of an epicure, and likes to vary 



