154 THE GAMEKEEPER AT HOME. 



clenched fist on the earth, and then putting the extended 

 thumb of the other open hand upon it, stretching it out as 

 in the action of spanning, when the tip of the little finger 

 gives the right height for the lower bend of the loop 

 that is, as a rule ; but clever poachers vary it slightly to 

 suit the conformation of the ground. A hare carries his 

 head much higher than might be thought ; and he is very 

 strong, so that the plug which holds the wire must be 

 driven in firmly to withstand his first convulsive struggle. 

 The small upright stick whose cleft suspends the wire 

 across the ' run ' must not be put too near the hare's path, 

 or he will see it, and it must be tolerably stiff, or his head 

 will push the wire aside. Just behind a ' tussocky ' bunch 

 of grass is a favourite spot to set a noose ; the grass parti- 

 ally conceals it. 



The poacher revisits his snares very early in the 

 morning, and if he is judicious, invariably pulls them up, 

 whether successful or not, because they may be seen in 

 the day. Half the men who are fined by the magistrates 

 have been caught by keepers who, having observed wires, 

 let them remain, but keep a watch and take the offenders 

 red-handed. The professional poacher never leaves his 

 wires set up all day, unless a sudden change of weather 

 and the duck's frost previously mentioned prevent him 

 from approaching them, and then he abandons those 

 particular snares for ever. For this reason he does not 

 set up more than he can easily manage. If he gets three 



