PROTECTION OF PROPERTY. 167 



here the bird-catcher plies his trade. It so happens that 

 these very waste places are often the most favourite resorts 

 of goldfinches, for instance, who are particularly fond of 

 thistledown, and thistles naturally chiefly flourish on 

 uncultivated land. These men and the general class of 

 loafers have a wholesome dread of gamekeepers, who 

 look on them with extreme suspicion. 



The farmers and rural community at large hardly 

 give the gamekeeper his due as a protection against 

 thieves and mischievous rascals. The knowledge that he 

 may at any time come round the corner, even in the 

 middle of the night, has a decidedly salutary effect upon 

 the minds of those who are prowling about. Intoxicated 

 louts think it fine fun to unhinge gates, and let cattle and 

 horses stray abroad, to tear down rails, and especially to 

 push the coping stones off the parapets of the bridges 

 which span small streams. They consider it clever to 

 heave these over with a splash into the water, or to 

 throw down half a dozen yards of ' dry wall.' In many 

 places fields are commonly enclosed by the roadside 

 with such walls, which are built of a flat stone dug just 

 beneath the surface, and used without mortar. There 

 are men who make a business of building these walls ; 

 it requires some skill and patience to select the stones 

 and fit them properly. They serve the purpose very well, 

 but the worst is that if once started the process of de- 

 struction is easy and quick. Much more serious offences 



