SQ UIRRELS AND RATS AS EGG EATERS. 147 



ing in it. The crops were off the ground, and 

 what few beans had been left in the fields had 

 no doubt been devoured by the partridges, 

 but they had been immensely assisted by the 

 rats. 



I have often seen scores in these fields. 

 Want of food, and the cold, however, drove 

 them into the hedges and ditches near the 

 house, and they were not long finding out the 

 pig-sty and the barley meal. I was asked by 

 the man who fed the porker to come and look 

 at the rats of an evening, and I went. I am 

 not exaggerating when I say that two minutes 

 after the pig was fed there were more than a 

 hundred running over the animal's back, squeal- 

 ing and fighting in the most determined manner. 

 One would hardly credit the lot of meal these 

 animals devoured, and the pig had not nearly 

 enough. A rat hunt was the consequence. A 

 quantity of fagots had been placed at the 

 back of the sty, which afforded them excellent 

 cover. 



We put in five good ferrets, which were bitten 

 about in a terrible manner. However, we killed 

 eighty-six, and took six or seven nests with 



102 



