104 THE KEEPERS BOOK 



the hares vanished at an alarming rate. It must there- 

 fore be manifest that a fundamental principle in game- 

 preserving is, that a sharp eye be kept on the destruction 

 of vermin. 



There are few things more interesting than the trap- 

 ping of vermin, and no keeper will prove very success- 

 ful in this task unless he makes a careful study of the 

 object of his pursuit. By keeping a diary in which to 

 note carefully the kinds of vermin got, and by duly 

 recording the contents of their stomach, or crop and 

 gizzard, the young keeper will, with a few years' ex- 

 perience, possess an amount of knowledge which will 

 give him power among his fellows. So much nonsense 

 is written on this subject, that, without practical ac- 

 quaintance with thehabits of the various kindsof vermin, 

 he may be very easily led astray by non-practical writers 

 promulgating their fanciful theories. When man first 

 appeared on the scene there, was, presumably, what some 

 are pleased to call the " balance of nature. " Man, how- 

 ever, was given dominion over the beasts of the field 

 and over the fowls of the air ; and by gradually de- 

 stroying those which were useless and those which 

 preyed on others which were useful to him, a somewhat 

 different state of things was by-and-by arrived at. A 

 few hundred years ago, wolves, foxes, and other vermin 

 were so plentiful in this country that sheep-farming 

 was out of the question. By killing down the wolves 

 and other large beasts of prey, sheep-farming became 

 so far a success. It was found, however, that a similar 



