ii 4 THE KEEPERS BOOK 



satisfy the cravings of hunger. Experience and observa- 

 tion, however, have taught me otherwise, as I have seen 

 both ground and winged vermin kill for seeming amuse- 

 ment, or perhaps from innate cruelty. Should a weasel 

 happen to come across a brood of young game before 

 they are able to fly, every chick is certain to be ruthlessly 

 destroyed. While experimenting with the weasels 

 referred to, I procured a small mesh net-wire cage, 

 6 ft. long, 2.J ft. broad, and 2^ ft. high. Into a corner 

 of this I introduced a box large enough to contain a 

 weasel, said box having a sliding door over a small 

 hole. A dozen sparrows were also introduced, and these 

 kept fluttering about the cage in wild excitement. Look- 

 ing through a window and at the same time pulling a 

 string, the sliding door was drawn open. Immediately 

 the weasel put out his head, while his eyes kept changing 

 to all the colours of the rainbow. His course of action 

 was quickly decided on, and out he bounded among his 

 prey. The dexterity displayed by the little wretch 

 was amazing, as in a few seconds the twelve sparrows 

 lay dead in the bottom of the cage. The way in which 

 he jumped up and caught them in the air proved to my 

 mind the dangerous nature of this class of vermin in 

 a game-preserve. I afterwards regretted that I had 

 not timed the slaughter of the sparrows by my watch, 

 but I saw enough to convince me that the gamekeeper 

 who neglects the trapping of weasels is " not worth 

 his salt." 



Recently I observed a weasel with something in 



