THE PHEASANT 281 



of string, with small bells hung on to them at intervals, 

 about nine inches from the ground, all round the 

 approaches to the coops. The fox is sure to scent a 

 trap and clear off. If the string is soaked in carbolic, 

 renardine, tar, or some other high-smelling liquid, so 

 much the better. In hunting districts, where foxes are 

 plentiful, this plan is very necessary, and is thor- 

 oughly efficacious. 



An excellent plan to trip up poachers is to have 

 wire instead of string stretched across all approaches 

 to the rearing-ground. Another practice is to surround 

 the coops with a stout wire, and to attach to it one or 

 more dogs, so that each dog has a free range over a 

 considerable stretch of ground. 



On some estates one of the night watchers carries 

 a horn, and blows on it every quarter of an hour or so, 

 for the purpose of driving off foxes. 



It is very wise for the keeper to occasionally go 

 round the hedgerows with a spaniel and drive in 

 strayed birds. 



Shooting the Pheasant 



The most important duty of the keeper on the 

 morning of a shoot is to have his beaters out early, and 

 drive in all the surrounding country so as to have the 

 birds in the coverts, and, as he does this, he should 

 have a sufficient number of boys or men carrying a 

 yellow flag to act as stops. These boys should be pro- 

 vided with a good lunch, as they may have a long wait, 



