12 TEN YEARS OF GAME-KEEPING 



harvest, with * a few odd uns throw'd in, like.' 

 Whenever there arrived an addition to the farmer's 

 family, the carter, who declared the event marked 

 the time for sowing * wutts ' (oats), was invited to a 

 private view, and, of course, to offer a libation. The 

 ceremony over, he would retire more or less in the 

 direction of his cottage, repeating : * 'Tis a right 

 down fine youngster, an 5 no mistake ! Don't know 

 as ever I see'd a finer. . . .' On the ninth occasion 

 of this sort he felt that his customary eulogy was 

 not justified, and turned to the fond mother and 

 said : ' I'm blow'd if I don't pretty near think this 

 un's the darl*!' 



My instructions were that the Ground Game Act 

 was to be a dead-letter so far as hares were con- 

 cerned, and that, in return, the shooting tenant 

 undertook to get down the rabbits, and to keep 

 them down. There was one small covert of six 

 acres, in which there were only a few rabbits ; but 

 on the other side of the farm were three dells, hold- 

 ing strong colonies. Luckily, since it was well on 

 in the spring, these dells were fairly free from 

 herbage and undergrowth, so I was able to deal 

 with the rabbits with ferrets and gun ; and by 

 spending the best part of a day at each dell, I made 

 a highly appreciated reduction in the number of the 

 rabbits. On one occasion I had been digging for a 

 ferret, but found when I got to where it should have 



* The last. 



