TRESPASSERS AND POACHERS 241 



keeper. Of course, all nests must be found in day- 

 light ; but your cunning poacher knows that, having 

 marked them, it is just as easy to fetch the eggs at 

 night, and a great deal safer. It is well for a keeper 

 not to put too much faith in persons who tell him 

 of the whereabouts of setty nests only. Setty eggs 

 are no good to the egg-poacher. By the end of 

 June the keeper has heard quite enough about nests 

 and eggs and birds that ' sets 'ard' to last him till 

 eggs come again. 



Where there are hares there will be people only 

 too willing to look after them. I had many hundreds 

 of hares to look after, and never lacked a little 

 assistance. There was an old shepherd who was 

 not above ' doing his little bit,' though he was a 

 most excellent friend in respect to winged game, 

 and genuinely took care of the leverets he found 

 among the victuals of his sheep. So, as I had to 

 put up with him, there was nothing to be gained by 

 being too hard on him. His favourite plan was to 

 set a wire or two just off our ground. On one 

 occasion, about Christmas-time, I removed a hare 

 from a wire that I felt sure must be his. When at 

 last the old chap was leaving, for putting in too 

 much time at the pub, I advised him to shut his eyes 

 whenever he came across a hare's run in his next 

 place. ' Why, I never set e'er a wire in my life,' 

 he said indignantly. I suggested that he should 

 refer his memory to a run across the corner of a 



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