FEBRUARY RABBITS 257 



amused its captor as a mouse amuses a cat. A fox, 

 when he wishes, can carry an egg without breaking 

 the shell. 



Towards the end of January rabbits begin to fall 



off in condition. As food becomes less nourishing 



their reserve supplies of fat gradually 



Rabbits 7 dwindle - But with the end of the g ame 

 season the price on their heads begins to 



rise : and the keeper who has hard work to meet the 

 expenses of a shoot looks to the rabbit-catch of 

 February to swell the credit side of his accounts. 

 Most people know that a hen pheasant is more tender 

 and delicate to eat than a cock, though cock and hen 

 may be of the same age. So with rabbits those 

 who sell rabbits might well charge a penny or two 

 more for the does than for bucks. The countryman 

 knows that the tenderest rabbits are those that he 

 may skin with the least difficulty. 



While the gamekeeper is seldom at fault in the 

 matter of a ready excuse, he meets many people who 



are his superior in carrying ever-ready lies 

 The on their lips. From poachers and mouchers, 



Excuse* S as ^e haunters of hedge-sides are called, 



he might learn the lesson that no excuse 

 is better than a fine excuse that is shallow. One 

 Sunday morning a keeper, dressed in his go-to-meeting 



