PHEASANTS IN COVERT AND AVIARY 



follows is always beside a fence, along a ditch, or by a stream, 

 and it is in such places that traps must be set. Every game- 

 keeper possessed of the slightest skill knows this, for when 

 desirous of capturing Stoats, he sets his traps near the corners 

 of the covert, and not in its centre. He displays knowledge 

 of the Stoat's habits too when he places the trap in a dry 

 drain beneath a gateway. 



" An under-run or tunnel trap at the corner of a covert is 

 a sure method of taking Stoats, for this kind of vermin cannot 

 resist entering such a place. A tunnel of this description 

 can be made double killing if fresh soil be regularly scraped 

 out at its entrance. Fresh soil at the entrance to a hole is 

 associated by the Stoat with the presence of rabbits, and he 

 is bound to tread the place." 



The foregoing remarks are of a very practical nature and 

 afford the gamekeeper just such information concerning the 

 habits of Stoats as is most needed, though doubtless most 

 keepers are well acquainted with the haunts of the Stoat and 

 its ally the Weasel. Strange to relate several Stoats have 

 been captured in the same trap at a single setting, and photo- 

 graphs of such captures have from time to time appeared in 

 the Gamekeeper. 



The Stoat is very fond of eggs which it eats by the side 

 of the nest. The Hedgehog is another egg-stealer, only they 

 remove gradually, say one or two every day. 



The Common Hedgehog {Virnaceus Europoeus) 



This is an insect-eating animal, but it also lives on frogs, 

 eggs, mice, small birds and fruit. It is regarded as proof against 

 animal poisons, and it is very good for hunting mice, lying in 

 wait at their holes, and sometimes burrowing for them. The 

 spiny projections on its skin make it a formidable foe to tackle. 



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