256 NATURE AND WOODCRAFT. 



it. Poachers find pretexts for being on and 

 about land which before were of no avail, and 

 to the " moucher " accurate observation by day 

 is essential to success. This is especially true 

 in the case of hares and partridges. Each is 

 local in its haunts and habits, and needs only 

 to be closely watched to be easily captured. 



As a rule, the village poacher knows the where- 

 abouts of every Hare in the parish ; not only the 

 field in which it lies, but the very clump of 

 herbage in which is its form. In speaking 

 of the poacher who makes hares his speciality, 

 it is necessary to speak of his constant com- 

 panion — the lurcher. Lurchers are pure crosses 

 between Greyhound and Sheep-dog. The 

 produce from these have the speed of the one, 

 and the " nose " and intelligence of the other. 

 Such dogs never bark, and, being rough-coated, 

 are able to stand the exposure of cold nights. 

 They take long to train, but when perfected are 

 invaluable. The most successful poacher is the 

 one who makes the greatest number of mental 

 notes. In his walks abroad he watches hares 

 feeding or at play, taking in their every 

 twist and double. He examines all gaps, gates, 

 and " smoots " through which they pass ; 



