Sporting scenes and country characters . k,is lighted and held under the boughs on which thepheasants are perched. They become stifled, and fallto the ground senseless, when they are instantly securedand killed. Among the many tricks resorted to by the poacherfor the purpose of deceiving the keeper, a favouriteone is, to place a dead hare in a snare near the houseof the keeper, or in any other situation suitable forthe purpose. The keeper soon discovers tliis, and pro-ceeds, with an assistant, to watch the hare, secretinghimself at a short distance, in expectation that thesetter of the snare w
Sporting scenes and country characters . k,is lighted and held under the boughs on which thepheasants are perched. They become stifled, and fallto the ground senseless, when they are instantly securedand killed. Among the many tricks resorted to by the poacherfor the purpose of deceiving the keeper, a favouriteone is, to place a dead hare in a snare near the houseof the keeper, or in any other situation suitable forthe purpose. The keeper soon discovers tliis, and pro-ceeds, with an assistant, to watch the hare, secretinghimself at a short distance, in expectation that thesetter of the snare will come to the spot to fetch hisvictim. Whilst the deluded keeper is thus employed,the poachers are busily at work in another directionwith their snares; and whilst he is watching the dead :]20 TRICKS OF KEEPERS AND POACHERS. hare, they are securing as many as they can conve-niently carry home. Much practice enables the poacherto set his snares in an unerring manner ; and, in orderthat the wire may be as pliant as possible, the snares,. previous to being used, are placed w^ithin a bundleof hay. The hay is set on fire, and the embers areallowed to cool gradually before the snares are takenout. By this process, the wire is rendered so toughand flexible that it can be bent in any form to answer TRICKS OF KEEPERS AND POACHERS. 321 the purpose of the poacher. The snarer, however, isliable to be thwarted in his designs, in consequence ofthe hares raising a loud cry of distress, which may beheard at some distance. The poacher prevents this,where the situation requires it, by bending down thebranch of a large tree, a young oak, or other these the snares are attached, and the branch oryoung tree is pegged down to the ground. The snaresare set in the runs in the wood; and when the hareis caught, her struggles detach the peg,—up springsthe tree, and poor puss is hung up aloft, and, ofcourse, can make no noise. Great destruction is alsoeffected by the drag partridge net; for,
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1840, booksubjectf, booksubjecthunting
