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set his snares in the run of the hare near the bolt hole. The 'smout' or 'spout' (both terms are employed) of a hare usually proceeds in a slanting direction, whereas that of a rabbit is relatively straight. Sometimes a hare is forced to make her exit through a hole in the thorn hedge, in which case a few flakes of down will often be found adhering to the thorns, a trifle to the public, but to the eye of the poacher full of significance. Before setting the snares, the poacher blocks up the smout holes, and fixes fifty or sixty snares in the various 'trods' or hare paths, which, of course, radiate all round the field. The poacher watches his snares according to his opportunity. His object is to secure as many hares as possible in the shortest possible time. Farm labourers, of course, have special facilities for visiting their snares. A small piece of white paper is often attached to the peg which holds the snare, to enable the operator to distinguish it in the dark. As soon as a hare enters a snare, she begins to scream and strikes the long end of the wire with one of her feet, winding it round the limb in her frantic effort to escape, which only hastens her doom, for it tightens the fatal noose. The poacher is generally near at hand, for he lives in dread of discovery, and must work as quietly as possible. Most of his business is done in the small