Page:The Hare.djvu/91

constantly been employed for the capture of the brown hare, nor can I see, as yet, any signs of their falling into disuse. An old poacher laughed merrily when I told him that Mr. L'Aigle Cole says that a partridge net is now difficult to procure. 'He would have been glad to send his own to the gentleman, only he happened to have lent it to another party.' The police, it is true, destroy all the nets they seize; but the gangs of poachers that infest our larger towns are never at a loss to find illegal engines. The nets used by poachers are generally made of fine strong hempen thread. The favourite mesh measures about two inches and a half. The net is made about four feet deep, so as to allow plenty of 'sheeting' at the bottom. There is no fixed rule as to the length of the long nets. Most of our North-country poachers prefer to have 120 yards of netting to manipulate. Their business, of course, is to drive as many hares or rabbits as possible into the nets. They choose large fields, if possible, as the scenes of their depredations. The members of the gang sally forth after dark, carrying their nets wrapped around their bodies or concealed in some other way. When all appears to be quiet, when the scout of the party reports that there are no keepers about, and that the coast is clear, the poachers hasten to the edge of a wood or some other suitable