Chapter I: Part 1

THE
UNIVERSAL DIRECTORY
FOR
TAKING ALIVE AND DESTROYING
RATS,
AND ALL OTHER KINDS OF
FOUR-FOOTED AND WINGED
VERMIN,
IN A METHOD HITHERTO UNATTEMPTED:
Calculated for the Use of the GENTLEMAN, the FARMER, and the WARRENER;

By ROBERT SMITH,

Late RAT-CATCHER to the Princess AMELIA.

ILLUSTRATED WITH CUTS.

The THIRD EDITION.

LONDON:
Printed for J. WALKER, No. 44, Pater-noster-row.
M.DCC. LXXXVI.

=[Entered in Stationers Hall.]=

The Public are requested to observe, the two preceding Editions of
this Book were sold at the extravagant Price of £1 1_s._ in
consequence of which, Copies have been of late particularly scarce
and valuable, the Publisher has reprinted the Work at the low Price
of Three Shillings only, with all the Embellishments of Plates,
_&c._

CONTENTS.

The Fox Page 1
—— Otter 23
—— Badger 29
—— Sheep-killing Dog 33
—— House Cat turned wild 39
—— Marten Cat 47
—— Pole Cat 51
—— Stoat 55
—— Weasel 59
—— Ferret 63
—— Hedgehog 73
—— Norway Rat 75
—— Black Rat 107
—— Water Rat 111
—— Squirrel 115
—— Mole 117
—— House-Mouse 123
—— Field Mouse 125
—— Red Shrew-Mouse 127
—— Black Shrew-Mouse 131
—— Grass Mouse 133
—— Dormouse 135
—— Bat 137
—— Large black Eagle 139
—— Grey bob-tailed Buzzard 143
—— Large forked Tail Kite 145
—— Large blue Sherard Kite 147
—— Blue Sherard Hawk 151
—— Large Ring-tailed Hawk 153
—— Small Ring-tailed Hawk 155
—— —— Sparrow-Hawk 157
—— —— Black-headed Hawk 159
—— Wind-hover Hawk 161
—— Brown Wood-Owl 163
—— Screech Owl 167
—— Horned Owl 169
—— Fern Owl 171
—— Raven 173
—— Carrion Crow 177
—— Magpye 181

INTRODUCTION.

However trifling and contemptible the following Treatise may appear to some persons, the author flatters himself that it will be productive of great public utility, although the subject is but low and humble.

Many ingenious writers have greatly distinguished themselves in treating of that noble and useful animal the horse; of the method of breeding horned cattle, sheep, and other animals, serviceable and beneficial to mankind; this little work, on the contrary, takes cognizance of those animals, noxious to the community, describes their wonderful wilyness and sagacity, and the uncommon and surprizing methods they take for self-preservation and getting their prey; the research, may, perhaps, give the reader great satisfaction, for the infinite wisdom of the great Creator is as conspicuous in a mole as in a camel, in an ant as in a lion.

And as most noblemen, gentlemen, and others, who have country seats are generally, if not constantly, troubled with various kinds of vermin, greatly detrimental and destructive to their property in the following instances, viz. in many places where gentlemen have hare-warrens and pheasantries, they are troubled with foxes, their waters with otters, those great destroyers of fish; their poultry are killed by polecats, stoats, and weasels; in other places they are pestered with wild cats, who originally strayed from the farm and other lone houses, and running into the woods, breed in great numbers and do incredible mischief, in destroying the game, poultry, rabbits, and young leverets; in many other places they are troubled with sheep-killing dogs, who in the night-time worry and kill great numbers of sheep, so useful and necessary to the commonwealth, and the staple commodity of the kingdom. But of all the noxious animals none do more mischief than rats; both the old English black rat and the Norway rat, especially the latter, which is the most mischievous animal in the creation. In all the above cases, rules, not drawn from theory, but from twenty years strict observation and practice, are laid down in the plainest manner, to find out their haunts and hiding places; with the easiest methods how to take and destroy them, to the great joy and emolument of the persons who have been injured and pestered with them. Rules for taking and destroying moles and mice are likewise given, and the nature of ferrets is also described, with instructions when it is proper to make use of them, and when not.

And as the noxious part of the creation is not confined to the earth only, many of the winged inhabitants of the air are equally pernicious to the gentleman and the farmer, their natures are described, with proper and suitable directions how to take and destroy them, from the buzzard and the kite, to the smallest bird of prey, without which the author would have estimated his work as incomplete.

On the whole, if the following little Treatise should any ways answer the intent for which it was written, the author will obtain the end he aimed at, and gratify the utmost extent of his ambition and wishes, namely, the good and advantage of his fellow-subjects, and the general good of the community.

THE
FOX.

I shall first begin with old Reynard the Fox, for he is the king of the vermin in this island; wolves indeed formerly abounded here, an animal infinitely more fierce and dangerous than the former, but these for many ages have been entirely extirpated.

The Fox is a very subtle, sly, and daring animal, and in hard and severe winters will come to places where hares and pheasants are kept, and destroy a great many of them; he is likewise a mortal enemy to lambs and all kinds of poultry, but scarce in any other instances he is more mischievous than in destroying rabbits in warrens, which he frequently does in prodigious numbers, but more especially in stopping time, as I have known the young rabbits of near twenty stops taken away by the Foxes in one night’s time. It may be necessary here to explain what is meant by the above term; when the female rabbit is ready to kindle, she digs an hole, or angle, about four feet long, and about ten or twelve inches under ground, and when she goes out for food, she scratches the earth over the mouth of the hole, or stop, so that it is scarcely perceptible to the eye, in order for the preservation of her young ones from any approaching enemy; in the night, the Fox being in search of his prey, comes to the place where these stops are made and scents the young rabbits, but instead of entering therein, he follows the scent above ground till he comes to the end of the angle, and then scratching up the earth comes immediately upon the young, which he devours; and this is called _crowning_ on them.

It is very difficult to guard against the approaches of this enemy, his motions being so uncertain, unless a trap was constantly placed, for sometimes he will destroy several lambs and poultry in the night at farm-houses, and not come near the same place again for a considerable time, shifting his quarters to other places considerably remote in search of fresh plunder; but in large parks where hares and pheasants are constantly kept in great numbers, there is a greater probability of taking him in the following manner:

The method to know where and which way he comes, is to make what is termed a shrape, which is done by drawing a circle[1] on the ground, in the park or warren, about three feet diameter, take the mould out all over, four inches deep, then take a sieve and sift a sufficient quantity of fine mould to fill it up again even to the surface, dig six of these in various parts of the park, and fill them up in the same manner. The reason of having the mould sifted so fine is, that when you set a trap there will be no stones to intervene between the spring and the jaw of the trap, which will sometimes happen without proper observance, and prevent the trap from striking close.

Footnote 1:

See letter A. plate 1. fig. 1.

The next step to be taken is to procure a sheep’s paunch; tie a string to it, and draw it to each shrape, before described, but remember at the distance of two or three hundred yards to rub the bottom of your shoes on the paunch, which will prevent him from discovering the smell of your feet, and at every shrape lay some pieces of strong old Cheshire cheese, and come again in the morning, when you will plainly perceive whether his behaviour is shy or not; for he will sometimes eat all the cheese he can reach, without entering on the shrape; the next night he will venture somewhat further, and set his feet so lightly on the mould that you can scarcely discern their print: I have sometimes fed a shy Fox for a whole week before I have set a trap for him, but when he comes to feed boldly he will trample all over the shrape and make prints an inch deep, and in that shrape, where he seems to feed the freest, I would advise to place two traps, and, without any particular accident, if he comes, you will be sure of catching him.

Set your traps after the following manner: take some mould out, just sufficient for the traps to lie in; and when properly placed, get some moss, and with a small stick, put some of it under the bridge, and likewise between the bridge and the jaw, and lay it quite smooth; now the reason of having the above stick is, that in case you should spring the trap, it will not injure you in the least, but only catches the end of the stick. The next particular you must observe is, to procure a thin piece of board, a foot in length, two inches wide at one end, and cut away at the other to hold them by; then with this board strike some mould or earth over the trap, entirely level with the other parts of the shrape; this board is absolutely necessary in order to prevent your handling the mould, for if he is in the least shy, he will not approach the shrape if you once handle it; another caution is likewise necessary, which is, not to let the bridges of your traps be too wide, for a Fox had better come and put his foot in between the bridge and the jaw of the trap, and not spring it at all, for in that case he will come again, as he has not been baulked, but when the bridge is too wide, if he happens to set his foot on the jaw, then his toe nails reach the bridge, and spring the trap without catching him, which will render him shy, and it will be a very difficult matter afterwards to get him at all.

But in order to prevent any such disappointment, I would advise that your steel traps for the Fox should be square in the jaw, and not round as the common traps are usually made, and strike but five inches high, and seven inches long in the jaw, with saw-teeth[2], and let the tail[3] of the trap be two feet from the tail end[4] of the spring, for they are generally made too short, from whence this inconvenience arises, that when a trap stands for some time, in warrens or parks, the spring gives out, the purchase being so quick, whereas, were the traps formed on the principle above laid down, the spring would remain for a considerable time without giving way; and lastly, let the [5]bridge of the trap be four inches square.

Footnote 2:

See the letters CC in plate 1. fig. 1.

Footnote 3:

See D in the same plate.

Footnote 4:

See E in the same plate.

Footnote 5:

See B in the same plate.

But as to a shy Fox, as just above observed, I have known them come again, when compelled by hunger and necessity, and sometimes even with three legs, and take the young rabbits out of the stops or holes, as before described.

And here I beg leave to correct a vulgar error mentioned by some authors, which is, that the Fox, when caught by the leg in a trap, in order to facilitate his escape, will gnaw off the same above the jaws of the trap, but this assertion is entirely false and erroneous, as it would put the animal to inconceivable pain and agony to bite its own flesh, while any sensation remained, and renders the supposition likewise unnatural; but the real state of the case is this, which I have proved from long experience, for as a dog, when he has got into a trap, will yelp and cry out till he is tired, which soon happens, and then lie quiet, on the contrary, this artful cunning creature, we are now describing, as soon as taken, makes no noise at all, but is indefatigable in his endeavours to get out, and will neither stand nor lie still till either somebody comes to let him out, or he gets out by the following manner; he immediately begins to tumble and toss about, and after some time striving, he breaks his leg, just at the place where the iron jaws of the trap are fastened; the lower part of the leg, under the trap, is soon benumbed and deprived of all sensation, which the Fox then gnaws off, and drawing the sinews through the teeth of the trap, makes his escape, leaving that part of his leg which he had bit off behind him; and, as a further confirmation, I once catched a dog and bitch Fox, early in the winter, who both escaped, by the above means, with three legs each, and the ensuing spring came to the same warren and took out several stops on their three legs, which I discovered, and poisoned them by means of some balls properly prepared, the method of which I shall soon come to describe.

It may not here be unnecessary to lay down some rules to distinguish the dog Fox from the bitch, which may easily be done, without seeing them, by adhering to the following observations; a dog Fox has a larger foot than a bitch, and it much resembles that of a small lurcher dog, and has been often mistaken for one, by those who do not examine things minutely: but there is an essential difference; for the Fox has hardly any ball to the heel of his foot, but the dog has a large one; and a bitch Fox has likewise a small foot with the ball thereof still considerably less than the male. The utility of this remark will soon appear.

I now proceed to lay down another method of taking and destroying these pernicious vermin, either in park, warren, or field, but more especially those who have been made shy, or have lost a leg in a trap, as before hinted, which is as follows: whatever place it may happen to be in, you must take notice of all the little by-paths all round the ground, and sift some mould in each of them, and place by the side of each path, where the mould is sifted, a piece of white rag stuck upon a stick; for if there be any rabbits or hares near the path, they, by running up and down, will create such confusion in the mould, that it will be next to an impossibility to distinguish the impression of the Fox’s foot; the intent, therefore, of these white rags is, to fright the rabbits and hares away, but the Fox will boldly proceed along regardless of them: as soon therefore as you have discovered which path he came along, you must not trail for him as before, for that having seduced him into danger, and led him to the trap, he will remember it well, and it is a very great chance whether he will follow the trail at all. But take two good figs of nux vomica; let them be quite white and sound, (for those that are of a brown colour are neither so strong nor efficacious) then rasp them very fine, take a piece of good dripping as big as a tennis ball, mix with these a little flower to bring it to a proper consistency or stiffness, and then roll it in honey; for there is nothing fonder of honey than a Fox, and I have seen one scratch up the earth for a bee’s nest under the ground, for the sake of the honey, and after he had accomplished this design, having the wind of him I shot him dead on the spot. But to return.

When you have found out the path he comes in, place two or three of these balls of the magnitude before mentioned, at nine or ten yards distance, for fear he should miss one; place them on a small stick six inches high, in order to prevent the mice from eating them. But a little distinction is here necessary to be made, for if you are endeavouring after a Fox, whom you imagine never to have been made shy or caught in a trap, the method of trailing, as laid down in the first instance may be followed, and then one ball will be sufficient to be put in the path, which he will readily go up to and take, and in order still to be more certain of his footsteps, take the foot of a Fox and print it in fine mould or sand, but the former is better if it can be got, the latter when dry, being apt to run; by observing this rule you will readily know the print of his foot, wherever you see it.

When the plan has succeeded to your wishes, and the Fox has taken one of the balls as he came in, it is ten to one but he dies before he gets out again, as was the with the dog and bitch Fox before mentioned, and if you print him in, and not print him out, then you may hunt for him with your dog, being certain that he is still lurking somewhere in the ground.

In some places where traps have not been set for them, they may be catched as easy as a dog; I have taken them in a cube, where a trap for a dog has been set, the cube is formed in the manner as represented in [pl. 1, fig. 2. F.] by the cut therein annexed, and may be made in the center where two paths cross, or in a warren, or park, or at any gate or stile where he comes in: if you do not find that he comes in at any of the above places over your shrapes, you must, as you go round the sides of the path, gates and stiles, mind whether you see his billots, that is, his dung, the term being to say after he has dunged that he has billoted; if you should not rightly know it, take up what you imagine to be the same, and break it, and you will find it to be full of large black beetles; sometimes you may smell him, then look about very nicely, and it is ten to one but he has billoted somewhere near the place.

Let your cube be made after this manner, draw a circle, [pl. 1. fig. 2. F.] but in the front leave just room for the trap to go in when set, then bank it up all round from one side of the jaw of the trap quite round to the other; set your traps in the same manner as you see in the plan of it, but be sure to moss them as before directed, for the moss preserves the fine mould from running under the bridge, and at the same time keeps it up hollow that it may strike freely and properly, but when the mould runs in, it sets the trap so hard that it is impossible for it to strike at all. If you are in a warren, put some rabbits guts in the back part of the cube; if these cannot be procured, place some pieces of strong rotten Cheshire cheese, which they are very greedy of; if at a farm get some bits of dead fowl, if possible, and if in a field, it is probable you may find some of the mangled carcases of lambs, which they have killed and hid pieces of them in the ground, which they often do: but remember, in all these particular cases to put the bait in the back part of the cube as before hinted; and whenever you set a trap for a Fox let it be placed early in the afternoon, in order that the soil you make may go off before he comes, and when you have set them, cover them with a bush cut on purpose, to keep any thing else from striking it, till you come round at night and uncover it again.

In many country places there are people, who make it their business to take Foxes out of their earths for gentlemen to hunt them at their pleasure; these are properly called bag-foxes. I have known in some stony countries that they set stone traps for them at their earths, so that it is impossible for them to get out without being taken, but of this method of catching them I cannot speak from my own experience, having been only a spectator of the traps, and of consequence cannot be so able to judge of it, as where I have been the principal actor myself. I mention this to testify that I would not, even in the most minute circumstances, impose on my readers.

I have practiced likewise the following method with good success, which may be imitated with great facility; let the party employed go round and carefully search for their earthing places, wherever they are, and make the mouths of them quite fine with mould; then come again the next morning, and observe whether the earth has been trampled on, and if you see the prints of his feet tending outward and inward, you may then be assured that he is safe within his hole or earth, on which take a good strong hay-net, such as are used in some warrens, pitched all around at a proper distance, put the sticks quite slight into the ground, that as soon as he strikes the net, it may fall upon and entangle him, but if you place it tight he will tumble over, and by that means escape. Another caution is necessary, when you have set your net, you must put some bells in three or four different places, that you may hear when he strikes the net; then run in upon him, and keep him entangled, otherwise he will get out again, and seizing him by the pole or back part of his neck, muzzle him, and tie his fore legs together, that he may not scratch his muzzle off again; I have known a Fox, earthed as above, watched for two or three nights together, till he has been starved out, before they could catch him.

Sometimes when a Fox is found in the earth, or is hunted in, the method is to dig him out immediately, after the following manner; take a good terrier, that is kept for that purpose, one that will lie at a Fox, then you must listen and sound him as the warreners do their line ferrets; dig a trench across the angle, and, when you have got to the angle, perhaps he will fly back, as they frequently do, then sink another trench near him, and when you have dug down to him, take care he does not bite you, as he is a fierce animal, when drove to desperation, and bites very hard; in the next place take your dog back, that you may get him out, this is what we call drawing him, as follows; take an old hat, or any thing of a similar nature, in your hand, and dodge it before him, when he will catch hold of it immediately, then with the other hand catch him by the back part of the poll, with all possible quickness, as the motion must be, as it were, instantaneous; and this same method must be observed when you have one in a trap, if you have a mind to take him alive, and always remember to have a muzzle ready to put on him directly, and put him into a sack, and then you may do what you please with him afterwards; what I mean by a muzzle is this, take a bit of strong tape, put it over his nose, bring both ends down under his jaw, and tie them tight together; then bring it along under his throat, an inch and half from the first knot, then tie them both together in one knot again, then bring the two ends up behind his ears and tie them tight, and this is what I call a muzzle, in the same manner as warreners muzzle their dogs to drive to the nets.

Having proceeded thus far in my description, _&c._ of this remarkable animal, I conclude what I have to say of him with the following recipe to take a shy dog Fox, which I have known to succeed when all other means have proved ineffectual, and like wise with another observation, neither of which are generally known.

The trail for him is, when you have taken a bitch Fox, that goes a clicketing, take and cut that vessel which contains her sperm, the same as the sow-gelders deprive bitches of, when they spay them, mixing with this some gum mastic, and put them as soon as possible, after being taken from the animal, into an earthen pot, keeping it quite close, and it will remain serviceable a whole year, and, when occasion offers, take a large piece of rind of bacon, broil it well on a gridiron, and then dip it in the pot, using it as a trail, in the same manner as the sheep’s paunch before described.

The last remark I shall make is, that there is one season of the year when a Fox will not run after a trail at all, at least very rarely, and that is in the spring, when he gets plenty of young rabbits and leverets; for then he is dainty; when this is the case, another method must be taken: at this time of the year the bitch Fox goes what is called _a-clicketting_, you must mind which way he comes, which may be done by sifting some fine mould in all the little bye paths, and when you have discovered the right one, place two steel traps, about twenty yards distance from each other, for fear he should miss one, but lay no bate for him, and if he comes, there is the greatest probability of his being caught; I have often been forced to act in this manner, and have succeeded.

THE
OTTER.

The Otter is an amphibious animal, which preys both by land and water, for when he is disturbed in the water he preys by land: as a proof of which, I once catched a dog Otter in a warren, where he came to prey on the rabbits, after the old bitch Otter and all the young cubs had been killed, down at the river, not far from the warren.

The Otter generally frequents rivers and brooks, in order to search for his prey, and will often come to fish-ponds likewise, destroying the fish, and yet not lie there; the method to discover his haunts is very easy, for, in whatever place he preys, you will be certain to find tails, or hinder parts of the fish, left undevoured, at the sides of the ponds, _&c._ for it is observable that he eats the head and body of the fish, as far as the vent, and very seldom any farther; look all round the pond, and by his marks or footsteps, you will find where he enters the pond, and likewise where he comes out to eat the fish by the side, for no amphibious animal devours his prey in the water, or can remain a single moment under it, longer than he can hold his breath. When you have discovered the place, it will be adviseable to put a good strong steel trap in the water, down in the mud; put the mud over the bridge of the trap as much as you can, that he may not discover the trap. I have catched several this way. If you should not happen to find where he takes the water, you will see where he sits to eat his fish, and then you must set a trap or two by the side of the water, in different places, where you find the bits of fish; cut a hole in the ground to let them in, just flush or even with the ground, then cover them over with moss very nicely: but, in my opinion, there is no necessity to bait them, for the Otter will seldom, I believe never, touch any thing but what he kills himself. I may possibly be mistaken in this point, but after many repeated trials never could get him to touch any bait I set for him.

The Otter in rivers and brooks has a kennel, which, with proper notice, as before given, you will find; the structure of it is very ingenious and admirable, indeed not equal to that of the beaver, though in some instances of a similar construction, for they always have two ways to go in and out, one by land and the other by water, for such is the cunningness and sagacity of these vermin towards their preservation, that if disturbed by land, they can vent or escape by water, and if attacked by water they can escape by land; now when you have found out these kennels, and discern that they use and frequent it, look carefully about and you will see some of his landing places, where he sits and eats his prey, and before the spot where he lands, there put a trap down in the water as already directed in the ponds, where I have caught them, and likewise destroyed all the young ones in the kennel, but know no bait in particular they are fond of, as before observed; though others may be of a contrary opinion.

In many places where I have been, small hounds have been employed in destroying these vermin, called Otter hounds; when one is unkennelled, he immediately goes to the bottom of the water, where he remains as long as his breath will hold out, which is a considerable time; he then goes under the bank, or under some reeds or boughs, there he draws breath and blubbers the water; the term when he is perceived by any of his pursuers is to say, There he vents; and they strike at him with a spear made for that purpose, and often kill him, but if the spear misses, he sets off again and the dogs follow, and if good seldom miss of killing him.

The above animal is not footed like other vermin, for they have a web between each claw, like many water fowls, which greatly accelerates their motion in swimming, when pursued by the dogs; they have no heel, but a round ball under the sole of the foot, the track of which is called their mark, and their dung is called their sprents.

THE
BADGER.

He is a grey hard haired animal, a good deal of the pig kind; and is not near so hurtful as many other animals of the vermin kind; for the chief mischief he does, consists in scratching of earths, or holes, which afterwards serve for earth for the foxes to harbour in, and in scratching and grubbing up the ground, in searching after his food, such as pignuts and roots, on which, and on beach-mast, acorns, crabs, and other trash, he subsists, but does not prey on living things of any kind, as has been asserted by some authors, who have falsly affirmed that he destroys and lives on young lambs, pigs, and poultry; and in consequence of the simplicity of his food, I have known, in some places, people will eat them, being generally very fat, and their flesh exceedingly sweet.

I have practised two methods of taking the Badger with great success, the first of which is, when you have found out one of their earths, let two persons go out in the night, while they are in search of their food, and put a thin sack into the hole, and fasten it at the mouth, that the Badger may not run away with it; then let one person remain near the hole, while the other beats round the fields with a dog, in order to drive him home; when he finds the dog after him, he runs to his hole as fast as possible, and goes into the sack, which slips close like a purse; the party who stayed near the hole, on hearing his approach, lays hold of the mouth of the sack, and pulls out the Badger in it, and this method is termed, Sacking the Badger. Another way is to place a steel trap, in which you will catch him very easily, as he is nothing near so shy as the fox; when you come to his earths or holes, make the mouths of all the angles quite smooth, and come again the next morning, when you will see whether any have been in or gone out, and if you track him in and out, then put a trap in each earth, in the same manner as you did for the fox, and you need not fear catching him, but remember to stake down your trap, that he may not go away with it.

THE
SHEEP-KILLING DOG.

This animal is extremely pernicious and detrimental, wherever he exists, for when once a Dog takes to killing sheep, he seldom or never leaves the practice off, in which he is extremely shy, and it is a very difficult matter to put a stop to his proceedings till you can discover his owner, which is no easy task, for if once he perceives you are tracing him home, he will go two or three miles another way.

If it happens that he should come in the night, and destroy any of your lambs or sheep, the circumstance becomes very alarming, and the farmer generally moves his sheep into another field or place, this certainly will baulk him for some small time, till he finds them again, and then the consequence is as bad as ever; I would therefore advise not to move your flocks at all, for the following reason, that by this means you may be the sooner able to destroy him. To this end, go early in the morning into the field where the sheep are, which is always customary, every morning, among the farmers, then you will find whether he has been amongst and killed any of them: if you perceive this to be the case, inspect carefully all round the field, whether you can track, or see the print of his feet, at any gate, stile, or gap, if there be one, if you look carefully it is ten to one but you trace his footsteps; this being done, you may prepare for him against night in the following manner: get two good steel traps, set one of them by the side of the gate, stile, or gap, where you imagine he enters, within side of the field, in the same manner as before directed for the fox in a cube trap, and cover the same, but do not handle the mould; then take the liver of the sheep or lamb he has devoured, cut them into slices, fry them in some good dripping, and put them on the back part of the cube; then take a piece of the flesh of the sheep or lamb, and rub it all about the gate or stile, _&c._ in order that he may be allured by the scent; then set another trap in the same manner at a different gate, for fear he should not come in the same way: a farmer is sometimes at a loss for these traps, but if he lives adjacent to any warren, he may easily borrow two of the true sort; but for fear of an accident it would not be amiss for the farmer to have them always by him. The above directions being put into execution, get a sheep’s paunch and draw a trail all round the field, as you do for the fox, and draw it up close to the mouth of each cube or trap, and by these means I have frequently catched several of them.

In some country places where they have none of the aforesaid traps, people are at a loss how to proceed, the subsequent method will supply their place in some measure, and be attended with success; when you have discovered in the morning, that he has been among the sheep over night, get some good dripping as big as a tennis ball, rasp two good figs of nux vomica, and mix them together, stiffened with a little flour; make several of these balls, and at evening trail a sheep’s paunch, tied to a string, to each gate, stile, or gap, where you imagine he enters, putting one of these balls at every place, fixt on the top of a small piece of stick, about six inches high, with the other end in the ground, which will prevent the mice from eating it; when you have trailed to one place, there stick the ball, trailing on to the next in like manner, till you have gone quite round the field; let this be done just at dark, and go again in the morning, and observe how many balls are gone, the remaining ones take up, and put them down again at night, and so proceed till you find he has swallowed some of them, of which there is no fear if he chance to come.

I have sometimes been greatly embarassed in catching him, though I have fully discovered the place at which he came into the field to destroy the sheep; for he was so extremely shy that he would not follow the trail, nor touch any bait laid for him. I then took the following method, _viz._ just at the gate where he came in, I procured two radded hurdles and put them close at one end, top and bottom; and at the extremity of the end so closed, I tied a live lamb, and at the other end where the opening was I set two steel traps close by each other, and in the room they did not fill up, I placed a large bush to supply the vacancy. These traps were covered very nicely, in the same manner as for the fox; the plan succeeded, and the arch thief was happily taken. If it should be a Dog that comes, procure some of the urine of a proud bitch, and rub it about the trail, or the bait, which will infallibly bring him on, let him be ever so shy, and induce him to go boldly up to the trap and be caught.

THE
HOUSE CAT,
TURNED WILD.

This domestic animal is so well known as to need no description here, and is very useful in a family, but frequently they will run wild in woods, parks, chaces, or forests, and do infinitely more mischief than many vermin naturally wild, and become entirely the reverse of what they were originally intended for.

They attack their prey with surprizing ferocity, equal to that of a tiger, and are very hurtful in gentlemens grounds, such as wood-walks, pheasantries, chicken-grounds, or places where poultry is kept; where they destroy the young pheasants, chickens, ducks, rabbits, and leverets. I have killed seven of these Cats in one week, in a gentleman’s chicken ground, where they came and destroyed almost all his Chinese and other pheasants, Bantam and Guinea fowls, and other curious poultry, both domestic and of foreign extraction, also his tame rabbits; on all which he set the greatest value. I have caught divers of them in a warren, who have rambled several miles to come for their prey, for there is a kind of these creatures, besides those that live in the woods, which generally reside about farm-houses, and at night go out to prowl, and are of no service to the owner. As a proof of this, a farmer happening to come to the warren, who lived about three miles distant, owned one of the cats killed that morning, which had left his house the preceding evening. I have caught thirty wild Cats in a season, at the same warren, and we had but two houses near us, upwards of a mile distant each way, by which it appears how far these animals will ramble in search of their prey.

I now proceed to the manner of taking them; when you find they come to any of the fore-mentioned places, get a common box trap, or hutch trap, [pl. II. fig. 1.] such as are used in warrens; let it be nine inches wide, full ten inches high in the clear, and three feet long. Let the standards A. A. be placed in the centre, on the top of the trap, ten inches from the end B. B. which must slide up and down in a groove; let the standards be twelve inches high, with a notch cut in each, two inches deep, and three quarters of an inch wide, that the swords C. C. may have free room to play by the side of each other. Let the bridge be eight inches square, and then there will be a clear inch in length for the bridge to play; then get a piece of wood, half an inch thick, and an inch and half square, make a hole in the middle, and place it at the bottom of the trap, up against the back, in the centre, afterwards put a nail through without a head, fasten it down to the bottom of the trap, the nail standing up half an inch, then there will be room for the bridge to hang on: make a hole at one end of the bridge, in the centre, place it on the nail; in the other end put a strong piece of wire, and cut a trigger-hole in the front of the trap, towards the bottom, exactly in the middle, three inches high, and half an inch wide, D. D. and be careful to have the inside of the trigger or tiller hole lined on each side the edges with narrow pieces of tin, which will prevent its being gnawed, and the trap from being defaced, for all vermin, whether cats, rats, _&c._ will constantly gnaw and scratch wherever they see light; then let the wire E, at the side of the bridge go through the trigger-hole D. D. a small matter turned up at the end, that it may hitch to the tiller, which is the small piece of wood tied to the end of the string, then fix a little bit of wood, F, half an inch above the trigger-hole, on the outside of the trap, as a stop for the trigger. But some people are apt to put the tiller in the hole, where it often hangs and prevents the trap from striking, whereas, if placed as directed, it cannot hang in the least, but must strike and take the enemy; whom, in order to secure, when taken, let a piece of wood, about half an inch high, be nailed to the bottom of the trap, on the inside, close to where the door falls, at each end; this will hinder any light from coming in, and prevent the vermin from scratching the door up again, as I have known it sometimes done.

The next step in the formation of the trap is, to take out a bit of the wood from the centre of the top board G, six inches wide, cut slanting on one side, and directly or straight down on the other, with a small tenant saw, which will waste but little of the board, and may readily be taken in and out, over the bridge, and is convenient to put the bait in. Fix a small piece of wood under the lid, the whole length, excepting the thickness of the sides, to keep it from sliding in or out, and on the even side of the lid, put two small wooden hasps, H. H. which will keep it fast on that side, and that side cut under or aslant holds fast likewise; then in the back part of the trap, in the centre, above the bridge, drive a nail through, and turn it up with a hook, to hang the bait on. I have now described the trap to catch this dangerous enemy, with the greatest minuteness, but for the reader’s better understanding the nature and meaning of the same, I have annexed a beautiful copper-plate, containing an exact view or representation of it, with references answering to the foregoing explanation.

This being done, take some valerian-powder, and scatter it in and about the trap, for they are fond of valerian-root to a degree of extravagancy, rolling themselves about when they come near it, purring, and seeming to be as it were in an extacy; if you have no valerian at hand, put some pieces of marem or cat-thyme into the trap, which they are likewise fond of. Now for your bait, take some fishes heads or bones, or a red herring, rubbing the end of the trap with the same, and hang it on the nail, in the back part, over the bridge: this they will eagerly catch at, it being an observation, that Cats love fish, but do not love to wet their feet; yet I have known an instance to the contrary, having observed one of these Cats take the water like a spaniel, after the water rats; but this is very rare and uncommon.

The bait being placed, take several red herrings, tie them together in a string, and draw a trail all round where you think they come, and likewise to the traps; and if they approach you need not fear of catching them. If you find your trap down in the morning, one caution is necessary, which is, not to lift up the door of the trap, to discover what kind of animal you have taken, it being possible that some other vermin may have got in, for if it should prove to be a wild cat, the moment she sees light she will strike at your face with her claws, and endanger your eye-sight, and probably make her escape, having once been served so myself; I would therefore recommend to take a thin sack, draw the end thereof to the end of the trap, so far that it be in the sack’s mouth, which you must draw up tight, then rattle the other end, and the Cat will bolt out into the sack, and holding the mouth tight, gather it together and you may do what you please with it.

THE
MARTEN CAT.

This is a very curious and beautiful animal not commonly known, even by many connoisseurs in natural history, and is the largest of the ferret kind; he seldom or never comes near any dwelling-houses or farm yards, but delights in solitariness, frequenting lone forests, chaces, woods, and other desart places: however I knew one that used to run tame about the kitchen of the Bald-Face-Stag, on Epping-Forest; they have no strong disagreeable scent, like the polecat, weasel, and other stinking animals of a similar nature, but are reckoned the sweetest of the vermin kind; I caught several one winter, on the aforesaid forest, and sold their skins for four shillings and sixpence each, for the sake of the fur, which is exceedingly good.

Their lodging places are in old crows or magpies nests, and sometimes in a woodpecker’s hole, and in hollow trees: I have traced them in the snow, and when they take to a tree they will go from one to another with incredible swiftness like a squirrel, till they settle themselves in some or other of the places before mentioned, where you are likely to find them. They are very fond of birds of all kind, particularly the wood-pigeon, or ring-dove, and turtle-dove, which in the night-time they take from their roosting places. Now when you have discovered by their tracks, either in the earth or snow, where they go, place a common box or hutch trap, such as they use in warrens, [pl. II. fig. 1.] bait it with a bird, in the same manner as I before described for the wild cat, pick off some of the bird’s feathers, and strew them through the inside of the trap, from one end to the other, and hang the bird on a nail; this is the way I have caught several of them; but in some places I have known them hunted with hounds, when they are sure to lead the dogs through the thickest covers they can find. They are not an animal that abounds in great numbers, but rather scarce to be found; I make this observation, because many persons are entirely ignorant of its existence, for which reason I have been more particular and exact in my account of this uncommon creature.

THE
POLECAT.

This animal is distinguished by various appellations in different parts of the kingdom, being in most places called a Polecat, in some a Formet, and in others a Fitchet, and by one or other of the above three names he is known all over England.

He is a very subtle and pernicious creature, being a mortal enemy to fowls of all kinds, and doing prodigious mischief in warrens, by destroying the young rabbits, for when once they take to a borough, consisting of a large number of holes or angles, they either kill or drive the rabbits away, who, by instinct, shun so dangerous a foe; in the hen-houses they are equally destructive, and when they have killed a fowl, they drag it away, if they can get it through the hole they enter in at, but they have one good property, that is, that if they can get what they have killed away, whether fowl or rabbit, they will eat of it as long as it remains sweet, before they return back to kill any more; in this circumstance differing from the weasel and stoat, who, after they have destroyed their prey, only suck the blood out, and very seldom take it away, but leave the flesh behind untouched; if therefore you miss any of your fowls, or find any of them in part devoured, it will be an almost infallible criterion for you to distinguish that the mischief has been done by these vermin.

In order the better to destroy them, I would recommend this method; at night, after your fowls are gone to roost, mind to sift some sand before every little hole you suspect he may come in at, and look at them again in the morning early, before the fowls are moving, and you will soon discern the prints of their feet by their trampling about, then set a common hutch trap, such as are used in warrens, [pl. II. fig. 1.] and bait it with a piece of fowl or small bird of any kind; hang the bait on the nail, over the bridge, as has been observed before, and if you should catch one of them, remember to make the print of his feet in the sand, which will enable you the better to know it another time, which has been my own constant practice, to discover what kind of vermin have been there in any shrape, whether made by sprinkling mould or sand; and if you should not have a hutch trap in your possession, then put at the place where you have tracked him, a small steel trap, and place a brick on each side, so that he cannot avoid coming over the trap, which must be covered nicely with fine mould; do this in the afternoon, then cover it with a thin board, that the fowls may not spring it in going to roost, then take the board or shelter away, and go in the morning before the fowls move, and if you should not catch him the first night, observe the same methods for a few nights more, and you will be sure of him.

THE
STOAT.