discovered by the eye at a two or three yards' distance, and yet will be sprung by half an ounce weight being placed upon the plate, over and above what it has already, and without leaving anything between the jaws, he may be considered a master of his craft. All this should be done with strong leather gloves on the hands, and with as little breathing over the trap as possible. The object of these precautions is to avoid leaving any scent behind, which might alarm the vermin, who are always suspicious of any place

where they have reason to believe man has been at work. There are

which will be presently described.

In setting gins upon poles the spring should be at right angles to the plate, so as to allow of its being fastened to the side of the post, without sticking out from the top in a way to alarm the bird. These gins require to be very carefully made. The plate should be circular, and should fit exactly into the jaws, so as to leave no space between. This form is shown in fig. 97. The construction is exactly similar to the ordinary plan, except that the plate and trigger are at right angles to each other, and that the spring also is set in the same way. Any maker of traps will easily construct them in this fashion, if the idea is given him. The above illustration is drawn from memory, as I cannot obtain one from the shop where they were formerly kept, and it does not exactly indicate the mode of closing the jaws. The spring ought to be continued higher, and should have an arm which embraces the lowest part of the jaws.

The Box-trap or Hutch-trap may be made by any village carpenter, and I shall therefore give full directions for its construction. First make an oblong-square box open at each end, three feet six inches long and eight or nine inches square inside. (See fig. 98.) There should be a second bottom

raised to the level of the dotted line, and in the centre of this a square hole should be left to receive the plate b, shown in section at fig. 98, and in plan, fig. 99. Next fit a sliding door at each end, running easily up and down in grooves cut for the purpose, and suspend these by cords to two long levers, as shown in the figure. The doors may be solid, or of wood pierced with holes, or of strong wire-work, which is the best, as the animal, whatever it may be, which is caught is always inclined to work away, with a view to escape wherever it sees light, and thus overlooks the crevice at the bottom of the door, which in the solid plan is apt to draw its attention and to lead to the door being lifted. A plate of wood is then cut to fit loosely into the square hole left in the false floor, and to it are fixed two arms projecting through slits in the sides of the box, and having a hook at each end, as shown in fig. 98 at b. Two-shaped pieces of wood, a a, fig. 98, and a cord passing from one to the other over the levers complete the trap. It is manifest that any weight on the plate b, which is only delicately suspended by the two pieces a a will detach it from them; when the cord is libe

rated which holds down the two levers, and the doors at once fall by their own gravity. The construction of this box is the same in principle as the common box-trap, the only difference being that the plate in the ordinary plan is supported at one end on a strip of wood, and there is only one -shaped piece. But in the mode which I have here indicated the plate is much more ticklish, and the foot of a weasel or rat placed on any part of it will be sure to disengage the cord and to cause the doors to fall. To set it, proceed as follows:-Have two small wedges which fit loosely into the openings beneath the arms of the plate at a, insert them, and so prop it up, depress the two levers, and drop the 's into their places, as shown in fig. 98; then simply lay the baits without any fastening, one on each side, and about two inches from the plate, as at cc, fig. 99, which is a ground-plan of

the box; and lastly set the 's ticklishly, withdrawing the two props one at a time, and leaving only just sufficient of the two surfaces in contact to keep down the levers and support the plate. The hooks at the end of the plates should be pointed so that even if the plate is only depressed at one edge, they will slip from the , and so disengage themselves from it. The baits should be small, and are placed one on each side the plate, so that a weasel or polecat will devour one, and then be tempted fearlessly to cross the plate to the other, in doing which it is caught by the doors falling. The great advantage of this trap is that it does not kill or even injure in the slightest degree the animals which it captures, so that if a rabbit or hare enters it, no harm is done, for the door is at once raised, and it escapes. These box-traps are set either in the natural runs frequented by the stoat or

weasel, &c., or else in others purposely made, concealing the entrances by placing small branches of thorn, privet, &c., round the box, and leading the animals up to it by gradually narrowing the distance between them. A dead rabbit may be dragged for some distance along the ground up to the end of the trap, and then leaving a little of its blood on the ground and sprinkling more just inside the box, the rabbit may be removed, unless a part is used for the bait; but if a weasel is to be taken, barely an ounce of the flesh or of the liver should be placed on each side the plate of the trap, or the animal's hunger will be sufficiently satisfied to make it suspicious, and the fatal drop will not be passed.

The figure of 4 trap is composed of a large square piece of stone or slate, propped up in a peculiar manner with three pieces of wood, which are arranged in the shape of a 4. In examining this figure it will be seen to consist of a perpendicular limb or "upright," of a horizontal one or "stretcher," and of a short "slanting stick," as the third is called. The upright is usually cut about half an inch wide, shaved to a thin edge at top, but "High Elms" recommends it to have a forked foot to keep it from twisting, and a notch in it to prevent the stretcher slipping down. The slanting stick has a notch cut in it half an inch from its upper end, to receive the top of the upright, while its lower end is shaved off to fit into a notch in the upper surface of the front of the stretcher. Lastly, the stretcher has this notch in front and another notch cut in its side, by which it is caught by the upright and held in its place. A bait being tied to the external end of the stretcher, and a stone placed so that it will lie flat on the ground, the whole is ready for setting, which is effected as follows:-Raise the stone and support it by the notched end of the slanting stick held in the left hand, the notch itself looking downwards, then place the upright with one end on the ground and the other in this notch, and let it carry the weight of the stone, which will have a tendency to tilt up the "slanting stick," still held down by the left hand; finally, hitch the middle notch of the "stretcher" in the "upright," with its front notch facing upwards, then bring the lower end of the "slanting stick" down to this front notch, drop it in, and the trap is set. Of course it

requires that each part shall be carefully adapted to the others, but when the trap is seen set, it will be readily understood, practice being, however, required to set it properly. I quite agree with "High Elms" that the footed upright is an improvement, but I am inclined to doubt the advantage of the double notch between the upright and stretcher. I have tried both, and I cannot find that there is any great superiority in his plan, but perhaps, though I have exactly followed his directions as given in the Field, I may have omitted some point of practical importance. In setting the figure of 4 trap, the height of the upright and the size and weight of the stone will be proportioned to the animal for which it is set. I do not like the trap myself, as it cannot be concealed so well as the steel trap, and indeed has no advantage except its cheapness. Dozens of them may be set in the woods, and if stolen, little harm is done, as the cost is barely a penny a piece, if made in large numbers. I have also known pheasants caught by the head and killed in them, the flesh with which they are baited being often attractive to tamebred birds, which usually are fed with more or less of it in their rearing.

A very complicated weasel-trap was described in the Field of the 29th of May, 1858, by "High Elms," as having been recently invented by him. Like the last, it acts by suffocation, but instead of the force of gravity a spring is used. As, however, the inventor is about to publish a little brochure on vermin trapping, I will not poach on his manor by minutely describing it here.

The various kinds of vermin are best trapped as follows::Cats and martens are readily caught in the steel-trap set as follows: get some thorns and plant them so as to leave a vacant space of about a yard in diameter, with two entrances to it just wide enough to admit the vermin. In these set

the steel trap in the mode described at page 404, so as to be made perfectly invisible either by grass or leaves. Then, in the centre of the open space fasten a live pigeon, chicken, or any other bird, by tying it to a peg with a short string, or if a live bird is not procurable use a dead rabbit, but in the latter case a trail must be laid up to it. The living bait will struggle or move sufficiently to attract the notice of the