Page:The Hare.djvu/97

Rh servants who use their leisure to kill these animals. Another malpractice is to set an iron trap for a hare in its run, digging out a turf, and covering the trap over with grass. The good will of farmers should be enlisted in preserving hares wherever possible. Generous treatment is pretty sure to meet with its own reward. Certainly it costs something; but it must not be forgotten that the farmer has more power of protecting ground game than the keeper; it is worth while, even from a selfish standpoint, to secure his sympathies for the proper preservation of game. As a rule he is apathetic enough about the conduct of his servants; provided that the farm hands work well in fair and foul weather alike, he considers that it is no particular business of his to pry curiously into the way in which they spend their leisure time. A certain Scottish village boasts among its inhabitants a stalwart ploughman, whom nature has afflicted with an unquenchable thirst. His efforts to allay this distressing complaint have earned for him the sobriquet of the 'Whale.' Once upon a time, it happened that the 'Whale' cast an envious eye upon the goodly hares that daily fattened upon the standing corn of his master. The tracks which the animals made through the green crops suggested to his evil imagination the possibilities of snares. He proceeded