Transcriber's Note:
Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully aspossible, including some inconsistencies of hyphenation.
[Pg i]
STUDIES IN THE ARTOFRAT-CATCHING.
By H. C. BARKLEY,
AUTHOR OF
"MY BOYHOOD," "BETWEEN THE DANUBE AND THE BLACK SEA," ETC.
POPULAR EDITION.
LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.
1896.
[Pg ii]
LONDON:
PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES AND SONS, LIMITED,
STAMFORD STREET AND CHARING CROSS.
[Pg iii]
PREFACE.
My publisher writes to say that he, and he thinks others too, would liketo know how I ever came to write such a book as this! It came about inthis way. Some two years ago, I was about to leave England for aconsiderable time, and a few days before starting, I went to stay in acountry house, full of lads and lassies, to say good-bye. One evening,while sitting over the study fire, the subject of rat-catching came upand, as the aged are somewhat wont to do, I babbled on about past daysand various rat-catching experiences, till one of the boys[Pg iv] exclaimed,"I say, what sport it would be if they would only teach rat-catching atschool! Wouldn't I just work hard then, that's all!"
The stories came to an end at bed-time, and I was then pressed by myhearers to write from foreign lands some more of my old reminiscences,and I readily gave a promise to do so. In this way most of the followingstories were written; and in writing them, I endeavoured to carry outthe idea that they were exercises to be used in schools.
I don't anticipate that head-masters will very generally adopt the bookin their schools; but I hope it may, in some few instances, give boys ataste for a wholesome country pastime.
The characters and incidents are rough, very rough, pen and ink sketchesof real people and scenes, and the dogs are all dear friends of pastdays.
[Pg v]
CONTENTS.
| CHAPTER I. | Page |
| The Ferret Family—Crossed with the Polecat—ChoosingFerrets—Hutches—Feeding Ferrets—"Barthe Tail"—Handling Ferrets | 8 |
| CHAPTER II. | |
| Bag versus Box—Ferrets Fighting—The Ratting Spade—RattingTools—Hints to Schoolmasters—LearningDog-Language—With a Scold in the Voice—Dogs'Kennel—Treating Dogs Kindly—Dogs intheir Proper Place | 23 |
| CHAPTER III. | |
| Aristocratic versus Plutocratic—Come-by-Chance—Chance'sFriend—Nondescript Tinker—Grindum—HowI got Grindum—Grindum's Friends—Jackand his Sister—"Jack Took Me"—End of anUgly Story—Grindum's First Rat—Pepper andWasp | 42[Pg vi] |
| CHAPTER IV. | |
| A Day's Ratting—An Autumn Walk—"Steady, Dogs,Steady"—A Ferret Disabled—Rats up a Pollard—ARat-catcher's Picnic—Rats in a Drain—AWeary Walk Home—"Kennel, Dogs, Kenn ... BU KİTABI OKUMAK İÇİN ÜYE OLUN VEYA GİRİŞ YAPIN!Sitemize Üyelik ÜCRETSİZDİR! |