OCR Text |
Show HUNTING WITE A FERRET IS SPORT Hunting rabbits with ferrets is the latest sport introduced by William Mathers, the Plain City naturalist, to the sportsmen of the city. Those who havo taken part In a rabbit hunt or thlB nature are so fascinated with It that there threatens to be a wholesale importation of the little animals. So far as is known. Mr Mathers has the only ferrets In this part of the country As explained by Mr Mathers, the method or hunting with ferrets Is :s follows- The ferret is placed in a canvas sack to be carried to tho hunting grounds. When a rabbit burrow Is found a net. in construction similar 1.0 a pouch. Is placed around the hole and the little animal is released from the bag at the mouth of tho burrow. If there are rabbits in the ground the ferret will frighten out those it does not attack and. as they CBcape from the hole, the animals will be caught in the net. If the condition of the surrounding land is such that the rabbits rab-bits can bo shot, the net is not used A ferret is about as large as a mink and resembles tho mink in many respects. re-spects. Mr Mathers states that while his are tame to handle, thoy are savage sav-age when placed near other live ani mals. After they seize a small animal, such aB a rabbit or rat, they do not loosen their hold until the animal is killed To prevent his ferrets from remaining remain-ing in the rabbit holes too long, Mr. Mathers feeds tho little animals well before taking them on the hunt nnd the result is they do not remain underground un-derground to feed on their victim. "A few days ago." said Mr Mathers, Math-ers, "John Taylor, the pioneer of Plain City, accompanied me on a ferret hunt and we visited the grounds below the smelter near Hot Springs When a ferret had run into the ground after tho rabbit, he asked me how 1 could recover the ferret from his position. To do this I took a rabbit I had under un-der my coat and placed It near the mouth of tho hole. It was only a few seconds before tho llttlo animal came from the ground nnd was placed In the canvas sack " Mr. Mathers secured some of his ferrets from Canada and others from the east. Ho has had experience In this manner of hunting In Scotland, but it has only been during the past two years that he has enjoyed it in Utah. He has had as many as sixteen of the animals, but has only five now |