Sukie posted:
>Beginning on page 70 of Bruce Alexander's mystery, _Jack, Knave, and
>Fool_ are several pages describing ratting with ferrets and terriers
>in an old London mansion.

Years ago I read a murder mystery (I think) set in Victorian England
where one sort of minor character had a ratting ferret that he used
mainly in pub competitions where it competed against terriers for bets.

You know, how many rats can a terrier kill in a certain amount of time.
It seemed to practice on frogs in the basement a lot. I'm not sure how
much, if any, research the author did.

One thing I've never understood though about ratting with ferrets and
terriers in particular is - how do they keep the terriers from killing
the ferrets? That plus ferrets seem too large to fit down rat holes.
In which case they would seem superfluous.

I can see it working out less dangerously for the ferret in rabitting.
Lurchers etc. are a bit more of a sighthound and a rabbit is quite a
bit different from a ferret. And rabbit holes are big enough. Thanks
for posting the book Sukie - was it good?

Mary

[Posted in FML 5489]