THE BOOK OF THE OTTER 



that matter, a man must use his brains, and to 

 some extent call on his powers of imagination. 



A chapter on hunting is hardly complete without 

 some mention of that elusive mystery called scent, 

 so a few words will be devoted to it here. You 

 get good and bad scenting days in otter-hunting 

 just as you do when hunting fox or hare, but the 

 chase of the otter has the advantage of being 

 conducted both on land and water, 'and if scent is 

 bad on the latter, it may be quite the reverse if 

 your otter takes to terra firma. Sometimes it is 

 good on both, though it may happen that an otter 

 which has been hustled about the woods or across 

 country apparently gives off little scent when he 

 returns to the water. A bitch otter in cub, or one 

 with a young family, appears to often give off little 

 or no scent, and where hunting takes place 

 on a river polluted by oil, or other foreign 

 matter, scent is generally conspicuous by 

 its absence. Scent varies too at different times 

 of day. In the early morning, before the sun has 



dispelled the dew, it is generally good, but dies 



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