Otter Hunting 25 



with buttercups ; over the rocky boulders, 

 coated with the loveliest and greenest of 

 moss ; on past the beds of yellow iris, 

 forget - me - nots, and water ranunculas ; 

 through the bog myrtle, and amidst the 

 wealth of those royal ferns so aptly named 

 " Osmunda regalis." 



In my previous chapter I promised to 

 give an extract from " Arte de Venerie " 

 Tuberville's account of an otter hunt in the 

 sixteenth century. I will now do so, and 

 in my next and concluding chapter on this 

 subject I will describe to the best of my 

 ability a modern hunt, so that those who feel 

 interested can compare the methods of our 

 forefathers with those of the present day. 

 Tuberville says : " The otter is a beast well 

 knowne ; shee feedeth on fyshe and lyeth 

 neare unto ryvers, brookes, pooles, and fishe 

 pondes, or weares. Hir lying-in commonly 

 is under the roots of trees, and sometimes I 



