34 Otters and Otter-Hunting. 



everywhere before the last-named date. Mr. James 

 Lomax of Clayton Hall, whose " Diary of Otter- 

 hunting," from 1829 to 1871, was privately printed 

 in 1892, and is full of interesting matter, makes 

 no mention of the spear, and never used it, depending 

 on hounds and terriers for finding and killing his 

 Otters, although he resorted to the practice of 

 *' sacking " Otters and removing them to more 

 huntable waters : a plan which savours of that 

 artificiality from which Otter-hunting, unlike other 

 field sports, has ever been commendably free. 

 Neither did it always " pay," judging from the 

 records of Otters that died in the sack in course of 

 transit. The same may be said of his custom 

 of stopping drains prior to hunting. As many 

 Otters were stopped in as stopped out in this way, 

 and the risk of their being drowned so is obviously 

 considerable. "Tailing" was probably introduced 

 after the '' Otter-grains " had ceased to be used ; and 

 certainly calls for more skill and a great deal 

 more courage than does spearing or harpooning. 

 " Tailing " is mentioned in one of the Devonshire 

 ballads referred to before ; as is also the use of nets 

 to keep the Otter from going down to tidal waters. 

 Whatever one may think of the former, which is 

 discussed in the chapter on " Hunting," I think 

 most Otter-hunters will agree that the use of the 

 net — which as often drowns the Otter as not — must 



