62 Otters and Otter-Hunting. 



As I have previously remarked, these points have 

 been dealt with by many authorities, and there is no 

 reason for going into them here, since the manage- 

 ment and feeding of Otter-hounds present no re- 

 markable differences from that pertaining to any 

 other hounds. 



Exercise is as important as feeding ; but save 

 that they have to be exercised in winter when 

 other hounds are hunting, and that it is vastly more 

 important to have their feet hard at the beginning 

 of the season by reason of the amount of work they 

 will have to do in the water, there is very little to 

 say about exercise for Otter-hounds. Some slack 

 Masters and huntsmen let hounds " slide " the 

 moment the season is over, instead of keeping them 

 in full and fair exercise throughout the winter. If 

 the latter duty were insisted on, all the unnecessary 

 worry of ''physicking and conditioning" in the 

 spring would be done away with, and vets.' fees 

 and druggists' bills would not figure so largely in 

 the annual balance-sheet of the hunt. 



