The Science of Hunting the Otter. I53 



continue to practise them, there can be very little 

 doubt that they pass a great many more Otters than 

 they ever find. Of the two, probably the " holt-to- 

 holt " system is responsible for the greater number 

 of blank days ; as it certainly is— if the terriers are 

 allowed to run with the pack— for the deplorable 

 chopping of cubs. Now, a blank with Otter-hounds 

 is every bit as bad as one with foxhounds or harriers, 

 though somehow or other it has come to be re- 

 garded with more equanimity as frequently inevit- 

 able by followers of the summer sport. 



I have no sympathy, either, with the man who says 

 that he " does not care about a kill so long as he 

 gets a hunt." One goes out with a pack of hounds 

 and terriers to find a huntable Otter ; and if one finds 

 him it is one's business to kill him, if it can be 

 done in a fair and sportsmanlike manner. Otter- 

 hunting with any other object than this in view may 

 be a pleasant enough pastime for a bright summer 

 day; but it is not sport. And the man who talks 

 too much of the fun of hunting Otters without killing 

 them is like enough to find his sources of amusement 

 seriously curtailed by the watchers and keepers of 

 those riparian proprietors who will have the Otters 

 frequenting their waters kept within due bounds — 

 small blame to them. 



This is the raison d'etre of Otter-hunting from the 

 non-sporting point of view. It is the best and most 



