1 66 Otters and Otter-Hunting. 



with the certainty of finding in a spot where, per- 

 haps, aforetime the quarry has got " out of mark." 

 Next to this systematic study of the natural habits 

 of the Otter, the most important part of the young 

 Master's education is a thorough knowledge of the 

 ways and peculiarities of each of his hounds. He 

 should not only know which is to be trusted and 

 which doubted, and have mastered their various traits 

 and idiosyncrasies, but should be able to tell them 

 by their voices when out of sight. Only long and 

 constant acquaintance with them when actually hunt- 

 ing them can really enable him to complete this 

 branch of his education ; but if it is to be complete 

 it must be done. When a single hound speaks to a 

 drag he must be able to tell by his knowledge of 

 the particular hound and by the quality of his note 

 whether the drag is fresh or stale, for some hounds 

 will speak to a drag a day or more after others 

 would refuse to own it. As a general rule rough 

 hounds will own a drag much later than will smooth, 

 while of course in some places the drag will lie much 

 longer than in others. In some of the deep rivers 

 flowing through rocky gorges into which the sun 

 never penetrates, the waterside growth will hold the 

 scent of an Otter for days ; while in a holt much 

 used by Otters, and not long vacated, hounds will 

 mark almost as though the game were at home. 

 Curiously enough, hounds seem to take little or no 



