Ground Vermin Otter Hunting. 327 



annually, when sometimes two (or more, to five) are 

 deposited. 



The chief part of the otter's prey is obtained in the early 

 part of the day, and, after a preliminary morning bath, 

 and the gambols attendant thereon, they invariably go down 

 stream for the purpose of capturing fish. A return, 

 however, is made as day succeeds morning, and, with the 

 exception of those streams in which they are quite undis- 

 turbed, they rarely leave the near neighbourhood of their 

 lair until towards evening, when they again sally forth, but 

 to a less distance than in the morning. 



The sport of otter hunting, although formerly more 

 favoured than at present, is even now pursued to a con- 

 siderable extent, and always receives support. Although 

 patronised by nothing like so large a class of sportsmen 

 as either fox or hare hunting, still it possesses for some 

 an indescribable charm, and is, without exception, to those 

 capable of bearing fatigue and exposure to wet, the most 

 exciting and exhilarating of the sports which are a feature 

 of English life. The necessarily early hour at which a 

 hunt commences bears in itself a stimulating influence, 

 and when the pack are in full cry up the stream upon the 

 "foil" of a lately-passed otter, no mean agility and endurance 

 are required to keep up with the dogs and be ready for 

 a sharp tussle in mid-stream when the varmint is at length 

 brought to bay after a run of an hour and a half. Indeed, 

 the excitement is sometimes so great that one may look with 

 astonishment at its effects on the hunters, in the prodigies of 

 leaping accomplished during the fervour of a hot trail. 



Whether the otter, speaking with regard to so splendid 



Y 2 



