CHAP. xxn. The Tame Otter. 331 



evidently growing weaker, and the otter changing his tactics by attacking 

 the enemy in the rear. Each round told in favour of the otter, and, finally, 

 ' the sponge was thrown up ' by the beaten fish being towed to land by its 

 tail, amidst the loud and hearty whoo-whoo-ops ! of all present, the doubtful 

 battle having lasted above half an hour. The fish, which proved to be a 

 female, weighed 20 Ibs. 1 1 ozs., and the weight of the otter (a female, and 

 very like an English otter) is only 1 8 Ibs. Thus ended as well-contested a 

 battle as I ever witnessed, and a sight I would have gone any distance 

 to have seen. Surely all true Englishmen must admire the bull-dog pluck 

 of this animal, and endorse Mr. Benson's sentiments, as given in your last 

 impression, which clearly is that it is a disgrace in this enlightened age of 

 progress and civilization to allow ignorant keepers and watchers to exter- 

 minate the poor otter. Otters will travel any distance, and I have no doubt 

 that some of those which have lately been so cruelly murdered are from 

 the Wey, in my neighbourhood, and consequently I. particularly regret their 

 loss, for I know they do much more good than harm, and this knowledge 

 I have gained by studying their habits for years, both in the wild and tame 

 state. I have plenty of fish, and I cannot see that they diminish ; and yet 

 I am seldom without an otter or two, and sometimes a brood of them, for 

 they are sacred here, as well as all rare birds, etc. Occasionally I find the 

 remains of a small jack or an eel which they have caught and partly eaten. 

 I know they scent these under water, and bring them up from the mud : 

 indeed, they prefer them to every thing. Then they are very fond of frogs, 

 and they will kill water-rats, water-hens, and even rabbits occasionally. 

 They certainly seldom kill large fish in the wild state when they can get 

 smaller more easily. Otters appear to grow for about two years, and they 

 seem to differ considerably in weight. I once saw one killed in the Lune, 

 near Lancaster, by Mr. Lomax's otter hounds, which was 28 Ibs., and that 

 excellent sportsman told me that the largest he had ever seen was a male, 

 which weighed 30 Ibs. It was found in a hollow willow, in Warwickshire, 

 and was evidently a patriarch, from its teeth. I hope some day to hear of a 

 salmon being presented to Mr. Buckland's Museum of Economic Fish 

 Culture, killed by Mr. H.'s otter." F. H. SALVIN. 



The more thoroughly to convince my reader of the practicability of 

 utilizing the otter for sport, I add still another extract, which is taken 

 from " The English Cyclopaedia." 



" But it must not be supposed that the common otter is, as it has been 

 asserted, confined to the fresh waters. 



" That the common otter is capable of domestication and attachment we 

 have ample testimony. Albertus Magnus, Aldrovandus, Gesner, and others 

 attest this. Every angler will remember the passage in Walton, where good 

 Mr. Piscator is anxious to possess himself of one of the young otters which 

 the huntsman, after the death of the ' bitch otter,' had found : ' Look you, 



