140 BRITISH MAMMALS 



a dead fish, and chastised when they disobey or attempt to tear it ; 

 and finally they are sent into the water after living ones." In this 

 way, although the process is somewhat tedious, it is believed that 

 the otter may be certainly domesticated and rendered subservient 

 to our use. 



Whether or not our rustics and gentry have the leisure and 

 patience to train otters to catch salmon and trout, the time has 

 come when active steps should be taken to promote the preserva- 

 tion of the otter, a creature far more beautiful, wonderful, and 

 " obvious " than any fish. If we had ever had a Government 

 that cared for the preservation of beauty in England, the otter 

 would long ago have been placed on the protected list, and 

 would not have been subjected to the un discriminating attacks of 

 sportsmen referred to by me in the first chapter in this book. 

 It is difficult to conceive an increase in numbers of the otter 

 so gigantic that our fisheries in salt and fresh water could be 

 seriously affected in their abundance. There is always a sort of 

 rude justice, which it is impossible to control and unnecessary to 

 condemn, that keeps the rivalry between man and other mammals 

 in check. If otters became so numerous that they did serious 

 damage to the farmsteads, the otters thus leaving their proper 

 element would very soon get knocked on the head by the 

 indignant owners of poultry, and so kept in proper check, just as 

 in some districts a similar stop is put to the ridiculous increase 

 of foxes beyond bounds that are fair and reasonable. 



Otter-hunting generally commences in the late spring, and 

 the dogs used in the sport are the well-known otter hound, a 

 middle-sized, rough-haired hound, probably of Welsh origin, and 

 allied to the harrier. The feet of the otter hound are broad 

 and splay, and the coat is furnished with a thick, woolly under- 

 fur that is very greasy. The ears are long and drooping, and 

 the coat from the nose to the tail is shaggy. The hounds are led 

 to the waterside, where an attempt is made to hit upon the 

 track by which the otter has passed to his retreat in the bank of 

 the stream. On first hearing the hounds, if the otter is at home 

 he dives into the water as soon as they approach. After diving 



