126 TEE LIFE OF THE FIELDS 



not even the martins that hover over" the stormy 

 reaches. Where is the kingfisher? Where are the 

 water-fowl ? Where soon will be the water-lilies ? But 

 if London extended its strong arm, how soon would 

 every bush be full of bird-life, and the osier-beds and 

 eyots the haunts of wild creatures 1 At this moment, 

 it appears, so bitter is the enmity to the otter, that 

 a reward is set on his head, and as much as two 

 guineas is sometimes paid for the destruction of a full- 

 grown one. Perhaps the following list of slaughter 

 may call attention to the matter: Three killed by 

 Harlingham Weir in three years. On the 22nd of 

 January, at East Molesey, opposite the Gallery at 

 Hampton Court, in a field, a fine otter was shot, 

 weighing twenty-six pounds, and measuring fifty-two 

 inches. On the 26th of January, 1884, a small otter 

 was killed at Thames Ditton. Both these were close 

 to London from a sporting or natural history point ot 

 view. In February or March, 1884, an otter was 

 killed at Cliefden Springs, Maidenhead ; it measured 

 fifty-one inches. Here, then, are six in a short period, 

 and it is not a complete list ; I have a distinct memory 

 of one caught in a trap by Molesey Weir within the 

 last two or three years, and then beaten to death with 

 a spade. 



