HUNTING 225 



humbler sportsmen reasonable facilities and yet not 

 interfere with the arrangements of the senior packs. 

 But wherever we were met with a good will, dif- 

 ficulties soon melted, and the " merry beaglers " 

 have had as much hunting as they could possibly 

 require, on the terms laid down by the Crown. 



Naturally, in a wild country like the Forest, 

 where all species of fauna are protected, such 

 animals as otters and badgers are common 

 enough, and, like the fox, hare and wild deer 

 are laid under contribution to provide each their 

 share of Forest sport. 



The habits of the otters in that locality are 

 rather peculiar. The streams of the forest 

 proper are small in size, but in most cases run 

 down, without joining any larger river, to the 

 sea direct. Otters use these streams as main 

 roads, without (unless cubs are laid down) lying 

 for very long in any of them. They pass on 

 their incessant travels up one stream to its 

 source, then pass over the watershed to the 

 head waters of some other little river, revelling 

 among the frogs and slugs to be found in the 

 boggy parts of the New Forest, which they 

 traverse, and so pass gradually down the stream 

 they have arrived at, halting as they please by the 

 way, until tidal water is reached again, and, after 

 a sojourn on the shore, the pilgrimage starts again. 



