304 HUNTING. 



rhododendrons, which flourish here in the wildest luxuriance ; 

 while the Scotch fir and the Austrian pine overhanging the lake 

 cast a deep and sombre shade over it and the whole valley. 

 To render this quiet and secluded spot a still more tempting 

 retreat for the otter, the pond is well stocked with trout and 

 eels ; while it is only separated by a narrow sand bank from 

 the Erme, a tidal river famous for its truff, salmon, mullet, 

 flounders, and other dainty fish fresh from the sea. 



Here then, if anywhere, are quarters suited in every way 

 to the shy and wild habits of otter life ; and here it is that 

 Mr. Bulteel has constructed the drain which, as might be 

 expected, did not long remain untenanted, and has ever since 

 proved a favourite lodging house to the come-and-go visitors 

 frequenting that pond. The drain differs in some respects 

 from the one described above, inasmuch as it has three distinct 

 entrances, one below and two above the surface of the water ; 

 while three or four cross-flues, running under a dark rhodo- 

 dendron bed, are capacious enough to accommodate a whole 

 family party seeking a dry and peaceful retreat. Swans, 

 pheasants, moorhens and kingfishers are their nearest neigh- 

 bours, and the only sounds that could possibly disturb their 

 slumbers would be those of the wild sea waves breaking on the 

 rocks so near their home. 



Mr. Bulteel, who is not only a good sportsman but an en- 

 thusiastic naturalist, has been favoured in no ordinary degree 

 with peeps into the private life of his otter guests ; and so 

 intensely interesting were some of the scenes he witnessed that 

 although they have already appeared in print, I will again 

 venture to quote them in his own graphic words : 



Yesterday (9th March) in the deluge we had, I thought it likely 

 the otter might be moving about, so I sat down in the corner by 

 the edge of the pond hidden by bushes, and waited. In about ten 

 minutes I saw the otter emerge from the opposite bank — about 

 fifty yards from the rail on the sand — and begin to fish. For full 

 twenty minutes she kept on diving and rising to the surface, her 

 attitudes most graceful, when suddenly she came up with a bright 



