THE BOOK OF THE OTTER 



of game, and they (that) serve for all game men 

 call them harriers. And every hound that hath 

 that courage will come to be a harrier by nature 

 with little making." 



Harrier was in those days spelt heyrer, and it 

 was not until after the sixteenth century that the 

 modern spelling came into vogue. It was prob- 

 ably derived from the Anglo-Saxon herian, to 

 harry or disturb. In the " Boke of St Albans " 

 it says that the hart, the buck, and the boar should 

 be started by a limer, and that all " other bestes 

 that huntyd shall be sought for and found by 

 Ratches so free." Thus it appears that all beasts 

 that were enchased were moved by a lime-hound, 

 while those that were hunted up were found by 

 braches. The otter-hunting illustration in the 

 '* Master of Game " shows five hounds, one of 

 which is on leash, and appears to be a limer. The 

 otter was certainly not enchased in those days, 

 being looked upon as vermin, yet as the picture 

 shows a limer at work, it is possible that lime- 

 hounds were sometimes used for other game than 



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