A MORNING'S OTTER-HUNTING 



SEEING that the ancient and grand sport of otter- 

 hunting comes when every other branch of the chase is 

 at a standstill, added to which it is, like beagling, a 

 healthful recreation that may be indulged in by any man 

 or woman of very moderate means and " sound in wind 

 and limb," it is passing strange that the majority of those 

 good sportsmen whose hounds hunt many of the inland 

 waters of the British Islands should receive such scanty 

 support in the form of subscriptions. Apart from the 

 fact that a pack of well-entered, well-handled otter- 

 hounds will show some of the most clever hound work 

 possible, the " trail " of their quarry often leads the 

 " field " through some of the most picturesque river 

 scenery imaginable. 



Formerly the big, handsome, bell-throated, rough- 

 coated otterhounds were almost exclusively used for 

 hunting otters in this country, but to-day, unless we are 

 mistaken, the splendid packs of the Dumfriesshire and 

 Bucks O.H. are the only ones which consist entirely of 

 the old-fashioned pure-bred otterhounds. 



Several couples of the Dumfriesshire pack were shown 

 at the last Cruft's Show held at the Agricultural Hall, 

 and the heart of many a veteran otter-hunter of the old 

 school was gladdened by the sight of those magnificent- 

 looking hounds, which, although bred solely for the 



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