340 THE COMMON OTTER. 



ing Trout and other fish towards the net. It was 

 remarkable, that Dogs accustomed to Otter hunt- 

 ing, were so far from giving it the least molestation, 

 that they would not even hunt any Otter while this 

 remained with thcni ; on which account the ov^^ner 

 was under the necessity of disposing of it *. 



The method of fishing with a tame Otter, is men- 

 tioned in the Prsedium Rusticum of Vaniere ; iq 

 a passage which has been thus translated : 



Should chance withhi this dark recess betray 

 The tender young, bear quick the prize away. 

 Tani'd by thy care, tlic useful brood shall join 

 The wat'ry chace, and add their toils to thine ; 

 From each close lurking-hole shall force away. 

 And drive within thy nets, the silver prey: 

 As the taught Hound the timid Stag subdues, 

 And o'er the dewy plain the panting Hare pursues." 



M. Poissonnier. considering the account of Va-, 

 niere as fabulous, procured a young Otter, which 

 he tamed, in order to put it to the test ; and to his 

 great surprise, found that after a little instruction 

 it would run to a small river, about a hundred yards 

 from his house, and very seldom returned without a 

 live fish in its mouth. He also brought it to such 

 a state of domestication, that to whatever distance 

 it went, it always returned, with the utmost punc- 

 tuality, to its kennel. 



This writer contradicts an assertion frequently 

 ^iiade, that the Otter is amphibious ; for his never 

 plunged into the water but in search of prey, and 



* Bew. Quad, 4J2, 453. 



