Chapt. xv. Are Otters useful or nott 197 



"with advantage dispense with the services of such com- 

 "petitors. But if your correspondent has leisure and 

 "inclination to give us the facts on which he has come 

 "to the conclusion, that in civilized localities also otters 

 "still do much more good than harm, I for one shall be 

 "very glad to be convinced. I see, he says, they eat frogs ; 

 "if they live on them to any extent that is certainly a 

 "point to be scored in their favour, for I have noticed 

 "that in India the common frog (Rana cyanophlyctis) is 

 "a great devourer of small fry, and as frogs are very 

 "numerous in India, and affect the rice fields at the time 

 "that they are full of fry, they do a considerable amount 

 "of mischief. But is the otter fonder of frogs than of 

 "fish, and does he destroy enough of frogs to redeem his 

 "peccadilloes in the fish line? It would seem that your 

 "correspondent's idea of taming otters for the purpose of 

 "fishing might be made a useful one in the hands of men 

 "who fish not for sport but for bread, and especially in 

 "strong deep rocky rivers that are difficult to net. I 

 "have several such rivers in my charge in India, and 

 "should like to start a pack of otters there, so as to teach 

 "the poor how to utilize them; if your correspondent 

 "\w>uld kindly mention if they must be taken young or 

 "bred in confinement to domesticate them, or if they can 

 "be taken full-grown and tamed sufficiently ; and if he 

 "can give me any further information that will enable 

 '•me to succeed in the experiment, I shall be very much 

 "obliged. The common vernacular name for the otter 

 "in India is the 'water-dog', and it seems a natural enough 



