618 
FOREST AND STREAM 
Nov. 16, 1912 
HAS HE GONE UP OR DOWN STREAM ? 
OFF TO DRAW. 
ently well lined to permit him to maintain a 
pack of otterhounds at his own expense. The 
would-be M. O. H. of limited means should, 
therefore, call a meeting of his fellow sports¬ 
men to discuss the possibilities of raising a pack 
by subscription, as mentioned earlier herein. 
About a dozen couple of hounds are all that are 
required to hunt the otter. English M. O. H.’s 
would be only too happy to send out drafts from 
their kennels, and among such drafts a few 
couple of old and reliable working hounds should 
be included to lead and teach the younger entry 
their business. Masters cannot be expected to 
part with the “cream” of their kennels, but 
the hunting instinct is strongly inherent in otter¬ 
hounds, and the tyro M. O. H. will find that 
even the unentered hounds of his pack will take 
very kindly to the chase of their legitimate 
quarry, providing they come of good stock. 
The waters hunted by the West of England 
packs are, generally speaking, not unlike many 
of the small rivers and streams of the Eastern 
States as regards shallowness and swiftness of 
current, and a draft of those dashing hounds 
that hunt the Welsh, Herefordshire, Devonshire, 
Somerset and Cornish streams should, if possi¬ 
ble, be acquired. By even mail we are sending 
to the editor of Forest and Stream a list of 
every recognized otter hunt in the United King¬ 
dom, together with the names of the respective 
masters thereof, and this might prove useful to 
any American sportsman desirous of forming a 
pack. 
Though otterhounds require less skillful 
handling in the field than foxhounds, and in¬ 
deed they are often seen at their best when left 
to puzzle out a “problem of scent” unaided, it 
behooves the huntsman and his whippers-in to 
learn their business thoroughly, while a knowl¬ 
edge of the habits of Lutra is indispensable. 
There are many good works on otter hunt¬ 
ing and on the haunts and habits of the otter, 
from the pages of which a great deal of in¬ 
teresting and useful information may be gleaned, 
but practical knowledge gained in the field will 
alone teach one to become a proficient hunts¬ 
man and a keen, intelligent novitiate may, by 
closely • watching and studying the working of 
hounds and the movements of their quarry, very 
soon learn the rudiments of his craft; the rest 
will come to him in due course. 
Trencher-fed hounds seldom, if ever, hunt 
with the same amount of unity and amity as a 
pack kenneled under one roof, but when sub¬ 
scriptions are few and far between, a trencher 
pack may be maintained at comparatively small 
expense, one man keeping a couple of hounds 
here, another man a couple and a half there, 
and so forth until the whole pack is “lodged” 
and “boarded” out as it were. On the other 
hand, when sufficient funds are available for 
hounds to be kenneled in the orthodox manner, 
care should be taken that a healthy, open site 
be chosen for the housing of the pack, as not 
only do hounds require plenty of pure, fresh 
air, but also space upon which to exercise on 
non-hunting days, while plenty of road exercise 
is essential to all hounds, otherwise their feet 
are liable to become tender. 
The erection of small kennels (lodging and 
feeding rooms and concreted yard) will not cost 
a very large sum, but particular attention must 
be paid to ventilation and drainage, for unsani¬ 
tary kennels “spells” sick hounds. 
As regards diet, both oat and corn meal por¬ 
ridge boiled in broth are excellent, especially the 
former, and the kennel larder must be kept well 
supplied with beef, horse, mule or donkey meat. 
The flesh is boiled and broth from the same 
mixed with meal will form the staple food of 
the pack. Too much flesh is not good for 
hounds during hot weather, but in moderation 
it is quite essential, and fresh vegetables (cab¬ 
bage, carrots, etc.) may not be omitted from 
the canine menu. 
A good deal more might be written regard¬ 
ing the possibilities of otter hunting on Ameri¬ 
can soil, but having already encroached upon 
the limits of space allotted to us we must per¬ 
force lay down our pen. 
The Trapping and Selling of Grouse. 
BY THEODORE GORDON. 
In the lower portions of the Catskills, par¬ 
ticularly in parts of Sullivan and Ulster counties, 
a good deal of trapping and selling of ruffed 
grouse has already been done. It is probably 
practiced more or less wherever there is much 
wild land and a comparatively small population. 
The stock of grouse had been slowly increasing 
since the bad year of 1907, and this season pros¬ 
pects for sport seemed good. Many full broods- 
were reported in August and September, but 
when the season opened they were found to be 
widely scattered, and in a short time it became- 
difficult to locate them. 
The trappers must have been very busy. 
One respectable farmer bound for New York 
was caught on an O. & W. R. R. train with 
forty-six grouse in two suit cases and got off 
with a fine of $100, as he “split” on one or two- 
of his confreres. One of these paid a small fine. 
I understand that in certain districts this trap¬ 
ping and buying of grouse has been going on 
for several years. Women have carried the birds 
to New York at times when it seemed too risky 
for the men. 
It is a miserable business. A man named 
De Silva, a Delaware county game protector, 
seems to have done most of the detective work 
so far. With a good stock of birds in the big 
woods there is a reserve supply to draw upon, 
as in the autumn grouse are great wanderers. 
They drift out into the smaller woodlands and' 
covers near the streams where a good dog can 
work to better advantage. Even without a dog 
one can bag a few birds occasionally. 
There was a good flight of woodcock on 
the first moon in October, but they did not tarry, 
except in the few places where they found good' 
feeding grounds. 
It may be worth while to send these notes- 
to Forest and Stream. The American people 
are peculiar in regard to the laws. Some of 
these are scrupulously obeyed, while others are 
lightly considered. There is a constant tinker¬ 
ing with the game laws of most States which 
benefits neither the birds nor the people. There 
are many factors influencing the supply of game, 
good breeding seasons, the presence of natural' 
enemies, epidemic diseases, extremely severe 
winters, etc. With rational laws well enforced' 
large covers and plenty of food, the ruffed 
grouse (except in wilderness) is a wild and' 
hardy bird, and with present bag limits (four 
birds) is not likely to suffer greatly at the hands- 
of sportsmen, but owing to certain habits they 
are quite easily trapped. 
They are feasting on dog steaks in Ger¬ 
many—eating the demnition bow-wows to keep- 
from going to them, as it were. 
