. The new book of the dog : a comprehensive natural history of British dogs and their foreign relatives, with chapters on law, breeding, kennel management, and veterinary treatment . in the hours nearest stream in South Devon defied wholegenerations of otter hunters, or perhaps,more properly speaking, the otters did. Nomatter how early in the morning the huntwas started, there would be a hot trail upstream, hounds throwing their tonguesand dashing from bank to bank, throughpools, over clitters of rocks, and oftenlanding on meadow-side ; but there wouldbe no otter, and then the hunt
. The new book of the dog : a comprehensive natural history of British dogs and their foreign relatives, with chapters on law, breeding, kennel management, and veterinary treatment . in the hours nearest stream in South Devon defied wholegenerations of otter hunters, or perhaps,more properly speaking, the otters did. Nomatter how early in the morning the huntwas started, there would be a hot trail upstream, hounds throwing their tonguesand dashing from bank to bank, throughpools, over clitters of rocks, and oftenlanding on meadow-side ; but there wouldbe no otter, and then the hunt would turnand hounds would revel on a burning scentdown stream, the quarry meanwhile sleep-ing in his sea-girt holt perfectly safe fromany interference. Then, again, the ottermay live on the moorside at the head of the river, and fish down and back. He isthen more accessible, and it is under suchconditions that the best sport is still these animals are wrapt in won-drous mystery. The Rev. C. Davies, whowrote in The New Sporting Magazine undertin- nomme de guerre of Gelert, in givinghis experience of South Devon otter-hunt-ing early in the forties, relates that he. THE SOUTHERN HOUND <1803\ P. Reinagh, quite astonished old resident farmers whenhe first commenced hunting near theirhomesteads. They asked him what hewas doing. He replied that he was otter-hunting, and they laughed, and toldhim they had never heard of such ananimal ; and yet he must have killed overfifty in the next five years within a mile ofthem, and of course otters had alwaysbeen there. It was the reverend gentle-mans surmise, therefore, that the otter in-habits nearly every river in Great Britain,but that there is no knowing his where-abouts until he is regularly hunted. There are different opinions on the sub-ject as to how the otter should be hunted,and the kind of hound best suited forthe sport. Mr. Davies leant towards the 154 THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. modern Foxhound, and he had many di
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