contest lasted in this manner for upwards of a quarter of an hour; the otter, on each succeeding occasion of his reaching the surface of the water, arriving a little nearer the shore; till at last he accomplished his object, having vanquished his antagonist, and dragged him on shore. The otter was, however, so much exhausted, and so dead beat, after his victory, that he allowed the farmer to approach him in the rear, unheard and unperceived, when he struck him on the head with a large stone, and secured him.

I have also been told by some sailors who were lying at anchor in a smack on the same coast in an adjoining loch, that they have frequently seen several otters co-operating simultaneously in dragging conger eels from the sea up the rocks to their retreats; thus assisting one another in securing their prey. They are very numerous on the sea coast and on the rocky banks of the seawater lochs in the west of Scotland. It requires a very good dog to face and kill them, as they are very savage and bite very sharply, and the old ones possess as much strength as a good-sized dog. Although they do not interfere with game, I have alluded to them, as their skins are worth having, and when trapping vermin in their locality, it is just worth the trouble to set a few traps for them. In the immediate vicinity of fish ponds they do considerable damage, and are very

obnoxious, inasmuch as they kill and destroy all the fish coming within their reach, their slaughter not being limited by their necessities. The otter has three, sometimes four young ones.

I will now direct the reader's attention to the various methods of taking and destroying birds of prey, viz., hawks, hooddies, jays, and magpies. There are several kinds of hawks, all more or less destructive of game; the most so are the Hen-Harrier and the Blue Falcon. The cock henharrier, or ringtail as it is sometimes called, is of a lightish blue, with two white marks or rings round his tail, within an inch or two of the extremity, which is white. There are also two black lines near the extreme points of his wings. His length between the extreme points of his wings is between three and four feet. The hen bird is of a light brown, with the same white marks about the tail and wings as the cock bird. These birds have the credit of making two repasts daily of either grouse, partridge, duck, or plover, and as they will only remain where game abounds, they are not often disappointed.

When in quest of game, they may be seen beating and quartering their ground as regularly as any pointer or setter, crossing backwards and forwards within a few yards of the surface, till they have found their prey, when they instantly descend without the delay or ceremony of hover

ing over their victims, practised by some others of their tribe. These birds breed and roost in the long thick heather, having their nest on the ground; the eggs, which are whitish, are from four to five in number. As the trap is not always successful, the gun must be resorted to; and this rarely fails, although it may sometimes require time and patience, except in the breeding season, to obtain a favourable opportunity of using it. There are two plans, either of which may be adopted with success. The one is to find out the roosting place, which can be done by watching their flight in the evening, and when you have found that, to go there before sunset and await their arrival, taking care to conceal yourself in such a manner as not to be seen. You may then have a good chance of killing them, as the pair are frequently together. The other plan is to find out their daily beats, as they generally take day by day the same course; and when you have found this, select the best place you can for concealment, from which you may be likely to have a fair shot. You may have a chance the first day, or may be obliged to wait a week or ten days before one occurs; the morning and the evening are the best time. Just before the breeding season, when you are certain of finding two together, it is not a bad plan, on finding out the roosting place, to endeavour to kill only the

female, and not return again till after an interval of three days, when you will find that the cock has brought another female. I have known a keeper, by adopting this plan, kill seven female birds, and thus get rid of the whole breed in the vicinity for at least one season.

If traps be used for this bird, they may either be baited, or merely placed and concealed on those spots in the line of the bird's daily course where he has been seen to rest. There are always certain prominent points where he is in the habit of settling for the purpose of reconnoitring, and these are easily discovered by watching him in his flight. If the trap be baited, a lark will often be found to answer the purpose. This must be laid very neatly on the plate of the trap, with open wings and breast exposed, every part of the trap being carefully concealed, having in the first instance been let into the ground, so as to lie evenly and horizontally with the surface. Two or three traps, baited and set in this manner in some prominent parts in the line of the bird's daily course, may frequently be successful. This plan may be adopted simultaneously with the gun, as every means ought to be adopted to get rid of this most destructive bird, especially on the moors, where the mischief done by it is so extensive, that I am persuaded if half a dozen of them were left unmolested on the very best

moors, in the spring of the year, till the month of August, that the whole breed of grouse would be almost entirely destroyed.

The Blue, or Peregrine Falcons, are equally destructive to game on the moors; but they are not so common as the hen harrier. These birds build in the wildest parts of the mountains, in the highest and most inaccessible rocks, and can be shot in the breeding season, by awaiting their arrival at their nests in concealment. The hen bird is very handsome; the back of the head and near it is of a darkish blue; outside of the wings, lighter blue, and in the centre of the back and towards the points of the wings; the under part of the neck white; the breast buff, covered with darkish spots, the lower part with dark streaks. Its weight from two pounds to two pounds and a half. Length between the extreme points of the wings, from 38 to 42 inches; from the beak to the end of the tail 17 inches. The legs and claws are amazingly strong and powerful; the legs yellow, the claws black; the beak is short and strong, the upper part curved and pointed, longer than the lower part; both are jagged and denticulated. At the root of the beak there is a yellow rim nearly half an inch in depth; there is also a yellow rim or border round the eyes, which are large.

I must not omit to mention the Merlin, which,