have kindly permitted me to republish the
contents of this book, and I tender them my thanks.

The original form of these Studies of animal life has been extensively
altered, and, in some instances, the titles have been changed.

I am again greatly indebted to my brother, R. Wilkins Rees. His wide and
accurate knowledge has been constantly at my disposal, and in the
preparation of these Studies he has given me much indispensable advice
and assistance.

Similarity in the habits of some of the animals described has made a
slight similarity of treatment unavoidable in certain chapters.

I may also remark that, in unfrequented districts where beasts and birds
of prey are not destroyed by gamekeepers, the hare is as much a creature
of the night as is the badger or the fox.

ALFRED W. REES.

[Transcriber's Note: Obvious typographical errors have been corrected,
and standardized the hyphenations, otherwise the text has been left as
the original]

CONTENTS.

THE OTTER.

I.

THE HOLT AMONG THE ALDERS.

PAGE

Late fishing--A summer night--River voices--A master-fisher--
The old mansion--Lingering beauty--The otters' "oven"--Observant
youngsters--Careful motherhood--The meadow playground--Falling
leaves--A swollen river--Dabchick's oar-like wings--Mysterious
proceedings--Migrating salmon--Hoar-fringed river-banks--An
adventure with a sheep-dog--Slip-shod builders--Signs of
spring--A change of diet--Fattening trout--The capture of a
"kelt"--"The otter's bite"--Lone wanderings. 1-23

II.

THE POOL BENEATH THE FARMSTEAD.

A song of autumn--The salmon pool--Angling difficulties--Bullying
a sportive fish--An absent-minded fisherman--At dawn and nightfall--A
deserted home--Practical joking--A moorhen's fate--Playfulness
of youth--The torrent below the fall--The garden ponds--Feasting
on frogs--A watcher of the night--Hounds and hunters--Lutra's
discretion--The spell of fear 24-40

III.

THE GORGE OF ALLTYCAFN.

The Hunt again--Fury of despair--A "strong place"--The terrier's
discomfiture--Lutra's widowhood--Summer drought--Life at the
estuary--Returning to the river--Scarce provender--A rare and
unexpected sight--The blacksmith's baited trap--The Rock of
Gwion--Pe