DOG-BREAKING.

COCKERS.—Butler and Brisk.COCKERS.—Butler and Brisk.

1. Dog-breaking, so far from there being any mystery in it, is an art easily acquired when it is commenced and continued on rational principles.

2. I think you will be convinced of this if you will have the patience to follow me, whilst I endeavor to explain what, I am satisfied, is the most certain and rapid method of breaking in your dogs, whether you require great proficiency in them, or are contented with an inferior education. No quicker system has yet been devised, however humble the education may be. The education in fact of the peasant, and that of the future double-first collegian, begin and proceed on the same principle. You know your own circumstances, and you must yourself determine what time you choose to devote to them; and, as a consequence, the degree of excellence to which you aspire. I can only assure you of my firm conviction, that no other means will enable you togain your object so quickly, and I speak with a confidence derived from long experience in many parts of the world, on a subject that was, for several years, my great hobby.[2]

3. Every writer is presumed to take some interest in his reader; I therefore feel privileged to address you as a friend, and will commence my lecture by strongly recommending, that, if your occupations will allow it, you take earnestly and heartily to educating your dogs yourself. If you possess temper and some judgment, and will implicitly attend to my advice, I will go bail for your success, and, much as you may now love shooting, you will then like it infinitely more. Try the plan I recommend, and I will guarantee that the Pointer or Setter Pup which I will, for example sake, suppose to be now in your kennel, shall be a better dog by the end of next season—I mean a more killing dog—than probably any you ever yet shot over.

4. Possibly you will urge, that you are unable to spare the time which I consider necessary for giving him a high education—brief as that time is, comparedwith the many, many months wasted in the tedious methods usually employed—and that you must, perforce, content yourself with humbler qualifications. Be it so, I can only condole with you, for in your case this may be partly true; mind, I only saypartlytrue. But how a man of property, who keeps a regular gamekeeper, can be satisfied with the disorderly, disobedient troop to which he often shoots, I cannot understand. Where the gamekeeper is permitted to accompany his master in the field, and hunt the dogs himself, there can be no valid excuse for the deficiency in their education. The deficiency must arise either from the incapacity, or from the idleness of the keeper.

5. Unlike most other arts, dog-breaking does not require much experience; but such a knowledge of dogs, as will enable you to discriminate between their different tempers and dispositions, I had almost said characters—and they vary greatly—is very advantageous. Some require constant encouragement; some you must never beat; whilst, to gain the required ascendancy over others, the whip must be occasionally employed. Nor is it necessary that the instructor should be a very good shot; which probably is a more fortunate circumstance for me than for you. It should even be received as a principle that birds ought to be now and then missed to young dogs, lest some day, if your nerves happen to be out of order, or a cockney companion be harmlessly blazing away, your dog take it into his head and heels to run home in disgust,as I have seen a bitch, called Countess, do more than once, in Haddingtonshire.

6. The chief requisites in a breaker are:—Firstly, command of temper, that he may never be betrayed into giving one unnecessary blow, for with dogs, as with horses, no work is so well done as that which is done cheerfully; secondly, consistency, that in the exhilaration of his spirits, or in his eagerness to secure a bird, he may not permit a fault to pass unreproved, I do not sayunpunished, which at a less exciting moment he would have noticed—and that, on the other hand, he may not correct a dog the more harshly because the shot has been missed, or the game lost; and lastly, the exercise of a little reflection, to enable him to judge what meaning an unreasonable animal is likely to attach to every word and sign, nay to every look.

7. With the coarsest tackle, and worst flies, trout can be taken in unflogged waters, while it requires much science, and the finest gut, to kill persecuted fish. It is the same in shooting. With almost any sporting-dog game can be killed early in the season, when the birds lie like stones, and the dog can get within a few yards of them; but you will require one highly broken to obtain many shots when they are wild. Then any incautious approach of the dog, or any noise, would flush the game, and your own experience will tell you that nothing so soon puts birds on the run, and makes them so ready to take flight, as the sound of the human voice, especially now-a-days, when farmers generallyprefer the scythe to the sickle, and clean husbandry, large fields, and trim narrow hedges—affording no shelter from wet—have forced the partridge—ashort-winged[3]bird—unwillingly to seek protection, when arrived at maturity, in ready flight rather than in concealment. Even the report of a gun does not so much alarm them as the command, "Toho," or "Down charge," usually too, as if to make matters worse, hallooed to the extent of the breaker's lungs. There are anglers who recommend silence as conducive to success, and there are no experienced sportsmen who do not acknowledge its great value in shooting. Rate or beat a dog at one end of a field, and the birds at the other will lift their heads, become uneasy, and be ready to take wing the moment you get near them. "Penn," in his clever maxims on Angling and Chess, observes to this effect, "if you wish to see the fish, do not let him see you;" and with respect to shooting, we may as truly say, "if you wish birds to hear your gun, do not let them hear your voice." Even a loud whistle disturbs them. Mr. O——t of C——e says a gamekeeper's motto ought to be,—"No whistling—no whipping—no noise, when master goes out for sport."

8. These observations lead unavoidably to the inference,that no dog can be considered perfectly broken, that does not make his point when first he feels assured of the presence of game, and remain stationarywhere he makes it, until urged on by you to draw nearer—that does not, as a matter of course, lie down without any word of command the moment you have fired, and afterwards perseveringly seek for the dead bird in the direction you may point out—and all this without your once having occasion to speak, more than to say in a low voice, "Find," when he gets near the dead bird, as will be hereafter explained. Moreover, it must be obvious that he risks leaving game behind him if he does not hunt every part of a field, and, on the other hand, that he wastes your time and his strength, if he travels twice over the same ground, nay, over any ground which his powers of scent have already reached. Of course I am now speaking of a dog hunted without a companion to share his labors.

9. You may say, "How is all this, which sounds so well in theory, to be obtained in practice without great severity?" Believe me, with severity it never can be attained. If flogging would make a dog perfect, few would be found unbroken in England or Scotland, and scarcely one in Ireland.

10. Astley's method was to give each horse his preparatory lessons alone, and when there was no noise or anything to divert his attention from his instructor. If the horse was interrupted during the lesson, or his attention in any way withdrawn, he was dismissed for thatday. When perfect in certain lessons by himself, he was associated with other horses whose education was further advanced. And it was the practice of that great master to reward his horses with slices of carrot or apple when they performed well.

11. Astley may give us a useful hint in our far easier task of dog-breaking. We see that he endeavored by kindness and patience to make the horse thoroughly comprehend the meaning of certain words and signals before he allowed him any companion. So ought you, by what may be termed "initiatory lessons," to make your young dog perfectly understand the meaning of certain words and signs before you hunt him in the company of another dog—nay, before you hunt him at all; and, in pursuance of Astley's plan, you ought to give these lessons when you are alone with the dog, and his attention is not likely to be withdrawn to other matters. Give them, also, when he is fasting, as his faculties will then be clearer, and he will be more eager to obtain any rewards of biscuit or other food.

12. Be assured that by a consistent adherence to the simple rules which I will explain, you can obtain the perfection I have described,8, with more ease and expedition than you probably imagine to be practicable; and, if you will zealously follow my advice, I promise, that, instead of having to give up your shooting in September—for I am supposing you to be in England—while you break in your pup, you shall then be able to take him into the field, provided he is tolerably well bredand well disposed, perfectly obedient; and, except that he will not have a well-confirmed, judicious range, almost perfectly made; at least so far made, that he will only commit such faults as naturally arise from want of experience. Let me remind you also that the keep of dogs is expensive, and supplies an argument for making them earn their bread by hunting to ausefulpurpose so soon as they are of an age to work without injury to their constitution. Time, moreover, is valuable to us all, or most of us fancy it is. Surely, then, that system of education is best which imparts the most expeditiously the required degree of knowledge.

FOOTNOTES:[2]It may be satisfactory to others to know the opinion of so undeniable an authority as Colonel Hawker. The Colonel, in the Tenth Edition of his invaluable Book on Shooting, writes—page 285—"Since the publication of the last edition, Lieut.-Col. Hutchinson's valuable work on 'Dog-breaking' has appeared. It is a perfectvade mecumfor both Sportsmen and Keeper, and I have great pleasure in giving a cordial welcome to a work which so ably supplies my own deficiencies."[3]The American Quail so closely resembles the English partridge in all its habits, except that it takes to covert in large woodlands, and occasionallytrees, that all the rules of hunting and beating for it, shooting it, and breaking dogs for its pursuit, are entirely identical.—H.W.H.

[2]It may be satisfactory to others to know the opinion of so undeniable an authority as Colonel Hawker. The Colonel, in the Tenth Edition of his invaluable Book on Shooting, writes—page 285—"Since the publication of the last edition, Lieut.-Col. Hutchinson's valuable work on 'Dog-breaking' has appeared. It is a perfectvade mecumfor both Sportsmen and Keeper, and I have great pleasure in giving a cordial welcome to a work which so ably supplies my own deficiencies."

[3]The American Quail so closely resembles the English partridge in all its habits, except that it takes to covert in large woodlands, and occasionallytrees, that all the rules of hunting and beating for it, shooting it, and breaking dogs for its pursuit, are entirely identical.—H.W.H.

13. It is seldom of any advantage to a dog to have more than one instructor. The methods of teaching may be the same; but there will be a difference in the tone of voice and in the manner that will more or less puzzle the learner, and retard rather than advance his education. If, therefore, you resolve to break in your dog, do it entirely yourself; let no one interfere with you.

14. As a general rule, let his education begin when heis about six or seven months old[4]—although I allow that some dogs are more precocious than others, and bitches always more forward than dogs—but it ought to be nearly completed before he is shown a bird (111). A quarter of an hour's daily in-door training—called by the Germans "house-breaking"—for three or four weeks will effect more than a month's constant hunting without preliminary tuition.

15. Never take your young dog out of doors for instruction, until he has learnt to know and obey the several words of command which you intend to give him in the field, and is well acquainted with all the signs which you will have occasion to make to him with your arms. These are what may be called the initiatory lessons.

16. Think a moment, and you will see the importance of this preliminary instruction, though rarely imparted. Why should it be imagined that at the precise moment when a young dog is enraptured with the first sniff of game, he is, by some mysterious unaccountable instinct, to understand the meaning of the word "Toho?" Why should he not conceive it to be a word of encouragementto rush in upon the game, as he probably longs to do; especially if it is a partridge fluttering before him, in the sagacious endeavor to lure him from her brood, or a hare enticingly cantering off from under his nose? There are breakers who would correct him for not intuitively comprehending and obeying the "Toho," roared out with stentorian lungs; though, it is obvious, the youngster, from having had no previous instruction, could have no better reason for understanding its import than the watch-dog chained up in the adjacent farm-yard. Again he hears the word "Toho"—again followed by another licking, accompanied perhaps by the long lecture, "Ware springing birds, will you?" The word "Toho" then begins to assume a most awful character; he naturally connects it with the finding of game, and not understanding a syllable of the lecture, lest he should a third time hear it, and get a third drubbing, he judges it most prudent, unless he is a dog of very high courage, when next aware of the presence of birds, to come in to heel; and thus he commences to be a blinker, thanks to the sagacity and intelligence of his tutor. I do not speak of all professional dog-breakers,—far from it. Many are fully sensible that comprehension of orders must necessarily precede all but accidental obedience. I am only thinking of some whom it has been my misfortune to see, and who have many a time made my blood boil at their brutal usage of a fine high-couraged young dog. Men who had a strong arm and hard heart to punish—but no temper and no head to instruct.

17. So long as you are a bachelor, you can make a companion of your dog, without incurring the danger of his being spoilt by your wife and children; the more, by-the-bye, he is your own companion and nobody else's the better: and it is a fact, though you may smile at the assertion, that all the initiatory lessons can be, and can best be inculcated in your own breakfast-room.

18. Follow Astley's plan. Let no one be present to distract the dog's attention. Call him to you by the whistle you propose always using in the field. Tie a slight cord a few yards long to his collar. Throw him a small piece of toast or meat, saying at the time, "Dead, dead." Do this several times, chucking it into different parts of the room, and let him eat what he finds. Then throw a piece, always as you do so saying, "Dead," and the moment he gets close to it, check him by jerking the cord, at the same time saying, "Toho," and lifting up your right arm almost perpendicularly. By pressing on the cord with your foot, you can restrain him as long as you please. Do not let him take what you have thrown until you give him the encouraging word, "On," accompanied by a forward movement of the right arm and hand, somewhat similar to the swing of an under-hand bowler at cricket.

19. Let all your commands be given in a low voice. Consider that in the field, where you are anxious not to alarm the birds unnecessarily, your words must reach your dogs' ears more or less softened by distance, and, if their influence depends on loudness, they will have theleast effect at the very moment when you wish them to have the most. For the same reason, in the initiatory lessons, be careful not to whistle loudly.

20. After a few trials with the checkcord, you will find yourself enabled, without touching it, and merely by using the word "Toho," to prevent his seizing the toast or meat, until you say "On," or give him the forward signal. When he gets yet more perfect in his lesson, raising your right arm only, without employing your voice, will be sufficient, especially if you have gradually accustomed him to hear you speak less and less loudly. If he draw towards the bread before he has obtained leave, jerk the cord, anddrag him back to the spot from which he stirred. He is not to quit it until you order him, occupy yourself as you may. Move about, and occasionally go from him, as far as you can, before you give the command "On." This will make him less unwilling hereafter to continue steady at his point while you are taking a circuit to head him, and so get wild birds between him and your gun,—179,196. The signal for his advancing, when you are facing him, is the "beckon"—see33.

21. At odd times let him take the bread the moment you throw it, that his eagerness to rush forward to seize it may be continued, only to be instantly restrained at your command.

22. Yourleftarm raised perpendicularly, in a similar manner, should make the young dog lie down. Call out "Drop," when so holding up the left hand, and presshim down with the other until he assumes a crouching position. If you study beauty of attitude, his fore-legs should be extended and his head rest between them. Make him lie well down, occasionally walking round and round him, gradually increasing the size of the circle—your eyes on his. Do not let him raise himself to a sitting posture. If you do, he will have the greater inclination hereafter to move about:especially when you want to catch him in order to chide or correct him. A stop is all you require for the "Toho," and you would prefer his standing to his point, rather than his lying down,[5]as you then would run less risk of losing sight of him in cover, heather, or high turnips, &c. Setters, however, naturally crouch so much more than Pointers, that you will often not be able to prevent their "falling" when they are close to game. Indeed, I have heard some sportsmen argue in favor of a dog's dropping, "that it rested him." An advantage, in my opinion, in no way commensurate with the inconvenience that often attends the practice.

23. If you are satisfied with teaching him in a slovenly manner, you can employ your right arm both for the "Toho" and "Drop;" but that is not quite correct, for the former is a natural stop—being the pause to determineexactly where the game is lying, preparatory to rushing in to seize it—which you prolong by art,[6]whilst the other is wholly opposed to nature. The one affords him great delight, especially when, from experience, he has learnt well its object: the latter is always irksome. Nevertheless, it must be firmly established. It is the triumph of your art. It ensures future obedience. But it cannot be effectually taught without creating more or less awe, and it should create awe. It is obvious, therefore, that it must be advantageous to make a distinction between the two signals—especially with a timid dog—for he will not then be so likely to blink on seeing you raise your right hand when he is drawing upon game. Nevertheless, there are breakers so unreasonable as not only to make that one signal, but the one word "Drop," or rather "Down," answer both for the order to point, and the order to crouch! How can such tuition serve to enlarge a dog's ideas?

24. To perfect him in the "Down," that difficult part of his education,—difficult, because it is unnatural,—practise it in your walks. At very uncertain, unexpected times catch his eye, having previously stealthily taken hold of the checkcord—a long, light one, or a whistle to call his attention, and then hold up your left arm. If he does notinstantlydrop, jerk the checkcord violently,and, as before, drag him back to the exact spot where he should have crouched down. Admit of no compromise. You must haveimplicit,unhesitating,instantobedience. When you quit him, he must not be allowed to crawlan inchafter you. If he attempt it, drive a spike into the ground, and attach the end of the checkcord to it, allowing the line to be slack; then leave him quickly, and on his running after you he will be brought up with a sudden jerk. So much the better; it will slightly alarm him. As before, take him back to the precise place he quitted—do this invariably, though he may have scarcely moved. There make him again "Drop"—always observing to jerk the cord at the moment you give the command. After a few trials of this tethering, say less than a dozen, he will be certain to lie down steadily, until you give the proper order or a signal—20—let you run away, or do what you may to excite him to move. One great advantage of frequently repeating this lesson, and thus teaching itthoroughly, is that your dog will hereafter always feel, more or less, in subjection whenever the cord is fastened to his collar. He must be brought to instantly obey the signal, even at the extreme limit of his beat.

25. Most probably he will not at first rise when he is desired. There is no harm in that—a due sense of the inutility of non-compliance with the order of "Drop," and a wholesome dread of the attendant penalty, will be advantageous. Go up to him—pat him—and lead him for some paces, "making much of him," as they say inthe cavalry. Dogs which are over-headstrong and resolute can only be brought under satisfactory command by this lesson being indelibly implanted—and I think a master before he allows the keeper to take a pup into the field to show him game, should insist upon having ocular demonstration that he is perfect in the "Drop."

26. When he is well confirmed in this all-important lesson, obeying implicitly, yet cheerfully, you may, whilst he is lying down—in order to teach him the "down charge"—go through the motions of loading, on no account permitting him to stir until you give him the forward signal, or say, "On." After a few times you may fire off a copper cap, and then a little powder, but be very careful not to alarm him. Until your dog is quite reconciled to the report of a gun, never take him up to any one who may be firing. I have, however, known of puppies being familiarized to the sound, by being at first kept at a considerable distance from the party firing, and then gradually and by slow degrees brought nearer. This can easily be managed at a rifle or pigeon match, and the companionship of a made-dog would much expedite matters. Whenever, in the lessons, your young dog has behaved steadily and well, give him a reward. Do not throw it to him: let him take it from your hands. It will assist in making him tender-mouthed, and in attaching him to you.

27. In some cavalry regiments in India, the feeding-time is denoted by the firing off of a pistol. This soon changes a young horse's first dread of the report intoeager, joyous expectation. You might, if you did not dislike the trouble, in a similar manner, soon make your pup regard the report of a gun as the gratifying summons to his dinner, but coupled with the understanding that, as a preliminary step, he is to crouch the instant he hears the sound. After a little perseverance you would so well succeed, that you would not be obliged even to raise your hand. If habituated to wait patiently at the "drop," however hungry he may be, before he is permitted to taste his food, it is reasonable to think he will remain at the "down charge," yet more patiently before he is allowed to "seek dead."

28. If your pupil is unusually timid, and you cannot banish his alarm on hearing the gun, couple him to another dog which has no such foolish fears, and will steadily "down charge." The confidence of the one will impart confidence to the other. Fear and joy are feelings yet more contagious in animals than in man. It is the visible, joyous animation of the old horses, that so quickly reconciles the cavalry colt to the sound of the "feeding-pistol."

29. A keeper who had several dogs to break, would find the advantage of pursuing the cavalry plan just noticed. Indeed, he might extend it still further, by having his principal in-door drill at feeding-time, and by enforcing, but in minuter details, that kennel discipline which has brought many a pack of hounds to marvellous obedience. He should place the food in different parts of the yard. He should have a short checkcord on allhis pupils; and, after going slowly through the motions of loading (the dogs having regularly "down-charged" on the report of the gun), he should call each separately by name, and by signals of the hand send them successively to different, but designated feeding-troughs.[7]He might then call a dog to him which had commenced eating, and after a short abstinence, make him go to another trough. He might bring two to his heels and make them change troughs, and so vary the lesson, that, in a short time, with the aid of the checkcords, he would have them under such complete command that they would afterwards give him comparatively but little trouble in the field. As they became more and more submissive he would gradually retire further and further, so as, at length, to have his orders obeyed when at a considerable distance from his pupils. The small portion of time these lessons would occupy compared with their valuable results should warn him most forcibly not to neglect them.

FOOTNOTES:[4]But from his very infancy you ought not to have allowed him to be disobedient. You should have made him know—which he will do nearly intuitively—that a whip can punish him, though he ought never to havesufferedfrom it. I have heard of pups only four months old being made quiteau faitto the preliminary drill here recommended. This early exercise of their intelligence and observation must have benefited them. The questionable point is the unnecessary consumption of the instructor's time.[5]This is one reason for giving initiatory lessons in the "Toho" before the "Drop." Another is that the dog may acquire the "Toho" before he has run the chance of being cowed in learning the "Drop." If the latter were taught first, he might confound the "Toho" with it.[6]I know of a young man's reading the first edition of this book, and taking it into his head to teach his Terrier to point according to the method just recommended. He succeeded perfectly. Some Terriers have been made very useful for cover shooting.[7]There is often such a similarity in the names of hounds, that a person cannot but be much struck, who for the first time sees them go to their meals, one by one as they are called.

[4]But from his very infancy you ought not to have allowed him to be disobedient. You should have made him know—which he will do nearly intuitively—that a whip can punish him, though he ought never to havesufferedfrom it. I have heard of pups only four months old being made quiteau faitto the preliminary drill here recommended. This early exercise of their intelligence and observation must have benefited them. The questionable point is the unnecessary consumption of the instructor's time.

[5]This is one reason for giving initiatory lessons in the "Toho" before the "Drop." Another is that the dog may acquire the "Toho" before he has run the chance of being cowed in learning the "Drop." If the latter were taught first, he might confound the "Toho" with it.

[6]I know of a young man's reading the first edition of this book, and taking it into his head to teach his Terrier to point according to the method just recommended. He succeeded perfectly. Some Terriers have been made very useful for cover shooting.

[7]There is often such a similarity in the names of hounds, that a person cannot but be much struck, who for the first time sees them go to their meals, one by one as they are called.

30. When your young dog is tolerably well advanced in the lessons which you have been advised to practise,hide a piece of bread or biscuit. Say "Dead, dead." Call him to you. (40.) Let him remain by you for nearly a minute or two. Then say "Find," or "Seek." Accompany him in his search. By your actions and gestures make him fancy you are yourself looking about for something, for dogs are observing, one might say, imitative, creatures.[8]Stoop and move your right hand to and fro near the ground. Contrive that he shall come upon the bread, and reward him by permitting him to eat it.

31. After a little time—a few days I mean—he will show the greatest eagerness on your saying, at any unexpected moment, "Dead." He will connect the word with the idea that there is something very desirable concealed near him, and he will be all impatience to be off and find it;but make him first come to you—for reason, see182.—Keep him half a minute.—Then say "Find," and, without your accompanying him, he will search for what you have previously hidden. Always let him be encouraged to perseverance by discovering something acceptable.

32. Unseen by him, place the rewards—one at a time—in different parts of the room,—under the rug or carpet, and more frequently on a chair, a table, or a low shelf.He will be at a loss in what part of the room to search. Assist him by a motion of your arm and hand. A wave of the right arm and hand to the right, will soon show him that he is to hunt to the right, as he will find there. The corresponding wave of the left hand and arm to the left, will explain to him, that he is to make a cast to the left. The underhand bowler's swing of the right hand and arm, will show that he is to hunt in a forward direction.[9]Your occasionally throwing the delicacy—in the direction you wish him to take,—whilst waving your hand, will aid in making him comprehend the signal. You may have noticed how well, by watching the action of a boy's arm, his little cur judges towards what point to run for the expected stone.

33. When the hidden object is near you, but between you and the dog, make him come towards you to seek for it, beckoning him with your right hand. When he is at a distance at the "Drop," if you are accustomed to recompense him for good behavior, you can employ this signal to make him rise and run towards you for his reward—andaccording to my judgment he should always join you after the "down charge,"—184. By these means you will thus familiarize him with a very useful signal; for that signal will cause him to approach you in the field, when you have made a circuit to head him at his point—knowing that birds will then be lying somewhere between you and him—and want him to draw nearer to the birds and you, to show you exactly where they are. This some may call a superfluous refinement, but I hopeyouwill consider it a very killing accomplishment, and, being easily taught, it were a pity to neglect it. When a Setter is employed in cock-shooting, the advantage of using this signal is very apparent. While the dog is steadily pointing, it enables the sportsman to look for a favorable opening, and, when he has posted himself to his satisfaction, to sign to the Setter—or if out of sight to tell him—to advance and flush the bird: when, should the sportsman have selected his position with judgment, he will generally get a shot. I have seen this method very successfully adopted in America, where the forests are usually so dense that cocks are only found on the outskirts in the underwood.

34. After a little time he will regularly look to you for directions. Encourage him to do so; it will make him hereafter, when he is in the field, desirous of hunting under your eye, and induce him to look to you, in a similar manner, for instructions in what direction he is to search for game. Observe how a child watches its mother's eye; so will a dog watch yours, when he becomesinterested in your movements, and finds that you frequently notice him.

35. Occasionally, when he approaches any of the spots where the bread lies hidden, say "Care," and slightly raise your right hand. He will quickly consider this word, or signal, as an intimation that he is near the object of his search.

36. Never deceive him in any of these words and signs, and never disappoint him of the expected reward. Praise and caress him for good conduct; rate him for bad. Make it a rule throughout the whole course of his education, out of doors as fully as within, to act upon this system. You will find that caresses and substantial rewards are far greater incentives to exertion than any fears of punishment.

37. Your pup having become a tolerable proficient in these lessons, you may beneficially extend them by employing the word "Up," as a command that he is to sniff high in the air to find the hidden bread or meat, lying, say on a shelf, or on the back of a sofa. He will, comparatively speaking, be some time in acquiring a knowledge of the meaning of the word, and many would probably term it an over-refinement in canine education; but I must own I think you will act judiciously if you teach it perfectly in the initiatory lessons; for the word "Up," if well understood, will frequently save your putting on the puzzle-peg. For this you might be tempted to employ, should your dog be acquiring the execrable habit of "raking," as it is termed, instead ofsearching for the delicious effluvia with his nose carried high in the air.

38. Whenever birds can be sought for in the wind, the dog should thus hunt the field—and the higher he carries his nose the better—for, independently of the far greater chance of finding them, they will allow the dog to come much nearer than when he approaches them by the foot: but of this more anon.

39. Setters and Pointers naturally hunt with their noses sufficiently close to the ground—they want elevating rather than depressing. Notwithstanding, you will do well to show your pupil a few times out of doors how to work out a scent, by dragging a piece of bread unperceived by himdown windthrough grass, and then letting him "foot" it out. Try him for a few yards at first; you can gradually increase the length of the drag. You must not, however, practise this initiatory lesson too frequently, lest you give him the wretched custom of pottering.

40. The word "Heel," and a backward low wave of the right hand and arm to the rear—the reverse of the underhand cricket-bowler's swing—will, after a few times, bring the dog close behind you. Keep him there a while and pat him, but do not otherwise reward him. The object of the order was to make him instantly give up hunting, and come to your heels. This signal cannot be substituted for the "beckon." The one is an order always obeyed with reluctance—being a command to leave off hunting—whereas the "beckon" is merely aninstruction in what direction to beat, and will be attended to with delight. The signal "heel," however, when given immediately after loading, is an exception; for the instructions about "Dead" in xi. of141, will show that without your speaking it may be made to impart the gratifying intelligence of your having killed. See also190.

41. To teach him to attach a meaning to the word "Gone," or "Away," or "Flown,"[10]—select which you will, but do not ring the changes—you may now rub a piece of meat—if you have no one but your servant to scold you—in some place where the dog is accustomed frequently to find, and when he is sniffing at the place say "Gone," or "Away." This he will, after some trials, perceive to be an intimation that it is of no use to continue hunting for it.

42. You will greatly facilitate his acquiring the meaning of the command "Fence," or "Ware-fence," if, from time to time, as he is quitting the room through the open door or garden window, you restrain him by calling out that word.

43. Whenever, indeed, you wish him to desist from doing anything, call out "Ware,"—pronounced "War"—as it will expedite his hereafter understanding the terms "Ware sheep," "Ware chase," and "Ware lark." The last expression to be used when he is wastinghis time upon the scent of anything but game—a fault best cured by plenty of birds being killed to him. However, the simple word "No," omitting "Chase" or "Fence," might be substituted advantageously for "Ware." All you want him to do is to desist from a wrong action. That sharp sound—and when necessary it can be clearly thundered out—cannot be misunderstood.

44. That your young dog may not hereafter resist the couples, yoke him occasionally to a stronger dog, and for the sake of peace, and in the name of all that is gallant, let it be to the one of the other sex who appears to be the greatest favorite.

45. When he is thus far advanced in his education, and tolerably obedient, which he will soon become if you are consistent, andpatient,yet strict, you can, in further pursuance of Astley's plan, associate him in his lessons with a companion. Should you be breaking in another youngster—though one at a time you will probably find quite enough, especially if it be your laudable wish to give him hereafter a well confirmed scientific range—they can now be brought together for instruction. You must expect to witness the same jealousy which they would exhibit on the stubble. Both will be anxious to hunt for the bread, and in restraining them alternately from so doing, you exact the obedience which you will require hereafter in the field, when in their natural eagerness they will endeavor, unless you properly control them, to take the point of birds from oneanother; or, in their rivalry, run over the taint of a wounded bird, instead of collectedly and perseveringly working out the scent. You can throw a bit of toast, and make them "Toho" it, and then let the dog you name take it. In the same way you can let each alternately search for a hidden piece, after both have come up to you, on your saying "Dead." I would also advise you to accustom each dog to "drop," without any command from you, the moment he sees that the other is down.

46. Those lessons will almost ensure their hereafter instantly obeying, and nearly instantly comprehending the object of the signal to "back" any dog which may be pointing game.

47. When you take out two youngsters for exercise, while they are romping about, suddenly call one into "heel." After a time again send him off on his gambols. Whistle to catch the eye of the other, and signal to him to join you. By working them thus alternately, while they are fresh and full of spirits, you will habituate them to implicit obedience. When the birds are wild, and you are anxious to send a basket of game to a friend, it is very satisfactory to be able merely by a sign, without uttering a word, to bring the other dogs into "heel," leaving the ground to the careful favorite. Teach the present lesson well, and you go far towards attaining the desired result.

48. I trust you will not object to the minutiæ of these initiatory lessons, and fancy you have not time toattend to them. By teaching them well you will gain time,—much time,—and the time that is of most value to you as a sportsman; for when your dog is regularly hunting to your gun his every faculty ought to be solely devoted to finding birds, and his undisturbed intellects exclusively given to aid you in bagging them, instead of being bewildered by an endeavor to comprehend novel signals or words of command. I put it to you as a sportsman, whether he will not have the more delight and ardor in hunting, the more he feels that he understands your instructions? and, further, I ask you, whether he will not be the more sensitively alive to the faintest indication of a haunt, and more readily follow it up to a sure find, if he be unembarrassed by any anxiety to make out what you mean, and be in no way alarmed at the consequences of not almost instinctively understanding your wishes?

49. In all these lessons, and those which follow in the field, the checkcord will wonderfully assist you. Indeed it may be regarded as the instructor's right hand. It can be employed so mildly as not to intimidate the most gentle, and it can, without the aid of any whip, be used with such severity, or I should rather say perseverance, as to conquer the most wild and headstrong, and these are sure to be dogs of the greatest travel and endurance. The cord may be from ten to twenty-five[11]yardslong, according to the animal's disposition, and may be gradually shortened as he gets more and more under command. Even when it is first employed you can put on a shorter cord if you perceive that he is becoming tired. In thick stubble, especially if cut with a sickle, the drag will be greater, far greater than when the cord glides over heather. The cord may be of the thickness of what some call strong lay-cord, but made of twelve threads. Sailors would know it by the name of log-line or cod-line. To save the end from fraying it can be whipped with thread, which is better than tying a knot, because it is thus less likely to become entangled.

FOOTNOTES:[8]Imitative creatures! who can doubt it? If you make an old dog perform a trick several times in the sight of a young one who is watching the proceedings, you will be surprised to see how quickly the young one will learn the trick, especially if he has seen that the old dog was always rewarded for his obedience.[9]Obedience to all such signals will hereafter be taught out of doors at gradually increased distances; and to confirm him in the habit of sniffing high in the air (37) for whatever you may then hide, put the bread or meat on a stick or bush, but never in a hedge. With the view to his some day retrieving, as instanced in190, it will be your aim to get him not to seek immediately, but to watch your signals, until by obeying them you will have placed him close to where the object lies, at which precise moment you will say energetically "Find," and cease making any further signs.[10]The least comprehensive and logical of the expressions, yet one often used. A dog being no critical grammarian, understands it to apply to fur as well as feather.[11]With a resolute, reckless, dashing dog you may advantageously employ athinnercord of double that length,—whereas, the shortest line will sometimes prevent a timid animal from ranging freely. By-the-bye, the thinner the cord the more readily does it become entangled—as a rule, a checkcord cannot be too firmly twisted—a soft one quickly gets knotted and troublesome. (See note to177.)

[8]Imitative creatures! who can doubt it? If you make an old dog perform a trick several times in the sight of a young one who is watching the proceedings, you will be surprised to see how quickly the young one will learn the trick, especially if he has seen that the old dog was always rewarded for his obedience.

[9]Obedience to all such signals will hereafter be taught out of doors at gradually increased distances; and to confirm him in the habit of sniffing high in the air (37) for whatever you may then hide, put the bread or meat on a stick or bush, but never in a hedge. With the view to his some day retrieving, as instanced in190, it will be your aim to get him not to seek immediately, but to watch your signals, until by obeying them you will have placed him close to where the object lies, at which precise moment you will say energetically "Find," and cease making any further signs.

[10]The least comprehensive and logical of the expressions, yet one often used. A dog being no critical grammarian, understands it to apply to fur as well as feather.

[11]With a resolute, reckless, dashing dog you may advantageously employ athinnercord of double that length,—whereas, the shortest line will sometimes prevent a timid animal from ranging freely. By-the-bye, the thinner the cord the more readily does it become entangled—as a rule, a checkcord cannot be too firmly twisted—a soft one quickly gets knotted and troublesome. (See note to177.)

50. Hunted with such a cord, the most indomitable dog, when he isperfectly obedient to the "drop,"is nearly as amenable to command as if the end of the line were in the breaker's hand. By no other means can

bequicklybroken in. The general object of the trainer is to restrain them from ranging at a distance likely to spring game out of gun-shot, and to make them perfect to the "down charge." If one of these high-spirited animals will not range close when called to by whistleor name, the breaker gets hold of the cord and jerks it; this makes the dog come in a few paces; another jerk or two makes him approach closer, and then the breaker, by himself retiring with his face towards the spaniel, calling out his name—or whistling,—and occasionally jerking the cord, makes him quite submissive, and more disposed to obey on future occasions.

51. In training a large team it is of much advantage to the keeper to have a lad to rate, and, when necessary, give the skirters a taste of the lash—in short, to act as whipper-in. The keeper need not then carry a whip, or at least often use it, which will make his spaniels all the more willing to hunt close to him.

52. Lord A——r's head gamekeeper was singularly aided—he possessed a four-legged whipper-in. Three years since while Mr. D——s—M.P. for a South Eastern County—was with a shooting party at his Lordship's, the keeper brought into the field a brace of powerful retrievers, and a team of spaniels, among which were two that had never been shot over. On the first pheasant being killed all the old spaniels dropped to shot, but one of the young ones rushed forward and mouthed the bird. The person who had fired ran on to save the bird, but the keeper called aloud, and requested him not to move. The man then made a signal to one of the retrievers to go. He did so instantly, but, instead of meddling with the bird, he seized the spaniel, lifted him up, and shook him well. The moment the pup could escape he came howling to the "heels" ofthe keeper, and lay down among his companions. The keeper then confessed that a couple of the spaniels had never been shot to—but he confidently assured the sportsmen they would see before the day was over that the pups behaved fully as steadily as the old dogs, and explained to the party how the retriever did all the disagreeable work, and indeed nearly relieved him of every trouble in breaking in the youngsters. On the next few shots this novel schoolmaster was again deputed to show his pupils that he would not allow his special duties as a retriever to be interfered with. Both the young dogs, having been thus well chastised, became more careful—made only partial rushes to the front, when a recollection of their punishment and a dread of their four-footed tutor brought them slinking back to their older companions. As the keeper had averred, they soon learned their lesson completely—gave up all thought of chasing after shot, and quietly crouched down with the other dogs.

53. I can easily imagine that it was a feeling of jealousy which first prompted the retriever to thrash some spaniel who was endeavoring to carry off a bird, and that the clever keeper encouraged him in doing so, instantly perceiving the value of such assistance. It is worth a consideration whether it would not be advisable to train the retriever employed with a team to give this assistance. A dog of a quarrelsome disposition could be taught, by your urging him, to seize any spaniel who might be mouthing a bird, in the same manner you would set on a young terrier to fly at a rat.

54. Doubtless it is thehighesttraining to teach a team to "down-charge," but most breakers make their spaniels come into "heel," or rather gather close around them—by the word "round"—whenever a gun is discharged. This plan, though so injudicious in the case of pointers or setters, is but little objectionable in the case of spaniels, for spaniels in their small sweep inwards are not likely to spring game while the guns are unloaded. It certainly possesses this merit, that it is readily taught to puppies—with the aid of a whipper-in—by the trainer's giving them some delicacy on their rejoining him. It may be urged too that the method much removes any necessity for noise in calling to a dog—whereas, with a team trained to the "down-charge," however highly broken, it will occasionally happen that the keeper—or assistant—has to rate some excited skirter for not instantly "dropping." Moreover, in thick cover, an infraction of the irksome rule to "down charge" may sometimes escape detection, which might lead to future acts of insubordination. Prince Albert's team of Clumbers "down-charge," but the greatest attention is paid to them. They are admirably broken, and I may add, are shot over by a first-rate hand.

55. When exercising young spaniels it is a good plan to habituate them, even as puppies, never to stray further from you than about twenty yards. With them, even more than with other kinds of dogs trained for the gun, great pains should be taken to prevent their having the opportunity of "self-hunting." If it is wished tobreak from hare, the method to be followed is mentioned in233, &c., for with spaniels as with setters—or pointers—it is always advisable to drag them back to the spot from which they started in pursuit.

56. Occasionally you may see a country blacksmith when preparing to shoe the hind legs of a cart horse that appears disposed to make a disagreeable use of his heels, twist the long hair at the end of his tail,—raise the foot that is to be shod,—pass the twisted hair round the leg immediately above the hock, and by these means press the tendon close to the bone. The tail assists in retaining the leg in position, and thus, for the time, the limb is rendered powerless. Acting much upon this coercive principle, but discarding the aid of the tail, some breakersslightlyconfine a hind-leg of their most unruly spaniels with a soft bandage, shifting it from one leg to the other about every hour. Possibly a loop of vulcanized india-rubber, being elastic, would best answer the purpose. Restrained in this manner a dog is less likely to tumble about, and become injured, than if one of his fore legs had been passed through his collar. Other breakers, when hunting many couple together, fasten a belt with a few pounds of shot round the necks of the wildest. But the sooner such adjuncts to discipline can be safely discarded the better; for "brushing" a close cover is severe work. Gorse is the most trying[12]. Its prickles are so numerous and fine thatthe ears and eyes of every spaniel hunted in it ought to be separately examined on returning home, and well bathed in warm water. Their eyes are peculiarly liable to be injured by dust and gravel from their hunting so close to the ground.

57. To give young spaniels sufficient courage to face the most entangled cover, a judicious trainer will occasionally introduce them to thick brakes, or gorse, early in the morning, or in the evening, when the noise of his approach will have made the pheasants feeding in the neighborhood run far into it for shelter. The effluvia of the birds will then so excite the young dogs, especially if cheered with good companionship—which always creates emulation—that they will utterly disregard the pricks and scratches of the strongest furze.

58. If the time of year will permit, they should be shown game when about nine or ten months old. At a more advanced age they would be less amenable to control. Happily the example of a riotous pup will not be as detrimental to the discipline of the rest of the team as the example of an ill-conducted companion would be to a pointer—or setter—for the influence of thoroughly steady spaniels makes the pup curtail his range sooner than might be expected. Finding that he is not followed by his associates he soon rejoins them.

59. A judicious breaker will regard perfection in the"drop"—22 to 25—as the main-spring of his educational system. He will teach his young spaniels to "seek dead"—30,31,39—where directed by signs of the hand. He will instruct them in "fetching"—92,94. &c.—with the view to some of them hereafter retrieving. He will accustom them to hunt hedge-rows, and light open copses—because always under his eye—before taking them into closer cover. Nor until they are under some command, and well weaned from noticing vermin and small birds, will he allow them to enter gorse or strong thickets, and then he will never neglect—though probably he will have used them before—to attach bells ofdifferent soundsto the collars of his several pupils—one to each—so that his ear may at all times detect any truant straying beyond bounds, and thus enable him to rate the delinquent by name. In this manner he establishes the useful feeling elsewhere spoken of—262—that whether he be within or out of sight he is equally aware of every impropriety that is committed.

60. Young spaniels, when they have been steadily broken in not to hunt too far ahead on the instructor's side of the hedge, may be permitted to beat on the other—and this when only one person is shooting is generally their most useful position, for they are thus more likely to drive the game towards the gun.

61. If a keeper is hunting the team, while you and a friend are beating narrow belts or strips of wood, should you and he be placed, as is usual, on the outside, a littleahead of the keeper—one to his right, the other to his left—you would much aid him in preventing the young spaniels from ranging wildly were you to turn your face towards him whenever you saw any of them getting too far in advance, for they will watch the guns as much as they will him.

62. Among spaniels the great advantage of age and experience is more apparent than in partridge-dogs. A young spaniel cannot keep to a pheasant's tail like an old one. He may push the bird for forty or fifty yards if judiciously managed. After that he is almost sure from impatience either to lose it, or rush in and flush out of shot, whereas an old cocker, who has had much game shot over him, is frequently knowing enough to slacken his pace, instead of increasing it, when he first touches on birds, apparently quite sensible that he ought to give the gun time to approach before he presses to a flush.

63. Even good spaniels, however well bred, if they have not had great experience, generally road too fast. Undeniably they are difficult animals to educate, and it requires much watchfulness, perseverance, and attention at an early age, so to break in a team of young ones that they shall keep within gun range without your being compelled to halloo or whistle to them. But some few are yet more highly trained.

64. Mr. N——n, when in France, had a lively, intelligent, liver and white cocker which would work busily all day long within gun-shot; and which possessed thesingular accomplishment of steadily pointing all game that lay well, and of not rushing in until the sportsman had come close to him. But this is a case of high breaking more curious than useful, for spaniels are essentiallyspringers, notpointers, and the little animal must frequently have been lost sight of in cover. Our grandfathers used to apply the term springers solely to large spaniels—never to the Duke of Marlborough's small breed, which was greatly prized.

65. A dog is generally most attached to that description of sport, and soonest recognises the scent of that game, to which he has principally been accustomed in youth. He will through life hunt most diligently where he first had the delight of often finding. The utility therefore is obvious of introducing spaniels at an early age to close covers and hedge-rows, and setters and pointers to heather and stubble.

66. In spaniels, feathered sterns and long ears are much admired, but obviously the latter must suffer in thick underwood. The chief requisite in all kinds of spaniels, is, that they be good finders, and have noses so true that they will never overrun a scent. Should they do so when footing an old cock[13]pheasant, the chancesare that he will double back on the exact line by which he came. They should be high-mettled,—as regardless of the severest weather as of the most punishing cover, and ever ready to spring into the closest thicket the moment a pointed finger gives the command.

67. A comprehension of the signal made by the finger—which is far neater than the raising of the hand described in30, but not so quickly understood—might with advantage be imparted to all dogs trained for the gun, in order to make them hunt closeexactlywhere directed. It is usually taught by pointing with the fore-finger of the right hand to pieces of biscuit, previously concealed, near easily recognised tufts of grass, weeds, &c. It is beautiful to see how correctly, promptly, yet quietly, some spaniels will work in every direction thus indicated.

68. Breasting a strong cover with cockers, is more suited to young, than to old men. The gun must follow rapidly, and stick close when a dog is on the road of feather. A shot will then infallibly be obtained, if a good dog be at work; for the more closely a bird is pressed, the hotter gets the scent. If a pheasant found in thick cover on marshy ground near water—a locality they much like in hot weather—is not closely pushed, he will so twist, and turn, and double upon old tracks that none but the most experienced dogs will be able to stick to him.

69. The preceding observations respecting spaniels apply to all descriptions employed on land-service,whether of the strong kind, the Sussex breed and the Clumber, or the smallest cockers, Blenheims and King Charles'. But whether they are to be trained not to hunt flick[14]—the most difficult part of their tuition, and in which there is generally most failure,—and whether they shall be bred to give tongue, or run mute, will depend much upon the nature of the country to be hunted, and yet more upon the taste of the proprietor. No fixed rules can be given for a sport that varies so much as cover-shooting.

70. Of the large kind, most sportsmen will think a couple and a half a sufficient number to hunt at a time. Certainly one of them should retrieve: and they ought to be well broken in not to notice flick. These dogs are most esteemed when they run mute. If they do, they must be hunted with bells in very thick cover; but the less bells are employed the better, for the tinkling sound, in a greater or smaller degree, annoys all game. Such dogs, when good, are very valuable.

71. I once shot over a team of Clumber spaniels belonging to Mr. D——z.[15]The breed—the Duke of Newcastle's, taking their name from one of his seats—aremostly white with a little lemon color, have large, sensible heads, thick, short legs, silky coats, carry their sterns low, and hunt perfectly mute. The team kept within twenty or twenty-five yards of the keeper, were trained to acknowledge rabbits, as well as all kinds of game; and in the country Mr. D——z was then shooting over afforded capital sport. One of the spaniels was taught to retrieve. He would follow to any distance, and seldom failed to bring. A regular retriever was, however, generally taken out with them. Mr. D——z told me that they required very judicious management, and encouragement rather than severity, as undue whipping soon made them timid. They are of a delicate constitution. He rather surprised me by saying that his spaniels from working quietly and ranging close,—therefore, alarming the birds less,—procured him far more shots in turnips than his pointers; and he had three that looked of the right sort. He explained matters, however, by telling me that it was his practice to make a circuit round the outskirts of a turnip or a potato field before hunting the inner parts. This of course greatly tended to prevent the birds breaking. A juvenile sportsman would rejoice in the services of the spaniels, for many a rabbit would they procure for him without the aid of powder and shot.

72. When Colonel M——, who died in Syria, was stationed with his troop of Horse Artillery at Pontefract, he was asked to shoot partridges at Lord P——n's seat in Yorkshire. On meeting the gamekeeper, accordingto appointment, he found him surrounded by a team of Clumber spaniels. Colonel M——, in some surprise at seeing no setters or pointers, remarked that he had expected somepartridgeshooting. "I know it," answered the man, "and I hope to show you some sport." To the inquiry why one of the spaniels was muzzled, the keeper said that his master had threatened to shoot it should it again give tongue, and, as it possessed a particularly fine nose, he—the keeper—was anxious not to lose it. They walked on, and soon the man told M—— to be prepared, as the spaniels were feathering. A covey rose. The Colonel, who was a good shot, killed right and left. All the spaniels dropped instantly. When he was reloading the keeper begged him to say which of the dogs should retrieve the game. M—— pointed to a broad-headed dog lying in the middle, when the keeper directed by name the spaniel so favored to be off. It quickly fetched one of the birds. The keeper then asked M—— to choose some other dog to bring the remaining bird—a runner. He did so, and the animal he selected to act as retriever performed the duty very cleverly; the rest of the team remaining quite still, until its return.

The Colonel had capital sport, killing nearly twenty brace, and the dogs behaved beautifully throughout the day. When afterwards relating the circumstances, he observed that, although an old sportsman, he had seldom been so gratified, as it was a novel scene to him, who had not been accustomed to shoot over spaniels.

73. Of small cockers, three couple appear ample to form a team. Some teams of small springers greatly exceed this number, and many sportsmen shoot over more than a couple and a half of the larger spaniels; but it is a question whether, in the generality of cases, the gun would not benefit by the number being diminished rather than increased. The smaller in number the team, the greater is the necessity that none of them should stick too close to "heel." The difficulty is to make them hunt far enough, and yet not too far. At least one of the number should retrieve well. If they give tongue, it ought to be in an intelligible manner; softly, when they first come on the haunt of a cock, but making the cover ring again with their joyous melody, when once the bird is flushed. A first rate cocker will never deceive by opening upon an old haunt, nor yet find the gun unprepared by delaying to give due warning before he flushes the bird. When cocks are abundant, some teams are broken, not only to avoid flick, but actually not to notice a pheasant, or anything besides woodcock. Hardly any price would tempt a real lover of cock-shooting, in a cocking country, to part with such a team. Hawker terms the sport, "the fox-hunting of shooting." Some sportsmen kill water-hens to young spaniels to practise them in forcing their way through entangled covers, and get them well in hand and steady against the all-important cocking season.

74. When a regular retriever can be constantly employed with spaniels, of course it will be unnecessary tomake any of them fetch game—certainly never to lift anything which falls out of bounds—though all the team should be taught to "seek dead." This is the plan pursued by the Duke of Newcastle's keepers, and obviously it is the soundest and easiest practice, for it must always be more or less difficult to make a spaniel keep within his usual hunting limits, who is occasionally encouraged to pursue wounded game, at his best pace, to a considerable distance.

75. Other teams are broken no more than to keep within range, being allowed to hunt all kinds of game, and also rabbits; they, however, are restricted from pursuing wounded flick further than fifty or sixty yards. Where rabbits are abundant, and outlying, a team thus broken affords lively sport—nothing escapes them.

76. Wild spaniels, though they may show you most cock, will get you fewest shots, unless you have well-placed markers. There are sportsmen who like to take out one steady dog to range close to them, and a couple of wild ones to hunt on the flanks, one on each side, expressly that the latter may put up birds for the markers to take note of.

77. An old sportsman knowsmutespaniels to be most killing: a young one may prefer those which give tongue—if true from the beginning owning nothing but game,—because, though undeniably greater disturbers of a cover, they are more cheerful and animating. The superiority of the former is, however, apparent on a stillcalm day, when the least noise will make the game steal away long before the gun gets within shot. But it is not so in all countries.

78. In very thick covers it is obvious, the height of setters being greatly against them, that spaniels are far preferable: but in light covers, and when the leaves are off the trees,handyold setters—if white, all the better—that will readily confine themselves to a restricted range, and will flush their game when ordered—IV. and VII. of119and196—afford quite as much sport, if not more. Setters do not, to the same degree, alarm birds; and there is, also, this advantage, that they can be employed onalloccasions, excepting in low gorse or the closest thickets, whereas spaniels, from their contracted "beat," are nearly useless in the open when game is scarce. You will be prepared, when first you hunt a setter in cover, to sacrifice much of your sport. There must be noise; for it is essential to make him at once thoroughly understand the very different "beat" required of him, and this can only be effected by constantly checking and rating him, whenever he ranges beyond the prescribed limits. He should hunt slowly and carefully to the right and left, and never be much in advance of the guns. In a short time he will comprehend matters, if you are so forbearing and judicious as invariably to call him away from every point made the least out of bounds. A less severe test of your consistency will not suffice. The few first days will either make or mar him as a cover-dog. You must naturally expect that hunting him much incover will injure his range in the open, and make him too fond of hedge-rows.

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