SOBIE RECOLLECTIONS OF THE " TWELFTH." 61 



which would do emiueut service as a " siren " ou the outlying 

 rocks of some fog-enveloped coast, endeavours to induce them 

 to hunt the same grounds as his master, but in vain. These 

 dogs are often what is called " broken," — that is, they have 

 had hammered into them the mechanical lesson (if within 

 earshot) to go down to hand, and also to back each other's 

 points. Usually this accomplishment is purely mechanical, 

 and one has to laugh at the absurd spectacle of one of these 

 valuable auxiliaries to human nasal deficiencies steadily 

 backing another which has stopped to get a drink, or for any 

 other purpose. Then, when they find birds, it is usually at 

 least dubious if the latter will lie till the shooter travels, 

 say, a quarter of a mile to his point, even if the mechanical 

 training is good enough to insure the dogs not springing the 

 game by jealously drawing in too near them before the 

 gunner gets up. With such dogs, a hardworking man on a 

 wide beat may get a fair bag of grouse in a long day ; but 

 he would perhaps get almost as many without running a dog 

 at all. 



The opposite type of dog is that which appears to realize 

 that its object is to assist its master to kill game ; which 

 persistently and closely quarters the ground right in front of 

 him, attentive to every signal by hand to pay special atten- 

 tion to likely bits ; which seldom hunts far out of sight, 

 even when in hollows, or places where, by reason of the lie of 

 the ground, one can only see a short distance ; which takes 

 advantage of the wind, so that one can practically hunt in any 

 direction almost regardless of its *' airt " — in short, which 

 utilizes to the full every canine instinct and faculty in 

 co-operation with its master's directing capacity. Nothing 

 to my eye is more ridiculous or less workmanlike than to 

 see a man spending nearly half his time walking away to 

 leeward so as " to give his dogs the wind " on the return 

 cast. 



As already mentioned, it is well known that the wildest 

 grouse in August can be dominated by persistent following 

 up. But it needs useful dogs to find them again and again, 

 for, after a few rises and a long shot or two, the}^ become 

 demoralized, and will then hardly rise at all. This is best 



