Dogs. 135 



them in the way of intelligence and adaptability 

 to varying circumstances. I am not detract- 

 ing from the characters of these wonderful aids 

 to mankind when I state that a tyro must 

 expect to find " Ponto " or " Trust " somewhat 

 of a fool in ordinary matters. Things that 

 a spaniel or a terrier will learn almost at 

 once, or will *' tumble to " without any 

 learning as occasion demands, will prove a 

 sore puzzle to the highly trained creature, 

 whose very training has tended to make 

 him more or less mechanical and dependent 

 on rote. In fact, the more of a scent-winding 

 automaton, and therefore a better performer, 

 a shooting dog is, the less will he respond to 

 out-of-the-way demands on the part of his 

 master. I should be sorry to have to calculate 

 how much time is wasted by enthusiastic young 

 shooters in attempting to teach their pointers 

 or setters to retrieve, for instance. Certainly, 

 they sometimes partially succeed, though if 

 there be such a thing as a thoroughly good 

 retrieving dog of either breed in England, 

 I have never seen it, and nothing less than 



