136 A Book of the Snipe, 



thoroughly good would be of the slightest 

 use in snipe-shooting. In any case, 1 would 

 be inclined to suspect that the dog had 

 mastered this difficult lesson at the expense 

 of his more legitimate employment. Do 

 not, therefore, try to turn a single-barrelled 

 dog into a double, or put down your money 

 for an animal advertised to retrieve ''well 

 and tenderly " unless you have actually seen 

 him not only retrieve, but previously ''sett" 

 the game he fetches. 



As to the method of approaching the point, 

 it is purely a matter of common-sense, though 

 it is astonishing how often It is set about in 

 the wronof manner. It stands to reason that 

 when your dog brings up short head to wind, 

 marking the lurking-place of a bird to wind- 

 ward of him, it will be to your advantage to 

 get to the windward side of both dog and 

 game, thus getting the latter between you 

 and the dog. This manoeuvre has the 

 double advantage of making the snipe 

 hesitate, hemmed in as he is by two un- 

 known dangers, and thus inducing him to 



