Dogs, 1 39 



and effective if it comes to your dog on a 

 side-wind than if you were working him 

 directly in the teeth of the breeze, so that, 

 other questions apart, you will find more 

 snipe, and have them more certainly marked 

 for you by your dog when shooting across the 

 wind than by any other method of progression. 

 Before concluding the subject of dogs, a 

 few words must be said on retrievers. 

 Whether the young sportsman elects to shoot 

 over dogs or not, he should most certainly 

 be accompanied by some member of the 

 canine race accomplished in the art and 

 craft of rescuing wounded or dead birds 

 from places inaccessible to his master. The 

 varieties of dog which will do this are so 

 many that it is impossible to advise definitely 

 upon any particular species. It may, how- 

 ever, be said that the actual Retriever, the 

 big black intelligent fellow of the coverts, 

 is perhaps the worst of all for the purposes 

 of the snipe-shooter. Besides, it offends one's 

 sense of proportion to see an insignificant 

 little bird hanging from the enormous jaws 



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