Dogs. 147 



sparing dogs in their work, and barring 

 casualties (which it is never quite safe to 

 do), perhaps two of the former and a single 

 retriever will carry you through, though this 

 is certainly the irreducible minimum. Of 

 course, I am speaking of working but a 

 single dog at a time. In my experience it 

 is a waste of energy and material to shoot 

 snipe over a brace of pointers or setters, in 

 spite of all the beauties of "backing," &c. 

 Two dogs naturally make twice the dis- 

 turbance that one would do, the ground is 

 rarely favourable to concerted action, and 

 though more birds may be marked on wide 

 open stretches of moorland, probably not 

 one per cent more will be bagged, taking 

 all the year through, than if but a single dog 

 were employed. 



