SPORTING DOGS. 201 



SPOETING DOGS. 



I HE best sport with the gun and the highest enjoy- 

 ment of Partridge and Pheasant shooting are with 

 good dogs. A full treatise on sporting dogs must 

 not be looked for within the limits of such a book as 

 this; at the utmost a few hints and instructions only can 

 be afforded. For the most general and useful information 

 regarding sporting dogs, I beg to refer the reader to the 

 "American Kennel, and Sporting Field," by Arnold Pur- 

 ges. This valuable work contains all that is requisite for 

 a sportsman to know in reference to these highly interest- 

 ing animals, and a copy of this beautiful and instructive 

 volume should be found in every sportsman's libraiy. On 

 sporting dogs Mr. Purges is what Paird, Prewer, and 

 Ridgway, ai"e on birds, and his opinions are entitled to the 

 like respect. Hear now what Arnold Purges says on the 

 subject: 



"Just when the dog was domesticated and made the com- 

 panion and servant of man is a question which cannot be 

 answered. The early history of his race is wrapped in the 

 obscurity of a far distant past. From Holy Writ we gather 

 proofs of his presence in the tents of the Israelites, while the 

 historian speaks of him as a retainer in the households of 

 the ancient Greeks and Romans. In the Pritish Museum 

 there is a has relief exhumed from the ruins of Nineveh 

 which represents the dog as taking part in the chase, and 

 relics of later days from Pompeii present him in all the fa- 

 miliar relations which he bears at the present day. 



It is certain, then, that for many ages the dog has been 

 associated with man, following his fortunes, and rendering 

 him faithful and loving service. Confined to no particular 



