132 GAME SHOAL- WATER FOWL. 



Keep on eating. I am only going out to 

 call Jack, the dog, to his breakfast. Here he 

 is ; what do you think of him ? A pure-bred 

 setter, you see, and I think as good a retriever 

 as can be found. He also understands a thing 

 or two about quail and chicken shooting, as I may 

 have an opportunity of showing you before long. 

 Sportsmen have peculiar fancies regarding retriev- 

 ers, and among writers one advocates one variety, 

 another another, and a third again perhaps a cross 

 between the two; in my opinion, the main requi- 

 site, second only to power of endurance, is simply 

 this: that the dog should take an especial delight 

 in retrieving. No man can excel in any pursuit 

 unless he has a particular liking for it, no matter 

 how \vell adapted he may be. So it is with the 

 dog; no matter what particular breed he may 

 belong to, if he has no actual love for the sport, 

 no amount of breaking will make a decent re- 

 triever of him. 1 know of a dog to-day, a cross 

 between a setter and a pointer. He is rather old 

 now, but four or five years ago a better retriever 

 for Western duck-shooting was not made. To 

 look at him, you would laugh at the idea of his 

 being a duck dog. Tie looked more like a fighting 

 dog, and, in fact, next to retrieving, fighting was 



