WILD-FOWL SHOOTING. 207 
success is as great as in the more open waters of the 
Southern coast. 
The employment of retrievers is not general in 
our country, which is, by the character of its marshes 
and growth of plants, better suited for the full dis- 
play of their capacities than any other. There are 
certain objections to the use of a dog in wild-fowl 
shooting, which, although entirely overbalanced in 
the writer’s opinion by the corresponding -advan- 
tages, are unquestionably serious. ‘The season for 
duck-shooting is mainly late and cold, when it is 
essential to the shooter’s comfort that his boat 
should be dry; but the dog, with every retrieved 
bird, comes back dripping with wet, and if he 
does not let it drain into the bottom of the skiff, 
where it “‘swasbes” about over clothes and boots, 
shakes himself in a way to deluge with a mimic 
cataract every person and thing within yards of 
him. 
It is unreasonable to ask of the intelligent and 
devoted but shivering creature, that he should re- 
main standing in the freezing water or upon the 
damp sedge; and if the master is as little of a brute 
as his companion, and has a spare coat, the dog will 
have it for a bed, regardless of the consequences. 
Nor is this the only difficulty; for unless the 
animal has instinctive judgment as well as careful 
training, he may in open water upset the frail skiff, 
by either jumping out of it, or clambering into it 
injudiciously. A thoughtful creature may be taught 
to make his entry and exit over the stern, but un- 
