374 



THE WILD-FOWLER. 



master will fire.* This impatience on the part of the dog- frequently 

 spoils the sport, and induces the fowler to fire before the birds are 

 near enough, when he probably kills only two or three ; whereas, had 

 the dog- toled them a few 3'ards nearer, he might have slaughtered a 

 dozen or more. 



It would seem, that a dog could never be trained to perform his 

 part at toling; so steadily and accurately as an English decoy-})iper, 

 because of the discharge of the gun which is used in toling, and which 

 so excites a dog, that the animal is always expecting it when birds 

 are near. But, as no gun is fired at the English decoy, the fowler 

 there has his dog under perfect control, free from that anxious excite- 

 ment, though the ducks approach within a few yards. 



A dog- trained to the practice of toling should never be s^utfered 

 to retrieve the birds from the water, or it will always l)e anxious to 

 rush in after live ones, and spoil the toler's sport. A Newfoundland 

 dog', or a retriever, should be kept within hail, or trained to lie 

 perfectly still behind the blinds during- the operations of toling ; and, 

 as soon as the fowler has discharged his g-un, the toling dog should 

 be kept back whilst the other retrieves the biriis. 



The spot usually selected for toling is one where the birds have 

 not been much disturbed, where the fowler can command a siilfi- 

 ciently extended space to preserve it from the interruption of all 

 intruders, and where there is water enough for the birds to swim 

 freely, and approach close to the shore. They cannot be toled into 

 shallow water. 



The best time to shoot is, when the birds have satisfied their 

 curiosity, have turned tail, and are in the act of swimming- awa}'. 

 The sportsman should never shoot as they approach with their breasts 

 towards him, though they be ever so close : he will be enabled to 

 kill twice the number by waiting- until they swim or fly from him, 

 with their tails towards the gun. 



There are generally two or more fowlers behind the same blind 

 during' the process of toling : the one who manoeuvres the dog gives 

 the signal for firing. If the fowl are numerous, the sportsmen dis- 

 tribute themselves widely apart, so that neither of them should shoot 

 at the same birds. When the fowler is alone behind the screens, and 



* " Tliere are few dogs gain celebrity in tliis practice ; they generally become too 

 fond of the ducks, and either stop to look at them as they ajijiroach the shore, or 

 lie down ; in either case your sport is spoiled." — The Day and the Sportsman; 

 by J, .8. Skinner, Philadelphia: a.u. 184o. 



