THE POINTER. 45 



At the season in question, when these birds are much 

 on the ground, and usually met with in the more open 

 parts of the forest, near water, and where berries abound, 

 the pointer is very available. But he should be steady, 

 under perfect command, and not too wide a ranger. He 

 ought, moreover, to be a good roader that is, draw well 

 on game ; for though at times the Capercali lies close to 

 the pointer, yet at others it not only runs far ahead, but 

 quickly, in which case it is desirable that the sportsman 

 be as near to it as possible when it takes wing, more 

 especially in thick cover. 



Pointers are not unfrequently met with in Sweden 

 which, when ranging far ahead, will, on finding game, 

 leave it undisturbed, and, hastening back to their master, 

 intimate to him by their gestures that their search has 

 proved successful, and afterwards lead him up to the 

 quarry. A dog so trained, or self-taught called rapportor, 

 or reporter is invaluable in \vood-shooting. 



Such a one I myself recently possessed. His instinct, 

 indeed, was extraordinary ; for if, when hunting at a 

 distance from me in the open country, he found birds, he, 

 instead of returning to me, would mount a rock or other 

 eminence, and commence barking loudly to attract my 

 attention, not ceasing until such time as he noticed that 

 I was making towards him, when he would at once return 

 to his point. 



In shooting Capercali to the pointer I was not very 

 fortunate, never having bagged more than four or five in 

 any one day ; but then it was rarely I went in search of 

 those birds in August or the early part of September, the 

 only time the pointer can be used to advantage ; and I 

 never shot, moreover, in forests, where they either abounded 

 or were preserved. 



But some of my friends and acquaintances have been 

 much more successful than myself. Captain B., a country- 



