'DOGS. 437 



to that comes blanket. The " waterproof " (so called) 

 gun-covers of commerce are worse than useless, they are 

 merely rust traps. 



It is next to impossible to buy a well-trained dog in 

 Canada, and very difficult to train one yourself as for 

 more than half the year there is nothing to train them 

 on. The Allan line carry dogs at 31. a head, and it is 

 well worth the sportsman's while to take out a couple with 

 him to Canada. What is required is a strong, hardy, all- 

 round dog, an animal that will retrieve by land or water 

 and work a winged duck by the nose through the intri- 

 cacies of the most tangled swamp. He must also be 

 a good dog in thick cover, free from chase, a close hunter, 

 and of high courage. He should not be large, about 

 40 Ibs. a big dog is a nuisance in a canoe or a waggon 

 and yet he must be strong to stand the fatiguing work of 

 an alder cover or a swamp. We find these qualities com- 

 bined in the spaniel. The clumber from his strength 

 and sagacity ought to be excellent, but my experience of 

 this breed is not favourable ; they are often sulky and 

 pig-headed. The cross however is good. The best dog 

 I ever knew was half clumber half welsh cocker. When 

 flight shooting with this animal in the swamps, I never 

 looked after dead or wounded birds. We made a fair 

 division of labour, I shot the ducks, he looked after them, 

 retrieved them, and laid them out in a little pile beside 

 me. He worked perseveringly without word or sign, and 

 never lost me a bird. Often he was away for an hour 

 after nightfall, and on these occasions always returned 

 with a winged black duck. He gave me notice of ap- 



