SNIPE, AND SNIPE-SHOOTING. 249 



your dog, and allow him, if the weather is at all cold, 

 an hour' s nap before the fire. A dog so cared for will 

 last as long again as if allowed to go dirty, if not hungry, 

 and to sleep in some cold, damp, draughty kennel; and 

 I repeat that a good dog is always worth the best and 

 kindest care you can give him. 



I have often been asked which I prefer for the work, 

 the setter or the pointer. It depends entirely upon the 

 locality in which you intend shooting. If I were going 

 to shoot in the Southern or the Southwestern States, I 

 should choose the pointer, as, not only in autumn, but 

 throughout the winter, the temperature of both the air 

 and the water is mild and pleasant. Moreover, the 

 pointer is somewhat more easily trained than the setter, 

 and not quite so much inclined to have a will of his own. 

 From his coat being short, he carries less mud in it, and 

 dries off more quickly than the setter; but, for the more 

 Northern States, the setter is the dog. His longer coat 

 keeps him warmer, evaporation is less rapid, and less 

 danger exists of his being struck down with pneumonia 

 or crippled with rheumatism snipe-dogs being pecul- 

 iarly liable to the last-named disease as they advance in 

 years. Aside from these considerations, I have no preju- 

 dices in favor of, or against, either breed. I have seen 

 too many noble dogs of either breed (and have owned 

 some of each myself) to allow me to speak or think 

 depreciatively of either. 



' c And now, young brother sportsman, you have not 

 yet tried snipe-shooting on our Jersey meadows; shall 

 we spend an hour or two at the sport? Ah! you second 

 the motion, do you? All right; and now let us see your 

 gun. Well, you are in luck. Yes, I see it is a twelve-bore, 

 with twenty-eight-inch barrels. What does it weigh? Six 

 and three-quarters pounds. Well, that makes a mighty 

 handy gun. Mine is a seven-pound hammerless, of 



