388 WARWICKSHIRE HUNT. 



SHOOTIJVG .4A^D TRALNLNG. 



SHOOTING MAXIMS AND DIRECTIONS. 



AN AGED sportsman's ADVICE TO HIS SON. 



' Punctatorque canis volucres quo quaerere possis.' — vin. 



As to the question — ' Which is better, 

 (My Son,) the Pointer or the Setter ?' 

 'Tis but a taste, both understood 

 As equal in ancestral blood ; 

 And these the virtues in the sire 

 I, an Old Sportsman, most admire. 

 Light be his form, his muscle strong, 

 Else shortest day may prove too long ; 

 Fleet, with an instinct that demands 

 The wind on entering stubble lands. 

 Lest Ponto, running down the wind, 

 Should leave un found the birds behind. 

 Or they too soon alarmed should spring 

 Far beyond gun shot reach on wing. 

 Blest too the man that can discern 

 How near the game by Ponto's stern. 

 With nose exact and keen to mark 

 The scent of partridge from the lark ; 

 Eager, not jealous in pursuit. 

 Cautious, and slow, when game's afoot. 

 Steady to stand when birds are found. 

 Willing to back o'er widest ground, 

 With courage that can bear correction. 

 When words have proved too weak objection. 

 Such sire and mother both should be 

 To give a worth to progeny. 



