39 SHOOTING. 



old when his learned edtcation commenced ; and at length he made 

 such a progress in language as to be able to articulate no less than 

 thirty words. _ It appears, however, that he was somewhat of a 

 truant, and did not very willingly exert his talents, being rather 

 pressed into the service of literature ; and it was necessary that the 

 words should be first pronounced to him each time, which he, as it 

 were, echoed from Ms preceptor. Leibnitz, however, asserts that 

 he liimseH heard Mm speak, and the Erench academicians add, that 

 unless they had received the testimony of so great a man as Leibmtz, 

 they should scarcely have dared to report the cii'cumstance. 



There have been great improvements in the pointer from cross- 

 breedings. The power of nose is much increased, and also the 

 capacity to sustain continued labour in the fields. It is maintained 

 that a cross between a setter and a pointer is either very good or 

 very bad ; and the latter condition^ is the rule, and the former the 

 exception. The Russian pointer is not considered so valuable as 

 either the English or the 'French. He is rough-coated, grim visaged, 

 and obstinate and self-willed in disposition* He is, however, of 

 enduring patience. 



The Spaniel {Can. Fam. Extrarins, Linn.) dates from the most 

 remote records of time. He is of Eastern extraction. In most 

 of the countries bordering on the Asiatic side of the Mediter- 

 ranean, game of all kinds is either taken by net or by shooting, and 

 the dog is taught in accordance wdth these two different modes of 

 sporting. ^ There are more varieties of tMs dog than any other. 

 For sporting purposes there are three species that are commonly 

 fixed upon by shooters: springers, cockers, and water-spaniels. 

 Writers on these several kinds have, however,_ differed very much 

 both in describing their bodily as well as sporting attributes. The 

 spi-ingerp characterized by his ardour and bustle, and on some game 

 entei-prises is, on this account, not a useful dog. The coclcer is a 

 great favourite. He has a shorter and rounder head tlian the 

 springer, as well as smaller in bulk, and more compactly built in 

 Ms frame. His ears are commonly long and well feathered as well 

 as his tail. His hair is cm-ly, and Ms colour considerably diversified. 

 The mode of educating him for the sportsman differs among dif- 

 ferent sporting circles ; some follow one plan, and some another. 

 The following is the common method adopted: — He should be 

 taken out early to the field, as early as four and five months old, 

 when he should be allowed to race freely about in aU directions, 

 and hunt up everytliin^ that has life ; and the signal for breaking 

 should not be made until he has manifested a preference for some 

 objects above others. As soon as he begins to hunt fowls, in pre- 

 ference to other living objects, as rats, &c., we should inniu.diately 

 commence to give him trainmg lessons, the first of which is, that 

 he be learned to chase at your command only, and the ammals he 

 hunts should be such as you wish to habituate him to, and not 

 those he might be led to choose himself. Having been thoroughly 

 brought to yield to tMs first lesson of obedience, he must be next 



