SHOOTING SETTEES, 63 



would rarely lie till we could get to it. The Russians, 

 on the contrary, being much closer rangers, quarter- 

 ing their ground steadily — heads and tails up — and 

 possessing perfection of nose, in extreme heat, wet, 

 or cold, enabled us to bag double the head of game 

 that mine did. Nor did they lose one solitaiy 

 wounded bird; whereas, with my own dogs, I lost 

 six brace the first two days' partridge shooting, most 

 of them in standing com. 



" My old friend and patron, having met with a 

 severe accident while hunting, determined to go to 

 Scotland for the next three years. Seeing that my 

 dogs were well calculated for grouse shooting, as 

 they had been broken and shot to on the moors, and 

 being aware of my anxiety to possess the breed of 

 his Russians, he very kindly offered to exchange 

 them for mine, with a promise I would preserve a 

 brace of Russian puppies for him. Although I had 

 refused fifty guineas for my brace, I most gladly 

 closed with his offer. Since then I have hunted 

 them in company with several dogs of high character, 

 but nothing that I have yet seen could equal them. 

 If not taken out for six months, they are perfectly 

 steady, which is a quality rarely to be met with. 

 Every sportsman must know, that the fewer dogs he 

 can do his work with properly, the better ; for if they 

 are in condition, they cannot be too frequently 

 hunted; and their tempers, style of working, &c., be- 

 come more familiar to him. On this the whole com- 

 fort of shooting depends. Upon these grounds I 



