EEMINISCENCES OF THE LEWS. 45 



found out this, saw it would not do, sent his 

 pointers back to England, where they were as 

 good as ever, and took to setters and a different 

 style of breaking. I did the same, though I 

 always kept one or two of my old pointer 

 blood. It was poor "old Tom's" first season 

 then, and he was early trained to gallop hard 

 and range wide for his game, which I think 

 the pointer with a cross of foxhound in his 

 blood will do better, more judgmatically, — ay, 

 and longer, — than any setter I ever saw. I 

 then, for the remaining time I spent in that 

 country, took special care not to break my 

 dogs there as I would for English, or Perth- 

 shire, Aberdeenshire, or other lower Scotch 

 moor ground ; in fact, not to overbreak them. 

 Obedience, of course ; perfect stanchness, back- 

 ing, down-charging ; but I left their range 

 alone. With dogs that have to gallop miles, 

 perhaps, before they come on grouse — which in 

 that country are most migratory in their habits 

 — if you kept drawing your parallel lines you 

 would make very small progress indeed. There- 

 fore, when I saw my dogs, on whom I could 

 perfectly rely, making their casts, I never 

 played on the flageolet to them, but let them 

 make it, and well was I repaid for the con- 

 fidence placed in them. True, you could not 



