286 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS LETTER 



doubt beautiful to look at when careering over the 

 heather, but is always liable to overlook birds that a 

 steadier and slower animal would have found. With 

 very wide-ranging dogs, the shooter is constantly 

 hurrying long distances to the point, and, if the dog- 

 pointing is not perfectly broken, he is sure to draw on 

 his birds as he sees his master doubling up. You do 

 not want a dog that ranges one side of a ravine 

 whilst you are on the other ; it is better to work the 

 side you are on first, and take the other side after- 

 wards. 



How frequently one hears the remark, when 

 setters are being worked, that the scent is not good ! 

 It is oftener than not the case that the fault lies with 

 the dog, who, in his wild gallop, overruns the game, 

 especially on a hot, calm day, when young grouse 

 lie like stones in good cover, and when the ground will 

 require hunting very closely and thoroughly. 



I advise you to use pointers only on a moor- 

 good, steady, dependable dogs ; and never mind 

 if they are a bit slow, and do not flash over the 

 ground in the skyrocket fashion peculiar to the 

 setter, an animal that is frequently valued for his 

 pedigree and appearance rather than for his services 

 in the field. One great advantage of a pointer is, 

 that he will work longer without water than will a 

 setter in case a moor is a dry one and the weather 

 warm, though if the ground is 'wet and the weather 

 cold, a setter, by reason of his longer coat, will 



