500 LETTERS TO YOUNG SHOOTERS 



You may at last start with your gun and young 

 retriever for the fields, but do not fail to have in your 

 pocket a recently killed partridge, and some small 

 pieces of food. Keep the dog at heel on your way to 

 where you expect to see birds, and now and again 

 order him to 'down charge ' whilst you light your pipe, 

 or admire the scenery, or do anything else that occa- 

 sions a delay ; this will remind him he is your servant 

 to obey before you come to real work. When you 

 approach land on which you are likely to find birds, 

 fasten half a "dozen yards of check cord to the dog's 

 collar, the loose end being attached to a buttonhole or 

 brace on your right-hand side. Now walk against the 

 wind, so as to subsequently give your dog every advan- 

 tage of scent (if you have a steady old pointer he will 

 be a great help to you), and flush some partridges on 

 grass land if you can, or anyhow where there is but 

 little cover. You should not take your dog among high 

 roots or you may puzzle him too much to commence 

 with, and success inbiB first attempts to retrieve game 

 will perfect him in a quarter the time it would take 

 to do so if he fails in his early efforts. 



Wait till you have a chance of killing a bird with- 

 out any risk of a miss or of wounding it, and also 

 make sure of its falling on open ground ; do not fire at 

 any birds that you cannot treat in this way, but order 

 your dog to ' down charge ' if he is inclined to spring 

 forward at birds that rise wild, and which for fear of 

 missing or wounding them you do not fire at. 



