INLAND AND ON THE SHORE 81 



desired. Hence always spring duck towards the 

 moon, if the wind allows. 



A dog which will work well, and will also retrieve 

 well from both land and water, is indispensable to the 

 sportsman who kills duck with a shoulder-gun. On 

 a matter which affects both the wild-fowler and his 

 dog, let me say here that when the gunner intends 

 to conclude his day by waiting on after the flight, I 

 strongly recommend that he should knock off for an 

 hour or two in the afternoon. If he has to tramp a 

 couple of miles to the nearest fire and a couple of 

 miles back to his stand for the flight, the time and 

 labour entailed are not thrown away in the long run, 

 A dog which, after a hard day, has to sit and shiver, 

 and do nothing for more than a very short time, is 

 extremely apt to turn sulky when his help is most 

 needed, and having once turned sulky, a thing not to 

 be wondered at, he will do so again under similar 

 circumstances, and can never thenceforward be de- 

 pended upon as an all-day dog. Allowed an hour to 

 rest and dry before a good fire, he will -be fresh and 

 keen for work at flight-time and after. The same 

 thing applies to the gunner himself, who, with dry 

 clothes and braced by the effects of a rest and a 

 light meal, is not only in better mental and bodily 

 trim, but is also far less liable to the constitutional 



G 



