168 LETTERS TO YOUNG SPORTSMEN. 



shooting. That such a determination should have become 

 necessary is surely sufficient indication of the extent to which 

 " dash " can be abused. Let us have dash, by all means, 

 but controlled dash ; the better a dog's nose, the more active 

 his brain, the less will he require to career aimlessly 

 about ; a dog lacking in either of these essentials will cause 

 you constant discomfort and anxiety. It is on his return 

 journey, bird in mouth, that speed saves time, not in 

 his outgoing theatrical prances. Some keepers seem to 

 think that a bird is never properly "retrieved" has, in 

 fact, no business in the larder unless it has been mouthed 

 by a dog. Try to cultivate the opposite ideal do not let a 

 bird be mouthed if it can be secured otherwise. 



For the scarcity of useful and reliable retrievers two facts 

 are largely responsible. Walking up partridges in turnips is 

 declining in popularity, and owners keep too many retrievers 

 in their kennel. (The latter practice involves keeping 

 retrievers too much in their kennel.) There was nothing 

 wrong with the dogs who originated the field trial strains; 

 on the contrary, they were unrivalled in their day and are 

 unapproached now. Having owned one of the " pillars," 

 whose reign added to that of his sire's extended to twenty 

 seasons ; having seen the " wavy-coat " supplant the curly, 

 develop into the " flat -coat " and give place in turn to the 

 Labrador, I watch with regret the gradual ousting of the 

 latter or his mixed descendants (for the pure Labrador is 

 almost extinct and the type quite altered) by the particularly 

 useful strains of Springer spaniel now so deservedly popular. 

 It is with a dog of the latter description I would advise you 

 to start ; he is nearly as good as a first-class retriever, and 

 better than a second-rater by a great deal ; you can use 

 him for anything ; in fact, you must use him for everything 

 in order to develop his character and keep him in work. 

 Begin his education early, not later than five months ; get 

 him first to " drop " to order and to signal, then to carry, 

 lastly to fetch. When he is well grounded with a dummy, 

 accustom him to carry young peewits, if the season allows ; 

 there is no better prophylactic against that silly disinclination 

 to lift snipe or woodcock. Ground-game should come later, 

 for the sake both of his mouth and general behaviour ; here 



