146 GUNS 



themselves, who disturb them by walking through 

 the undergrowth. The keeper, who beats the 

 bushes and likely lurking-places which he passes 

 and cheers on the dogs, dislodges others. But 

 most of the ground game is found and put up by 

 the dogs. Well-trained rabbiting dogs, spaniels 

 and terriers — not by any means necessarily pure- 

 bred specimens — are greatly to be desired for 

 this style of covert shooting. You want the dogs 

 to hustle the rabbits about, giving plenty of tongue 

 all the while, and to chase them — up to a point.^ 

 You want them to work the ground steadily, 

 visiting all the bramble beds and thickets of grass, 

 fern, &c. It is a constant pleasure to watch a dog 

 work, which is at once keen-nosed and well-trained, 

 prying into all the likely spots, and following by 

 scent, giving tongue when that scent is hot, and 

 even contriving — I believe that the best-trained 

 dogs do this systematically at times — to work the 

 game round to their masters. 



When the keeper sees a rabbit travelling more or 

 less across the line he calls out to the gun on his 

 right or on his left, as the case may be, who stops 

 and hopes for a shot. The guns stop too, and are 

 on the alert for shots when the dogs about them 



undergrowth, will squat on the open ground or among the stems of 

 hazel and oak, making their form on the dead leaves ; but they prefer 

 fern, brambles, and thick grass to lie in. 



^ The keen but ill-trained dog will, in hot pursuit of a rabbit or 

 hare that goes clean away, disappear for ten minutes or so quite often, 

 paying no heed to whistle or to the shouts of his master, till he has 

 fairly lost scent of the rabbit or hare. 



