BHEAKiNO DOGS.] BY' F 1 K L D, WOOD, AM) WATKK. [hueakino uoos. 



decided advnntftgo indeed, over every other per- 

 son who pursues a diflVrent method. Aeeordiiiij; 

 also to the number of dogs you hunt, at tlio sanio 

 time will bo your clianeo of sport ; where you 

 possess sueh a latitudeof range, a greater scope 

 is open to your exertions; and, as tho fatigue 

 of moor-shooting is much more severe than 

 that of any other anuisement, you should en- 

 deavour, by every means, to reduce its eirects. 

 Two brace of got)d steady dogs arc, iu my 

 opinion, the number best calculated for this 

 purpose ; and they will work as long as any 

 gentleman ought to continue out. The plan 

 whicli many sportsmen adopt, is to shoot with 

 one brace of pointers till tho time of dinner, 

 and then take a brace of fresh ones for a couple 

 of hours in the afternoon, working the four al- 

 ternately, morning and evening. The method 

 suits very well with such a system ; but there 

 are few men who feel inclined to renew their 

 endeavours after a cool and comfortable repast ; 

 and a good fire then becomes a luxury, which 

 we are seldom willing to make so immediate 

 and voluntary a resignation of. Provided every 

 dog be tolerably steady, you can scarcely, in 

 reason, trust too many together ; but, where 

 there is a want of discipline, or where it is 

 totally disregarded, it would be absolute folly 

 to use more thav one. The opinion which is 

 held by many, of tho advantage attending a 

 dog's running up to his game, appears to 

 me a strange subversion of every principle of 

 profit or satisfaction ; it totally ruins that cool 

 and even conduct which should characterise a 

 good shot, and excites a contention generally 

 terminating in mutual discontent. The danger, 

 also, is, in many respects, not the least objec- 

 tionable feature ; for, in the anxiety of the 

 moment, you may forget to mark the second 

 barrel ; and, should you stumble, whicli is by 

 no means an improbability, its contents may 

 be lodged in the first object that unfortunately 

 intervenes. I have known an instance, also, 

 where, in the struggle for possession, the 

 thumb of the sportsman had nearly been sacri- 

 ficed to the consequence of disappointment in 

 bis dog. 



" There is yet another objection to this mode 

 of breaking, which is, perhaps, still more serious; 

 and that is, tho alarm that is given not only to 

 a single bird, but frequently to a whole brood 

 or covey, which instantly take wing, and de- 



prive you of tho chanco of rotardinfj tlieir 

 ilight. I had a dog oneu Hunt mu which had 

 been broken acconling to this system ; and as 

 there is eomethiiig ratlier e.\trnordinary in the 

 nmdo T pursued to teach him better maniiers, [ 

 will relate it: — lie Imd been shot oviT two 

 seasons ; was handsome and well-bred, with one 

 of the finest nosi-s I ever knew, aiul as fleet a« 

 a fox-hound. Tho morning when I first had 

 him, which was in Septetiiber, I took him out 

 alone, and had the good fortune (for it was a very 

 scarce county for game) to find a covey almost 

 immediately ; ho pointed a moment, and then 

 ran in ; but the birds separated ; and the first I 

 afterwards shot at fell within thirty yards ou 

 the opposite side of a wall. I was, perhaps, 

 long iu getting over ; and when I did, Beau 

 had not only swallowed the bird, but the 

 feathers also. To begin a new system of dis- 

 cipline would, I thought, then be premature, 

 as we were scarcely acquainted, and I had the 

 rest of the birds all marked down. I got five 

 more single shots, and killed four, luckily in 

 ground where we were upon more equal terms ; 

 the fifth, which went away wounded, he followed 

 with all the impetuosity of unrestricted desire, 

 and actually took a gate flying, and gave tongue 

 like a spaniel ; iu truth,! never in my life saw 

 more determined lewdness. At that moment 

 I was very much in want of a pointer, or I 

 should not, most likely, have taken the pains 

 with him I did. For the remainder of the 

 month, and the whole of October, I took him 

 out, at least, five days in every week, with one 

 single steady old bitch that would do anything 

 I bade her ; he never was, in the least degree 

 tired or distressed ; no country was too dry 

 for hira, nor any covert too strong; and he 

 gave such decided proofs of natural excellence, 

 that I used every endeavour to restore its 

 lustre. I began with severe measures, for he 

 was grown too old iu iniquity to hope any 

 success from mild treatment. I tried excessive 

 flogging for a fortnight, but that had no effect 

 whatever ; in addition to this, I made use of a 

 long trash, which a boy laid hold of whenever 

 I fired, and who not only checked his im- 

 petuosity, but corrected him well at the same 

 time, for displaying it. So long as he was 

 under this immediate restraint he was more 

 cautious of olTending; but from the instant 

 it ceased, he resumed his former habits. I 



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