420 SPORT IN EUROPE 



bein;4 of no avail to relax the vigilance of the Customs as regards 



these articles. Consequently, althouoh it may appear a somewhat 



immoral piece of advice to begin with, the sportsmen who have pet 



rifles must smuggle them, and do so artistically if they wish to 



avoid forfeiture. The same must be done with cartridges. Shooters 



living at Constantinople are generally well supplied with nitro-powder 



ammunition, and will, I think, usually be glad to give out of their 



abundance within certain limits. Turkish powder is coarse-grained 



and fouls the barrels badly, but is of fair strength and regularity. 



A shooting licence or teskerch is necessary, and easily procured 



through the Consulate, at a cost of about \os. 



Dogs are importable and dutiable. For woodcock and quail they 



are indispensable, and difficult to procure on the spot. A slow, 



staunch pointer or setter which retrieves is better than 

 Dogs. 



spaniels, even in the thick Turkish coverts which 



somewhat puzzle most English ranging dogs, accustomed to moor 

 or stubble, until they have had a season's practice. At the same 

 time it is no exaggeration to say that 75 per cent, of imported 

 English dogs die of canine typhus within eighteen months. Italian 

 and Russian dogs seem better able to stand the Constantinople sick- 

 ness, but all " foreigners " are dangerously liable to be attacked, and 

 seldom recover. 



Some knowledge of the language is so necessary that it is not 



advisable for a stranger to shoot without a companion speaking 



Turkish. Besides the usual need of communication 



^ with the natives, one is continually comino- across 



Dogs. ^ ^ 



Albanian shepherds, whose large and savage dogs 



