358 WILD FOWL SHOOTING. 



earth that will do his work better. In using the word 

 "trained," I do not mean that when water is warm, 

 and the elements combined make it a pleasure for a dog 

 to retrieve that he is then to be relied on; but I 

 mean a dog who implicitly relies on the judgment of 

 his teacher, allows no doubts to enter his mind, but is 

 controlled entirely by the voice or hand of his master, 

 whether he breasts a torrent of floating debris, or breaks 

 ice to bring a bird, but goes and does his work because 

 he is commanded to. In the selection of a dog, great 

 stress should be laid on color, and the aim should be 

 to pick out one wholly devoid of conspicuous markings. 

 Black and white are the two colors that show up most 

 plainly in the wild rice or grass, and unless the cover- 

 ing is especially thick, dogs of such colors are bound to 

 be seen. As the color has nothing to do with the tract- 

 ableness of a dog, there is no good reason for selecting 

 one either with black or white markings, for these col- 

 ors will be noticed by passing ducks, and the hunter 

 should pick out one of dull, dead colors, trying as near- 

 ly as possible to get one the color of the faded swamp. 

 The best dog for all round shooting I ever saw was 

 one raised and owned by Mr. Chas. Tate, of Low Moor, 

 Iowa. In appearance, he was a spaniel, liver color, 

 cross breed, his father a setter, his mother a spaniel. 

 He was a stocky, square-built fellow, had unlimited en- 

 durance, while his speed, and the delicacy of his scent, 

 were unapproachable. What " Colonel" did not know 

 about hunting, I have never discovered in any other 

 dog. His looks did not show it, for I knew men who 

 never saw him in the field, offer to wager he would not 

 point a bird. This conclusion they arrived at, wholly 

 from his appearance, for his looks certainly did belie 



