WILD-FOWL SHOOTING. 207 



success is as great as in the more open waters of the 

 Southern coast. 



The employment of retrievers is not general in 

 our country, which is, by the character of its marshes 

 nnd growth of plants, better suited for the full dis- 

 play of their capacities than any other. There are 

 certain objections to the use of a dog in wild-fowl 

 shooting, which, although entirely overbalanced in 

 the writer's opinion by the corresponding advan- 

 tages, are unquestionably serious. The season for 

 duck-shooting is mainly late and cold, when it is 

 essential to the shooter's comfort that his boat 

 should be dry ; but the dog, with every retrieved 

 bird, comes back dripping with wet, and if he 

 does not let it drain into the bottom of the skiff, 

 where it " swashes" about over clothes and boots, 

 shakes himself in a way to deluge with a mimic 

 cataract every person and thing within yards of 

 him. 



It is unreasonable to ask of the intelligent and 

 devoted but shivering creature, that he should re- 

 main standing in the freezing water or upon the 

 damp sedge ; and if the master is as little of a brute 

 as his companion, and has a spare coat, the dog will 

 have it for a bed, regardless of the consequences. 



Nor is this the only difficulty ; for unless the 

 animal has instinctive judgment as well as careful 

 training, he may in open water upset the frail skiff, 

 by either jumping out of it, or clambering into it 

 injudiciously. A thoughtful creature maybe taught 

 to make his entry and exit over the stern, but un- 



