262 GUN, KOD, AND SADDLE. 



custom them to the roads, it will help to overcome 

 their timidity and assist in hardening their feet. At six 

 or seven months they should be familiar and conver- 

 sant with the more simple portions of their education, 

 such as " down," " heel,"&c.; and at about ten months 

 game can be shown them; but on no account permit 

 them to do a day's work, or exhaust themselves in 

 hunting, till six or seven months more are over their 

 heads. As to speed, it is a common supposition that 

 if a dog have a good nose he cannot have too much 

 speed; but very fast dogs are apt to run over game, 

 and consequently flush it from the very rate they are 

 moving at. I have observed also that those who will 

 do the longest and severest day's work are less impet- 

 uous as a rule than others. When shooting regularly, 

 the dogs in use should always be kept in their kennel 

 except when in the field ; their associating liberty with 

 their work makes them more zealous and anxious to 

 please. On hunting days one good substantial meal, 

 immediately after reaching home, with a piece of 

 oaten or coarse bread in the middle of the day, will 

 be found the best working diet ; a dog with a full 

 stomach is in a most unfit state to be used. 



There is one description of dog I never would keep 

 in my kennel, viz., one that trails his game. Some 



