TRAINING DOGS FOR THE GUN. 115 



to hunting but will point naturally, in the course of a little time, 

 which arises no doubt from the following reason : as a young dog 

 ascertains his proximity to game by his sense of smell, so, on his 

 near approach, he is eager to seize it ; but finding, after repeated 

 trials, that he is unable to accomplish his purpose, he becomes 

 more circumspect or wary, and will be observed to pause for a 

 short space, and then make a sudden rush to secure his object. 

 This pause is, no doubt, for the purpose of ascertaining, by his 

 olfactory organs, the exact spot where the game is seated ; and 

 the observation of this very circumstance, there is not a doubt, 

 originated the idea of the setting dog ; the sportsman carefully 

 improving, by education, a quality which he easily discovered 

 would so essentially conduce to the pleasures of the field. 



Taking it for granted, therefore, that all dogs which will 

 range for game will naturally pause or set, yet none of the var- 

 ious kinds seem so quickly to adopt this sagacious manoeuvre as 

 the pointer or setter ; nor is any one of them every way so 

 admirably adapted as an auxiliary to the fowling piece. Next 

 to the Newfoundland dog, on the score of powerful instinct, or 

 animal reasoning, may be ranked the pointer ; his countenance 

 is open, intelligent, and expressive ; while his speed, strength, 

 and persevering spirit enable him to continue the chase for a 

 length of time almost incredible. 



The pointer and setter, though used for the same purpose, offer, 

 individually, a very different object for contemplation, either as 

 regards their external appearance, or their mode of questing for 

 game. The setter is fleeter than the pointer ; and, as his feet 

 are small and much protected by hair, he has a decided advantage 

 on hard ground, or in frosty weather ; but, at the commencement 

 of the shooting season, when the weather is oppressively hot, 

 he suffers more from thirst than the pointer, arising, no doubt, 

 from his long, thick, and warm coat of hair, which, though ex- 

 tremely convenient in cold weather, nevertheless, exposes this 



