BEST DOGS FOR GROUSE SHOOTING. 23 



accommodation is pretty good, but generally speaking the 

 sportsman must be content to rough it; and unless he takes 

 his cook with him, he will find the fare of a very primitive 

 character. Mountain mutton, salmon, and grouse are deli- 

 cacies of the most delicious kind, but toujours perdrix tires 

 any stomach, and a month of this fare, with no other addi- 

 tion, will generally satisfy the most ardent admirer of such 

 viands, especially if the exercise has been confined to the 

 amount which a shooting pony gives ; while, on the contrary, 

 a hard day's walking will make even oat-cakes taste well to 

 the Englishman's palate, and that is no slight test of its good 

 effects. 



BEST DOGS FOR GROUSE SHOOTING. 



This is a subject which has been discussed with great ani- 

 mation ever since the sport became general, and it is one 

 which is by no means settled to this day. The prepon- 

 derance of evidence is, however, in favour of the setter, 

 though latterly, I think, the pointer has been gaining ground, 

 especially with those who use their dogs for partridges as well. 

 There can be no doubt that each has several good qualities 

 more fully developed than the other, but to counterbalance 

 these are nearly as many bad ones, so that it is only by 

 striking a balance that any opinion can be arrived at ; and 

 as most people judge from the facts which they themselves 

 have witnessed, so each person who forms an opinion will be 

 a setter or pointer fancier according as he happens to have 

 had a good one, or, perhaps a superior brace, of either of 

 these dogs. That extraordinary animals of each kind are 

 occasionally met with, no one will deny ; and it would generally 

 be a toss up in any company whether there would be more 

 votes in favour of the experience of the majority supporting 

 the claims of the pointer or the setter ; but still, perhaps, it 

 may be assumed that a slight preponderance as regards grouse 

 (per se) would be found to exist in favour of the latter. The 

 quantity of ground required to be beaten, the extent of the 

 range, the rough nature of the surface, which quickly strips 

 the feet and legs of the delicate pointer, all demand a dog 

 with great power of endurance, considerable speed and range, 

 and legs and feet well clothed with hair. These are all found 



