MANAGEMENT OF THE BEAT. 31 



and setters are employed, these dogs should not be allowed 

 to retrieve. Nothing is so fertile a source of jealousy among 

 them as the seeing one of their own body sent for the 

 purpose of " seeking dead," while the rest are expected to be 

 steady " down charge." The same bad effect is not produced 

 when they see a special retriever employed; for even if they 

 are jealous of him, it does not make them unsteady after- 

 wards, because they are not working together with him in 

 their own peculiar department. All the setters cannot re- 

 trieve at one time, but one must be selected to do the work and 

 hence the others consider themselves ill-used, and will either 

 refuse to back the favoured one, or will work in a way to 

 lead to the loss of sport. Great practice, moreover, is essential 

 to success in retrieving, and if this is divided amongst three 

 or four instead of being concentrated in one dog, a loss is 

 sustained which will tell greatly against the "bag." For 

 these reasons, therefore, I should strongly advise that every 

 team of pointers or setters should be strengthened by the 

 addition of a thoroughly well-broken retriever, which may 

 be of any of the following kinds. The LAND EETKIEVER 

 proper is no doubt the small or St. John's Newfoundland, 

 more or less crossed with the setter. This produces the hand- 

 some animal shown in the engraving in the second book, 

 and he will be found to do all that is required. He may be 

 used for water as well as land, but he is not capable of so 

 much work as the water spaniel. From his large size also 

 he is sometimes unable to follow the pheasant through the 

 runs of a covert, and in this case he is beaten by the smaller 

 dogs broken to retrieve, such as the cross of the terrier and 

 beagle exhibited in the background. The cross of the rough 

 terrier and pointer, advocated by Mr. Colquhoun, is a very 

 good one, and for general purposes is admirable. A dog of 

 this sort is represented in the coloured engraving in the 

 second book, being intermediate in size between the other 

 two. A little dog, between the beagle or spaniel and the 

 terrier, is sometimes employed for retrieving partridges and 

 even pheasants, but this variety is too small for carrying 

 hares. One of these also is represented in the same illus- 

 tration. 



