THE BATTUE. 59 



spaniels or beagles are the best kind. The Clumber spaniel 

 is easily broken, and on that account he is preferred by many 

 people, and being mute, he does not disturb the game far 

 before him, for which reason he is well suited to battue 

 shooting. On the other hand, for wild-pheasant shooting, a 

 dog which gives tongue is able to indicate to the shooter the 

 exact line which the pheasant he is on is taking, and is on 

 that account more useful to him. Sometimes the setter is 

 trained to beat a covert, a bell being fastened to his neck, 

 which remains at rest when he stands. At best, however, he 

 is a poor substitute for the spaniel. Beagles are used exactly 

 like spaniels, and when well broken, they are quite as good; 

 but they are too fond of " fur," and can seldom be induced to 

 prefer " feather" to it. The three dogs which are represented 

 in Book II. belong to the division known as " springers," the 

 name being given from their being used in the " spring 

 falls" of our coverts. The liver-coloured dog is the true 

 Sussex spaniel. The lemon-and-white is known as the 

 Clumber, and the black-and-white, in the background, repre- 

 sents the old Norfolk spaniel, a variety which is now dis- 

 persed all over England. Each of these will be more 

 minutely described in the next book. 



THE COVERT GUN. 



Two things are essential to this kind of gun firstly, 

 rapidity of loading, and secondly, a length of barrel which 

 will admit of its being used in covert without being caught 

 by the branches. The breech loader with a barrel of twenty- 

 eight inches in length, will be found to offer a combination 

 of these good qualities, and such a gun is now in general use, 

 among battue shooters especially. Some even cut the barrels 

 down to twenty-six inches, but this is perhaps too short for 

 practical purposes. The bore is generally a large one, few 

 people shooting with a smaller than No. 12, and some 

 adopting a still larger calibre. The size of shot is usually 

 No. 5 or No. 6. 



THE BATTUE. 



When a party is made up for a day's battue shooting, the 

 keeper or keepers must be allowed to have the assistance of 



