550 DOG-BREAKING. 



from imitation and habit, shall learn how to quarter his 

 ground. But what he gains by imitation will so little 

 improve his intellects, that, when thrown upon his own 

 resources, he will prove a miserable finder. On a hot, 

 dry day he will not be able to make out a feather, nor 

 on any day to "foot" a delicate scent. I grant that 

 the plan expedites matters, and attains the end which 

 most professional trainers seek ; but it will not give a 

 dog self-confidence and independence, it will not impart 

 to him an inquiring nose, and make him rely on its 

 sensitiveness to discover game, rather than to his quick- 

 ness of eye to detect when his friend touches upon a 

 haunt ; nor will it instruct him to look from time to 

 time towards the gun for directions. It may teach him 

 a range, but not to hunt where he is ordered ; nor will 

 it habituate him to vary the breadth of the parallels on 

 which he works, according as his master may judge it 

 to be a good or bad scenting day. 



142. To establish the rare, noble beat I am recom- 

 mending, one not hereafter to be deranged by the 

 temptation of a furrow in turnips or potatoes, you 

 must have the philosophy not to hunt your dog in them 

 until he is accustomed in his range to be guided entirely 

 by the wind and your signals, and is in no way influenced 

 by the nature of the ground. Even then it would be 

 better not to beat narrow strips across which it would 

 be impossible for him to make his regular casts. Avoid, 

 too, for some time, if you can, all small fields which 

 will only contract his range, and all fields with trenches 



