CHAPTER VI. 



FIRST LESSON IX SEPTEMBER COMMENCED. RANGING. 



170. Regular Breakers make Dogs "point" paired birds in Spring; tends to 

 blinking. 171. Better not to see Game until shot over; taken out alone on 

 a fine day in September. 172. Perpetually whistling to animate dogs, inju- 

 dicious. 173. Beat largest Fields, and where least likely to find Game. 

 174. Commence from leeward; Scent bad in a calm or gale; observations on 

 Scent; it differently affects Pointers and Setters; see Note. 175 to 179. In- 

 structions in " ranging." 180. Kept from hedge ; Range greater on moors than 

 stubble. 181. Distance between Parallels dependent on tenderness of nose. 

 182. A point at Partridge a hundred yards off. 183. At Grouse a hundred and 



fifty yards off; Mr. L g*s opinion of distance at which Dogs wind birds. 



184. If the Dog is to hunt with another, the Parallels to be further apart. 185. No 

 interruption when winding birds, yet not allowed to puzzle; Nose to gain 

 experience. 186. Birds lie well to Dog that "winds," not "foots" them. 



187. White Dogs most visible to birds and to ymi; a disadvantage and advan- 

 tage; white Feet often not good; feet of Setters better than of Pointers. 



188. Inattentive to Whistle, made to "drop," <fcc. ; when rating or punishing, 

 the disregarded order or signal to be often repeated; Whip to crack loudly. 



189. The attainment of a scientific Range difficult, but of surpassing value ; the 

 best ranger must in the end find most game. 



170. A KEEPER nearly always breaks in his young 

 dogs to point, (or " set " as some term it) if their ages 

 permit it, on favourable days in Spring, when the par- 

 tridges have paired.* He gets plenty of points, and 

 the birds lie well. But I cannot believe it is the best 

 way to attain great excellence, though the plan has 

 many followers : it does not cultivate the intelligence 

 of his pupils, nor enlarge their ideas by making them 

 sensible of the object for which such pains are taken in 

 hunting them. Moreover, their natural ardour (a feeling 

 that it should be his aim rather to increase than weaken) 

 is more or less damped by having often to stand at 



* In ordinary seasons inime- before the birds have made their 

 diately after St. Valentine's Day, nests. 



H2 



