112 OLD DOG LEADER. [rn. vn. 



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 sensi- 

 tiveness to discover game, rather than to his quickness 

 of eye to detect w T hen his friend touches upon a haunt ; 

 nor will it instruct him to look from time to time to- 

 wards the gun for directions. It may teach him a range, 

 but not to hunt where he is ordered ; nor will it ha- 

 bituate 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. 



192. 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 in- 

 fluenced 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 or furrows, for he will but too naturally 

 follow them instead of paying attention to his true beat. 

 Have you never, in low lands, seen a young dog run- 

 ning down a potato or turnip trench, out of which his 

 master, after much labour, had no sooner extracted him 

 than he dropped into the adjacent one ? It is the 



