CH. XIIL] TOO MANY DOGS. 211 



363. A glimmering of knowledge may be picked up 

 in this way ; but no one will argue that it is likely to 

 create great excellence. Doubtless the young ones will 

 be good backers ; and to the inexperienced a troop of 

 perhaps a dozen dogs, all in chiselled form, stanchly 

 backing an old leader, is a most imposing sight, but if 

 the observer were to accompany the whole party for a 

 few hours, he would remark, I will bet any money, that 

 the same veterans would over and over again find the 

 birds, and that the "perfectly" broken young ones in 

 the rear would do nothing but " back " and " down 

 charge." What can they know of judicious quartering ? 

 Of obeying the signals of the hand ? Of gradually 

 drawing upon the faintest token of a scent (only per- 

 ceptible to a nose carried high in the air) until they 

 arrive at a confident point ? Of perseveringly working 

 out the foil of a slightly winged bird, on a hot still day, 

 to a sure " find ? " Nothing, or next to nothing, nearly 

 all is to be taught ; and yet the breaker will show orf 

 those raw recruits as perfectly drilled soldiers. Would 

 they not have had a much better chance of really being 

 so, if he had given a small portion of his time each day 

 to each ? He well knows they would ; but the theatrical 

 display would not be half so magnificent. If he had 

 truly wished to give his pupils a good systematic range, 

 without a doubt he would have devoted one hour in the 

 field exclusively to each dog, rather than many hours to 

 several at once and not have associated any together 

 in the field until he had gained full command over each 

 separately. And this he would have done (because it 

 would have tended to his interest), had he supposed that 

 his dog's qualifications would be investigated by judges, 

 by those who would insist on seeing a. dog hunted 

 singly (in order to observe his method of ranging), or 



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