28 GEOUSE SHOOTING. 



the nose long and not broad ; the nostrils very soft 

 and moist. You will, of course, ascertain that they 

 are of a pure breed ; with such you can hardly fail to 

 obtain great excellence, by never allowing a fault 

 to go unnoticed ; by not chastising them so severely 

 as to break their courage ; and by killing plenty of 

 game over them ; which, indeed, will equally serve to 

 give spirit to your own exploits. Never permit a dog 

 to run in when a bird falls. The best remedy for this 

 mischievous vice is the collar, called "trash collar," 

 and spike. If you have patience enough, in the first 

 instance let him run in and tear his bird to pieces, 

 while you load ; this may make him ashamed of him- 

 self. Then walk up quietly, and without noticing the 

 remnants of the grouse, take him by the ear back to 

 the spot whence you fired, shaking him earnestly, 

 crying " down." Then take your whip, and lay it 

 over him well, calling out between every stripe, 

 "down, down." Continue this for some time, and 

 when you have done beating, force him to remain 

 down for several minutes. Then, speaking slowly to 

 him, lead him to where the dead bird lies, and lift it 

 before his nose. By following this system upon every 

 occasion of a dog running in unless he be good for 

 nothing you will cure him of running at shot. Re- 

 member, always making a dog fall down when birds rise, 

 is the only way to ensure his steadiness in the field. 



Christopher North says somewhere, that "shooting 

 grouse after red deer, is for a while, at least, felt to 

 be like writing an anagram in a lady's album, after 



