OF SHOOTING. 227 



other; otherwise they will be jealous and commit 

 many mistakes. If, therefore, two gentlemen are 

 desirous of shooting in company, each having a brace 

 of dogs, it will be advisable for one of them to hunt 

 his dogs in the forenoon, and the other in the after- 

 noon. It is one of the worst of practices for strange 

 dogs to hunt in company, since they will violent- 

 ly contend with each other, and most likely spoil 

 the day's diversion. Juvenile sportsmen too, when 

 shooting together, are frequently very imprudently 

 anxious to obtain the first shot. When this is the 

 case, disappointment is almost the certain conse- 

 quence ; but if a bird fall, it is perhaps claimed by 

 both, and is thus sometimes productive of unpleasant 

 words. A gentleman should wait patiently till a 

 bird rises on his own side, or till after his friend has 

 fired. Should only one bird rise, the shot belongs 

 to that person on whose side the bird sprung. 



The proper time, and the most likely places, of 

 finding the different kinds of game, will be found 

 under the heads of Grouse, Partridge, &c. But it 

 may not be amiss to remark in this place, that to 

 beat a country in a sportsman-like manner, a person 

 should not go straight through it ; but form circles, 

 as it were, traversing well the ground, and taking 

 care to give the dog the wind as much as possible ; 

 at the same time, the sportsman should not be afraid 

 of beating the ground over twice, where he has reason 

 to believe there is game. He who patiently beats 



