THE PHEASANT. 153 



cocker would do, and, by following after the bird, designates its 

 course, or, perhaps, stopping under some tree where the game has 

 pitched, betrays it to the shooter. This latter is called " treeing 

 pheasants." Many of these apparently worthless little curs are 

 very fond of this sport, and, by practice, become wonderfully expert 

 in the business, and will often discover pheasants where no other 

 eye could distinguish them. They are also at times taught to 

 retrieve, and will pursue a wounded pheasant with a perseverance 

 and courage that would often put the owners of the finest dogs to 

 the blush. A dog of this kind, to a shooter for the markets, is 

 worth his weight in gold, in a neighborhood where these birds are 

 plenty ; and so one of them expressed himself to us, when extoll- 

 ing the qualities of his ugly little brute, a short time since. And 

 well he might brag upon the merits of his shooting companion, if 

 he could perform one-half of the deeds attributed to him ; for, in 

 a word, he was a capital watch-dog, a good-natured playfellow 

 for his children, a superior pheasant-dog, a courageous ducker, an 

 excellent pigger, unequalled ratter, fair on snipe, and useful on 

 partridges, &c. 



If a setter be used for pheasant-shooting, and he certainly is 

 far preferable to a pointer for this sport, he should be old and 

 steady, and contented with a point at twenty or even thirty feet, 

 as it is almost impossible for a dog to make a nearer approach, 

 even in the closest cover, as these wild birds are constantly on the 

 alert, and will make off at the first intimation of danger, either 

 by taking wing or running. Early in the season, however, when 

 grouse are young, they will lie much better, and are always in fine 

 condition for the table, owing to the great abundance of wild fruit 

 which they can obtain. The cocker, spaniel, and springer, as stated 

 in our edition of Youatt, are, no doubt, the proper dogs with which 

 to hunt this game. When the presence of grouse is suspected, great 

 caution and absolute silence are necessary to approach them, as it 

 is a singular circumstance, but nevertheless a well-established 

 fact, that grouse will bear the presence of a dog, or even the 

 report of a gun, much better than they will a single sound of the 



