166 THE MOOR AND THE LOCH. 



The purchaser, before taking the trouble to try a dog, 

 should make sure that he has a hard, round foot, is well set 

 upon his legs, symmetrically, though rather strongly built; 

 but the great thing is the head. It ought to be broad be- 

 tween the ears, which should hang closely down ; a fall-in 

 below the eyes ; the nose rather long, and not broad ; nostrils 

 very soft and damp. If these points are present, the dog 

 will seldom have an inferior nose. The above remarks relate 

 principally to pointers, as I greatly prefer them to setters ; 

 but if the sportsman has a scanty kennel, I should rather 

 recommend the latter, as they are often capable of under- 

 going more fatigue, and not so apt to be foot-sore. For my 

 own part, however, I find the pointer so much more docile 

 and pleasant to shoot with, that I seldom use setters; con- 

 cerning the choice of which, as there are so many varieties, 

 totally differing in appearance from each other, it would be 

 useless to lay down any rules. 



Many gentlemen, when the shooting season begins, are 

 shamefully taken in by dog-breakers and others. Few are 

 aware how difficult it is to know a good dog before he is shot 

 over. The breaker shows his kennel, puffing it off most un- 

 mercifully. The sportsman chooses one or two dogs that suit 

 his fancy ; they drop at the sound of the pistol, and perhaps 

 get a point or two, when birds are so tame that no dog but a 

 cur could possibly put them up. The bargain is struck, the 

 dog paid for ; but, when fairly tried, he shows his deficiency 

 in finding game. I have seen the breaker look round with 

 an air of the greatest triumph if a hare should start, and his 

 dog not chase : this is what any man who understands the 

 elements of breaking, by a little trouble, and by taking the 

 dog into a preserve of hares, can soon effect. 



manded by a separate keeper, and at a sufficient distance apart to prevent inter- 

 ference. The sportsman can thus move from one to the other, as they find game. 

 I, however, always prefer hunting my own dogs, and never suffer them to be 

 spoken to by any one until I have fired, when I trust to my man to enforce the 

 " down charge " without noise. 



