26o The Sporting Dog 



bird sense, as well as for speed and range, but are 

 warned against stress upon retrieving, that being 

 an artificial and not a natural performance. 



I should advise every one who desires to be 

 informed about field dogs to attend a few of these 

 public trials. He will find an agreeable lot of 

 sportsmen and will learn a great deal about the 

 qualities of dogs which he would never discover 

 from the reports or even from personal conversa- 

 tions with actual spectators. Not that the reports 

 are usually anything but accurate, but that they 

 necessarily assume a foundation of knowledge on 

 the part of the reader. I have found that people 

 who depend upon reading or hearsay grossly ex- 

 aggerate the faults and shortcomings of these 

 field trial dogs. They do not realize that the 

 standard of judgment is beyond comparison 

 higher and more severe than that applied to 

 everyday dogs. It would also be a valuable edu- 

 cation in many respects if the student would 

 make a few entries in public trials and get into 

 the competition of patrons. He cannot learn to 

 estimate dog performance in any other way so 

 quickly and thoroughly. At the same time, I 

 should warn him strongly against entering second- 

 rate dogs merely through good nature or curiosity. 

 Field trial clubs are anxious to get as many entries 

 as possible in order that their prizes may be allur- 

 ing, but it does not do field trials any good, and it 



