WILD-FOWL SHOOTING. 265 



ordered or signalled to rise. He should be taught to remain quiet 

 after tiie discharge of the gun, until ordered to work. This is the 

 most important part of his education, and if not well trained in 

 this, he may easily spoil good sport and lose game by rushing out 

 and spoiling the effect of a second shot. Dead birds need not 

 be gathered until the shooting slackens or good opportunity 

 occurs ; otherwise, the dog may alarm the game and prevent 

 birds alighting by his frequent appearance. It is best, however, 

 to secure the cripples as soon as possible, and this a well trained 

 dog will do of his own motion and without waiting for orders; 

 while he will leave dead ducks until ordered to retrieve them. A 

 dog when taught to fetch should never be permitted to drop the 

 game at his master's feet, lest by doing this, when at work, some 

 wounded birJs may flutter away and be lost or give much trouble 

 to recapture them. He should be made to deliver only to the 

 hand. Water-Fowl retrievers naturally grip their birds tightly 

 and should be taught to hold them tenderly yet safely. The season 

 for training is the summer when the water is warm ; some dogs 

 will refuse to enter water that is very cold after having experi- 

 enced the discomforts of it in training. When being trained, he 

 should be taught to search for the object he is ordered to retrieve, 

 and to do this, the trainer should secretly throw the object 

 to a distance and then bid the dog search and find it, or motion 

 him with a wave of the arm in the direction he should go. Short 

 and easy lessons will be found the most useful. When punishing 

 a dog for a fault, the castigation should never be so severe as to 

 overbear in his mind the memory of the offence for which it was 

 given. Punishment ought to be administered gently but firmly 

 and instantly. Never delay punishment until it is necessarily dis= 

 connected with the fault, and do not be chary of praise for good 

 conduct. 



A ducking expedition can hardly be worth much, without the 

 necessity for camping out for a longer or shorter interval. The 

 sportsman should therefore not only know how to make camp, but 

 also be provided with the means for making and furnishing it. In 

 the spring when bark of nearly all kinds peels very easily, a com- 



