io8 A SPORTING PARADISE 



Sussex spaniel. The cost of shipping dogs to 

 Canada is 3 a head. Though I take exception 

 to Mr. Rowan's statement, " It is next to im- 

 possible to buy a well-trained dog in Canada," 

 yet a sportsman always prefers his own dog as 

 well as his own gun. What is required is a strong, 

 hardy, all-round dog, an animal that will retrieve 

 by land or water, and work a winged duck by 

 the nose through the intricacies of the most tangled 

 swamp. " He must also be a good dog in 

 thick cover, free from chase, a close hunter, 

 and of high courage/' We find these qualities 

 combined in the spaniel. 



If broken to field and hedgerow shooting in 

 England, spaniels readily fall into all Canadian 

 shooting. They should hunt quite mute, except 

 when they flush a bird or get on a hot scent. 

 These dogs make as good retrievers as any in 

 the world. " What English sportsmen see to 

 admire in that big, heavy-looking breed of dog, 

 the so-called c retriever,' ' says Rowan, " I do 

 not know. Almost any dog can be taught to 

 retrieve, and the spaniel, from his industry in 

 following up foot-scent, his perseverance, his 

 courage, and his activity, seems to me to be a 

 breed particularly suited for retrieving purposes. 



