300 THE KEEPER'S BOOK 



All water-dogs must be taught to range to hand, as 

 their radius of vision is very small when they are in 

 the water, and it is of material advantage to them if 

 they can be guided and directed by the hand. It is 

 very important, also, that all water-dogs should be very 

 quiet, as the slightest bark or whine is fatal, and is 

 sufficient to spoil a whole day's sport. The constant 

 exposure of these dogs to cold and wet is liable to bring 

 on rheumatic fever, especially if they are accustomed 

 to sit most of the day before a roaring fire. The 

 symptoms are : the dog will resent being touched, will 

 snarl if you attempt to pat him, and will, as a rule, 

 cower in a corner. The best cure is to give him a hot 

 bath, dry him well before the fire, and then apply, by 

 hard rubbing, a mixture of equal parts of spirit of 

 turpentine, ammonia, and laudanum. 



The directions which may assist the keeper in 

 bringing up and shooting wild duck must, perforce, 

 be of a general nature, as the method in each case will 

 vary, depending largely on the conformation of the 

 ground and the nature of the surroundings ; but it 

 should be observed that wild duck are very capable of 

 looking after themselves, and that the keeper's chief 

 difficulty lies in keeping the birds from straying, and his 

 chief care in feeding them regularly when very young. 



Note. When the lie of the land is favourable, it is often possible to 

 drive duck up a burn, from their feeding-ground, into an enclosure at a 

 higher elevation. The guns being posted below, the birds are let out in 

 twos and threes. The principle is very much the same as in the case of 

 pheasant "showing." P. J. M. 



