36 THE dog; and hotv to break him. 



of snipe is rarely heard of; and the term ^' bevy'^ 

 is oftener used in speaking of a bevy of girls than 

 a bevy of qnails. 



Two spaniels at a time are sufficient_, if the 

 shooter be without an attendant. If a keeper be 

 employed to hunt them^ the number may be in- 

 creased to four ; but it cannot be too strongly 

 impressed on the memory that many dogs will 

 find most game, but are seldom conducive to the 

 killing of it. 



GENERAL OBSERVATIONS ON DOGS. 



It will often be found that a dog Avill display a 

 peculiar sagacity for a particular kind of work ; 

 pointers and setters will sometimes take to open- 

 ing in cover, and I have had a spaniel that would 

 point. In the latter case I was in the habit of 

 shooting a good many landrails in the Isle of Man, 

 and I used this spaniel in the pursuit of them. I 

 have seen her point the landrail frequently. It 

 is true, the point was only of sufficient duration 

 for her to ascertain the exact position in which the 

 bird lay, that she might make a rush upon it with 

 certainty ; but there is little doubt that it was 

 this instinctive pause on the part of the dog, pre- 

 vious to springing upon his game, that originated 

 the idea of the setting dog. 



