SOME DEALS IN DOGS 199 



The gamekeeper, as a rule, is an old hand at dog- 

 dealing. All keepers have an eye for a dog, and are 

 tempted to buy for a song any sort of sport - 

 Some i n g dog, in the hope of making a few shillings 

 or pounds by a quick sale. We knew a keeper 

 who would buy almost anything that could 

 be described as a dog, but his stock price was " A bob 

 and a pot "a shilling, that is to say, with a quart of 

 beer. When a shoot is let, and the keeper's services 

 go with it, he often has a good chance to make money 

 over dog-deals. Outgoing tenants commonly make 

 him a present of a useful, general-purpose retriever, 

 or spaniel a dog that has done a good deal of all- 

 round work on the shoot. A dog may be a good dog 

 only on one shoot, or he may obey only one keeper ; 

 so when the tenant goes away he leaves his dog where 

 it can do the most good in the world, kennel, chain, 

 collar and all. Then a new tenant comes in, to whom 

 the keeper offers the dog with its outfit the whole 

 being, as he declares, " honestly worth five pounds to 

 the shoot." But he will take three pounds, and it is 

 clear profit. And the new tenant makes a good 

 bargain. 



A white or a pied bird, whether rook, blackbird, 

 starling, finch, or sparrow, never fails to hold the eye, 

 and may become a character of public interest in 

 a neighbourhood. Its usual fate is to be shot the 

 fate of any rare wild creature. The sportsman sees 



