AND AMERICAN RURAL SPORTS. 



163 



atmosphere, sometimes spreading over a considerable sur- 

 face: therefore, when a Dog by ranging with a high head, 

 enters the area of this effluvium, his olfactory nerves detect 

 the course whence it proceeds, and then his sphere of 

 ranging contracts gradually, until it becomes a gentle, 

 straight-forward trot, and by a final stop marks the spot 

 where the game lies concealed. Effluvium, like smoke, 

 ascends rapidly or skims the surface of the ground, accord- 

 ing to the density or I'arity of the air, and should the wind 

 be blowing gently on damp and lowering days, or when 

 the atmosphere is dense, a Dog that ranges with his nose 

 well up. will smell or receive this effluvium at a most asto- 

 nishing distance: and this explains tlie great difference 

 which is manifested frequently by the same Dog. There- 

 fore, the advantage of this description of Dogs over the for- 

 mer, is so great, that it is worth every experiment to make 

 a Dog hunt with his nose well up. And to effect this, it is 

 necessary that whenever your Dog shows a disposition to 

 put his nose to the ground, he should be spoken to sharply, 

 " hold up," and repeated angrily every time he acts in this 

 wa}\ This will make him uneasy, and generally break 

 him from a sneaking walk or trot into a handsome canter, 

 and frequent repetition of this scolding will generally pro- 

 duce the desired effect. But should simple means, like 

 these, prove unavailing, after a fair and patient trial, the 

 sportsman must resort to a more severe measure; and this 

 will be the application of the "puzzle-peg," or more pro- 

 perly, the "muzzle-peg."* The advantage of this instru- 

 ment is, to prevent the Dog from putting his nose to the 

 ground, and when hunting in high grass or stubble, by rea- 

 son of its continually catching the weeds, &c., creates so 

 much uneasiness to the Dog, that he will be obliged to keep 

 his head high, in order to avoid these troublesome objects; 

 and a few hours, on several days, will give him a habit of 

 ranging with his nose up, and if, while in this position, he 

 should be brought to scent and stand game, his instinct will 

 soon point out the superior manner of the two, and he will 

 most likely ever after follow it, for most of the sagacious 

 traits in Dogs are the effect of experience. 



* The " muzzle-peg" is a piece of pine wood, in 

 shape like the figure, of about three fourths of an 

 inch in thickness, and two aud a half inches broad 

 at one end, to taper down to about one and a half 

 inches to the other end, and of suificieut length to 

 pass fi-om the Dog's throat, under his jaw, eight 

 inches beyond his nose. The broad end should 

 be fastened to a strap, in order to buckle rotuid 

 his neck; and the smaller end fastend inside or 

 behind his lower tusks, by means of a buckskin 

 cord. This instrument will put the Dog to much 

 inconvenience, at first, and he will try his best to 

 rid himself of it ; but finding his efibrts unavailing, 

 will follow quietly after you for some time, but 

 will soon become accustomed to it, and then range about. 



It should always be the sportsman's peculiar care, to 

 keep his Dog steady at his work, aud never suffer him to 

 loiter about, or stand gazing at the other Dogs. But to 

 effect this, it is necessary that the sportsman himself be 

 active and persevering; for if the master will loiter and idle 

 his time by sitting on a stump or fence, it is natural to sup- 

 pose that in the early stages of training, the Dog will follow 

 his example, either by resting in the field or at his master's 

 feet, or stand gazing at him or the other Dogs: therefore 

 give force to your precepts by examples of industry, and 

 whenever your Dog shows a disposition to lag, or smell the 

 ground for small birds or ground mice, speak out to him 

 sharply — "holdup!" "take care, sirrah!" This will be 

 sufficient to answer every purpose. I. 



(To be continued.) 



FINAL ANSWER TO I. T. S. 



Gentlemen, 



I will not occupy much of your space in replying to the 

 last communication of I. T. S. The subject of contro- 

 versy between us can never, I apprehend, be satisfactorily 

 decided by rules of philosojjhy, or correctly illustrated by 

 diagram. The ]]ractice of the sportsman must, in the end, 

 determine him, and his deliberation and judgment alone, 

 render him proficient in the art. If, in mj'' argTiment in a 

 former number, with reference to the diagram of I. T. S., 

 I adopted a mode of reasoning which he supposes irrelevant 

 to the case, I regret it as sincerely as himself; as it was not 

 my wish to misapprehend him. Upon a review, however, 

 of that argument, and applying it to his late illustration of 

 the subject, I find so little reason for retraction, that I am 

 willing to go with him from his own starting place, and let 

 his principle commence at the precise point of time he 

 wishes. It is in the latitude of time which your corres- 

 pondent allows for the passage of the contents of the gun 

 to its object, that his great mistake lies; and when he takes 

 as his ground-work, the same time for the effect of the shot 

 on passing from the muzzle, as for the flight of the bird in 

 87 feet, he cannot expect to build upon it a system of rea- 

 soning convincing or satisfactory to your readers. The 

 precise period of time consumed in the passage of the con- 

 tents of a gun to the object, cannot be correctly determined; 

 but admitting, as I. T. S. does, in jiractical shooting, that 

 six inches allowance is necessary for a duck in his ordinary 

 flight, at sixty yards distance, and supposing the duck to 

 fly at the rate of S7 feet in the second; it follows that but 

 the 174th part of a second would elapse for the effect of the 

 shot, from the first touch of the trigger. And supposing, 



