POINTERS AND SETTERS. 293 
two or three days. Let it be clearly understood that the present 
lesson is solely with a view to teach the range, steadiness in the 
point being at first quite subordinate to this quality, though in 
well-bred dogs it may often be taught at the same time. Hundreds 
of puppies are irretrievably spoiled by attempting to begin with 
teaching them to stand, when, by undue hardship and severity, 
their relish for hunting or beating the ground is destroyed; and 
they are never made to do this part of the work well, although 
their noses are good enough when they come upon game, and they 
stand for a week if allowed to do so. Keep to the one object 
till the puppy will beat his ground as shown in the diagram, at 
first single-handed, and then crossing it with another dog; but 
it seldom answers to use two together until steadiness at “the 
point” is attained, as there are few old dogs which will beat their 
ground properly long together when they find that they are worked 
‘with a young one which is constantly flushing his birds or com- 
mitting some other faux pas. For these reasons it is better to work 
the young ones at first singly, that is, as soon as they will work; 
and then, after they range freely and work to the hand and whistle, 
turning to the right or left, forwards or backwards, at the slightest 
wave of the hand, and when they also begin to point, it is time 
enough to “ hunt them double.” 
In order to complete the education of the pointer in ranging or 
beating his ground, it is not only necessary that he should “ quarter ” 
it, as itis called, according to the method inculcated at page 291, 
et seq., but that he should do it with every advantage of the wind, 
and also without losing time by dwelling on a false scent, and, 
above all, avoiding such careless work as to put up game without 
standing to a point at all. I have before explained the principle 
upon which a field is to be ‘“ quartered,” and described the way in 
which the dog is to be set to do his work, by the hand and voice, 
aided by the whistle. As a general rule, pointers find their game 
by the scent being blown to them from the body, constituting what 
is called a “body-scent,” and not from that left by the foot on the 
ground, which is called a “foot-scent.” Hence it is desirable in 
all cases to give the dog the wind, that is to say, to beat up 
towards the wind’s eye; and therefore the breaker will put his dogs 
to work in that direction; and then, though they do not always 
