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CHAPTER V. 
THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE DOG IN COURSING, HUNTING, 
SHOOTING, &c. 
Coursing—Deerstalking— Hunting—Partridge and Grouse Shooting—Snipe- 
Shooting—Covert-Shooting— W ildfowl-Shooting—Ferreting, 
PRIVATE COURSING. 
BETWEEN private and public coursing there is a considerable dif- 
ference, not only in the methods adopted, but also in the kind of 
greyhound most useful for each, In the first place, the private 
.courser will not like the expense of rearing a fresh set of grey- 
hounds each year, but will expect them to last several seasons; and 
hence speed and cleverness must to some extent be sacrificed 
to honesty, which is the sine qud non of the private greyhound, 
excepting for those who course for currant jelly purposes only. It 
is true that a cunning old dog, if fast and clever, will kill more 
hares than any other, but he will do it in a way to disgust every 
sportsman, and such an animal is not to be recommended on any 
account. If, therefore, the private courser regards the sport inde- 
pendently of the obtaining hares, he will see that his greyhounds 
combine as many good qualities as possible, with an amount of 
honesty which will carry them through three or four seasons with- 
out lurching. These, however, are only now to be obtained from 
private sources, for every strain of public greyhounds with which 
I am acquainted will show a tendency to lurch after a couple of 
seasons, if used as much and as freely as the greyhounds of most 
private coursers are expected to be. 
The feeding of these greyhounds should be on oatmeal porridge, 
with more or less wheat-flour or Indian meal, as described at page 
261, and flavoured with greaves, or with broth made from flesh of 
some kind. If half a pound a day, or rather more, of flesh can be 
