156 SHOOTING THE PARTRIDGE 
self, off faster than before down to the end, racing 
along the fence towards the corner, and just as any 
one who didn’t know him would be inclined to shout 
him back, a little whirr, the flash of the under- 
white of a wing, and Gunner caught the bird in the 
air, and trotted proudly back to his master without 
ruffling a feather. 
In those days there were many hares, and in 
threading his way through a turnip field after a winged 
bird a dog must be trusted to pass by the temptation 
of the scent of fur as well as of fresh birds. I fear 
that since the introduction and spread of driving there 
are fewer masters and keepers who understand break- 
ing and working a retriever than there were formeriy. 
The well-broken retriever is more needed every day, 
as the pointer and setter recede before nineteenth 
century conditions of shooting, but I am afraid that he 
becomes scarcer. The demand is vastly in excess of 
the supply, and as there is no difficulty about multi- 
plication of the species, and as the health and treat- 
ment of dogs are more humanely and scientifically 
understood than ever, we are forced to the conclusion 
that it is their training that is deficient. 
Much as I love driving, I afn afraid that it is 
largely responsible for this. As I hinted above, no 
dog will ever be really useful in the field, even where 
