WALKING UP 159 
and still more limited experience of good retrievers, 
hopelessly floundering in a turnip field in charge of a 
raw though keen and well-bred dog after a strong 
running bird. He does not lead the dog to the spot 
where the bird first struck the ground, for this he has 
not been trained to mark accurately himself ; he has 
no notion of giving him the wind or making a cast ; 
he calls af him and not ¢ him ‘every few seconds ; he 
tries to get him back by whistle and curse should he 
at last hit off the scent and carry it to the end of the 
field; he has no apparent notion of the direction 
the bird is likely to take in running, and his prevail- 
ing feeling appears to be that of a man who has set a 
power in motion which he is incapable of checking, 
and of which he does not know the elementary prin- 
ciples. The dog, often born with a magnificent nose, 
high spirit, and tender mouth, an invaluable com- 
bination when trained to perfection, has by this time 
only two strong characteristics, a desire to see the bird 
instead of scenting it, and an ineradicable fear of his 
master ; fatal conditions, making it absolutely impos- 
sible for the latter to extract any value from the 
splendid qualities of scent, perseverance, and attach- 
ment which Nature has bestowed upon the retriever. 
‘It is difficult to suggest a remedy for this, except- 
ing in the directions I have indicated. If your under- 
