CONCERNING POINTERS AND SETTERS. 



Written j^v Illustrated by Jno. M. Tract. 



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 f 



^N choosing a dog for upland shooting, the American 

 sportsman must beware of the influence of Euro- 

 pean taste and opinion which pervades sporting lit- 

 erature, and, while good for Europeans on their own 

 ground, is utterly misleading in America. In Europe, 

 game is so preserved and protected that birds are very 

 abundant; land-holdings are comparatively small, save 

 the estates of the nobility, covert is sparse, and tres- 

 pass on another's ground is not to be thought of. It 

 follows that a slow, cautious dog is needed, one that can 

 be relied on to cover every inch of his master's little pre- 

 serve, and nose out all the birds, without dashing ofif into 

 neighboring fields and getting into trouble with jeal- 

 ous game-keepers. 



Here aU is different. The farms are large, covert is 

 exceedingly dense, restrictions as to trespass on private 

 property are quite rare, and may generally be removed 

 by a polite word. Game, also, is less abundant, save in 

 exceptional localities. 



We therefore need a fast dog, who can cover a great 

 deal of ground, high-spirited and dashing, with plenty 

 of intelligence to think and judge of the ground he works 

 over, and go to the likely places without losing time in 

 useless "quartering." A tough, wiry, hardy fellow he 

 must be, able to endure heat, not afraid of briers, and 

 staunch to the last degree when birds are found. At the 

 same time, the greatest delicacy of nose is required to 



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