WOODCOCK-SHOOTING. 289 



— as some old dogs are exceedingly fond of doing, never 

 missing an opportunity to steal away when they can do so 

 unobserved — arises from this fact ; that after they have 

 found and pointed their bird, they must of necessity flush 

 it themselves, and go on hunting, without dropping to 

 charge, until they find another, when the same process is 

 repeated. 



Nothing can prevent the best dog from being in the 

 end irretrievably ruined by this practice; and I confess it 

 to be my own opinion, even in contradiction to so distin- 

 guished an authority as Col. Hutchinson, that no dog 

 should ever be allowed or encouraged to flush or to hunt 

 where his master is not close up with him, and able to 

 overlook his every movement, and shoot at every bird he 

 points, or which rises wild of him. 



Some persons recommend that no bird shall ever be 

 fired at, but shall be allowed to go away, which the dog 

 carelessly or wantonly flushes ; which is only a corollary 

 from my axiom, as tending farther to impress on the dog 

 the culpability of flushing. I do not consider this extreme 

 measure necessary, but I think it corroborates my view of 

 the subject. 



There is no doubt that, as a dog can be broke to point 

 " dead," and then " fetch" when ordered to do so, so can 

 he be broke to point live game, and " flush " at word of 

 command. In one respect, however, the analogy fails 

 here. For when the game is killed and pointed " dead," 

 it is nine times out of ten immediately under the eye and 

 control of the shooter, whereas the cases of finding the 

 live bird in sight are exceptional. 

 13 



