THE COCKING SPANIEL. 199 
case in battues; the game, in these, as I must consider 
them, unsportsmanlike butcheries, being driven up by 
beaters. The reason of this preference of the spaniel is 
twofold. First, he does the work better than the pointer 
or setter can do it; secondly, it is an injury to the latter 
species to inure them to this sort of work, which is not 
suited to their habits, instincts, or style of hunting. 
Those dogs are naturally endowed with great range 
and speed of foot, and ought, if high bred and endowed 
with good noses, to stand their birds steadily at long 
distances. 
These are the points and excellences of fine setters or 
pointers; the proper stage for which is, in England, the 
moors, or the open partridge stubbles and turnip fields ; 
here the prairies, for grouse, the open stubbles for quail, 
and the snipe marshe:. , 
If they be duly qualified to hunt these grounds in style, 
and to find their game fast and well in such situations, 
they will, in covert, range entirely out of shot, will proba- 
bly overrun and put up many birds, quite beyond the 
shooter’s range, or, coming to a dead point, ata quarter of 
a mile’s distance, with heaven knows how much brush and 
brier intervening, will be missing half of the time, or will 
have, instead of themselves hunting, to be painfully hunted 
up by their owner. 
Over and above this, being used to hunt under the 
constant supervision of the sportsman’s eye, where the 
least error is observed and the least fault rated, finding 
themselves under less restraint in covert, they are apt to 
become careless and to run riot. To this habit they are 
