‘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 ig 
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 
