258 TEN YEARS OF GAME-KEEPING 
For many years I had a goose which practically 
was one of my dogs; she lived with them day 
and night, and beat them all as a watch-dog. 
She would take possession of a vacant kennel, 
and when she wanted to sit, would collect as 
substitutes for eggs half a bushel or so of bones 
that the dogs had done with—great big marrow- 
bones were the ones she preferred. The goose 
never would come farther than just outside the 
gate, if 1 were taking dogs with me on a round. 
But whenever I loosed the whole pack for a frolic 
in the field adjoining my cottage, unless she were 
sitting on her precious bones, she would come 
flying with her great wings and quacking furiously. 
She would alight in the midst of the rabble, follow 
the dogs as they tore about and rolled each other 
over, sometimes almost on top of her, and waddle 
or fly after them back to their kennels. She took 
meals with the dogs, and always was first to signal 
the coming of biscuits. 
My favourite retriever was a dog of a lifetime. 
I had her from a little puppy ten weeks old. After 
her first two seasons, | used her for everything, even 
to catching rabbits in a harvest-field ; and there was 
not much that was useful at which she did not 
excel, I believe she was even keener on sport 
than myself. Provided I were not present, she 
would go with anyone she knew well—if he had 
a gun or an iron bar (which meant ratting). She 
