116 The Carnivora. 
own in range, exactness, and discrimination. Speaking only 
of my retrievers, who would find, stand, and recover their 
game—thus combining all the work expected of sporting dogs 
—it has never alarmed me to see them revelling in carrion 
before or during the time when they were expected to prove 
their powers. Carlo I., who rarely lost a wounded bird among 
the many thousands he brought to bag on land and water, 
was incorrigible in this respect, and there were abundant 
opportunities for testing him in the hot climates of Australia 
and South America, where putrid animal matter festers under 
the sun. Soon after saturating his coat with ordure, he would 
work out the trail of a wounded duck on wet ground with un- 
failing certainty, while I, on taking the bird from his mouth, 
could hardly endure the effluvium that enveloped him. 
Some years ago, when shooting on Dartmoor with Mr. 
Irwin Cox, an opportunity presented itself to me of calling 
his attention to this, his impression then being that the smell 
of the carrion must render the dog’s nose useless. For a 
week previously we had daily made good bags of snipe, 
woodcock, and plover, with a few duck, and, now and then, 
a blackcock, over this Australian-bred retriever, who found, 
stood, and brought to hand any kind of game. Soon after 
the start for the moor one morning, Carlo I. was seen to be 
busily engaged perfuming himself on the remains of a decom- 
posed rabbit, cast upon a dungheap. Mr. Cox suggested 
leaving the dog at home, insisting that he would be worthless 
for the remainder of the day. The incident, however, did 
not concern my mind, and we went on the moor under a 
cheerful sun, with every prospect of sport. The snipe lay 
close, feeding greedily in the soft places, and Carlo I. found 
and stood them splendidly, and retrieved them throughout 
the day in perfect style. 
The bag included snipe, woodcock, partridge, and hare, with 
a duck, cleverly recovered, after a laborious hunt among thick 
reeds and grass and pools of miry water, without any assistance 
from us. 
