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CHAPTER V. 



THE EMPLOYMENT OF THE DOG IN COURSING, HUNTING, 

 SHOOTING, ETC. 



Coursing — Deerstalking — Hunting — Partridge and Grouse-Shooting — 

 Snipe-Shooting — Covert-Shooting — Wildfowl-Shooting — Ferreting. 



PRIVATE COURSING. 



Between private and public coursing there is a considerable dif- 

 ference, not only in the methods adopted, but also in the kind of 

 greyhound most useful for each. In the first place, the private 

 courser will not like the expense of rearing a fresh set of greyhounds 

 each year, but will expect them to last several seasons ; and hence 

 speed and cleverness must to some extent be sacrificed to honesty, 

 which is the sine qud non of the private greyhound, excepting 

 for those who course for currant jelly purposes only. It is true 

 that a cunning old dog, if fast and clever, will kill more hares 

 than any other, but he will do it in a way to disgust every sports- 

 man, and such an animal is not to be recommended on any 

 account. If, therefore, the private courser regards the sport inde- 

 pendently of the obtaining hares, he will see that his greyhounds 

 combine as many good qualities as possible, with an amount of 

 honesty which will carry them through three or four seasons 

 without lurching. These, however, are only now to be obtained 

 from private sources, for every strain of public greyhounds with 

 which I am acquainted will show a tendency to lurch after a 



