SNIPE-SHOOTING. 385 



finest animals I ever saw of this kind was the produce of a cross 

 between a Eussian and a smooth pointer. They are, however, 

 difficult to train, and curiously ugly. The smooth pointer should 

 never be used in snipe-shooting. They have a natural dislike to 

 the water, and, although their high breeding and courage make 

 them disregard it when in pursuit of game, any one who has seen 

 them cowering at their master's heels after a hard day's work on 

 a cold wintry day cannot but feel compassion for these noble 

 animals. 



" In training dogs for snipe-shooting they should be broken as 

 much as possible to ' hand.' Shouting or talking in a bog ought 

 always to be avoided ; more birds will be sprung in that way than 

 by the report of the gun. No dog that splashes through the 

 water, or with bad feet, should be used for snipe. It is in his 

 peculiar style of going that the old Irish setter shows his supe- 

 riority to all other dogs for this sport ; not pottering or plowtering 

 among the reeds, like a tame drake, but moving through the 

 marsh with a long, light, stealthy pace, like a panther in search 

 of prey. 



" The system of training dogs in Ireland is, generally speaking, 



very bad, — in fact, cannot well be worse. Three guineas, and a 



hundred- weight of meal, is the usual charge ; and for this you 



will get plenty of so called gamekeepers and trainers willing 



to undertake the duty. I do not object to the price, which is 



moderate enough, if the duty was properly performed ; but do 



object, and very strongly, to the fact that not one grain of the 



meal ever finds its way to the stomach of the unfortunate animal 



for whose benefit it was ostensibly bought. This would not suit 



the trainer's purpose, whose object is to return him ' broken ' in 



the shortest possible time (and broken he certainly is, with a 



vengeance). This can only be accomplished by fasting and flagel- 



2 B 



