
The Dog for Southern Sport it 
BY A. J. PURDY 
Next month some of our best shots will be 
off to the Southern States with gun and dog. 
Their sport will be determined by the ex- 
cellence of their dogs. Any one with a long 
purse can go into a gun store and buy a gun 
that will drop every quail shot at up to forty 
yards, if held straight, but comparatively few 
men own even fairly broken dogs. ‘The reason 
is not far to seek. Somebody must put in a lot 
of good, hard, honest work before a dog is 
broken or trained—whichever word you prefer. 
Then the dog himself must have come from 
stock that was well bred, as it never pays to 
waste time upon a mongrel. After you have 
received your dog from the trainer you must 
know how to handle it, or else in a few weeks 
it will be running wild again, and doing the 
most awful things, for it is unfortunately true 
that by nature the dog wishes to do the exact 
reverse of what we require of him. 
The best dog for Southern shooting ? 
Ah, that is a difficult question. Personally 
we prefer the pointer, thinking him to be some- 
what more easily trained than the setter, and 
more likely to remember what he has been 
taught. Then he stands the heat better; can go 
longer without water, and having a short coat 
does not suffer so much from burrs. If you 
have a good setter, however, and clip him he 
will probably be satisfactory, perhaps, almost 
equally so with the pointer. For Southern 
sport a dog must range widely, have a bold, 
independent way, and be in good condition. 
A comparatively slow, pottering dog may do 
for New England, but such an animal will not 
do for the Southern States. It is essential that 
the dog retrieve. 
It isa far cry from New York to the Carolinas 
and your dog will suffer unless you look after 
him personally. Without wishing to cast any 
reflections upon a body of men that are 
probably underpaid and overworked, I must 
~ confess that the average baggage smasher has 
neither heart nor compassion in dealing with a 
dog. To him a dog is simply a dog, and the 
difference between an ordinary cur and a 
thousand dollar pointer is to him indistinguish- 
able. So, I say, look after your dog yourself; 
see that the crate is large enough, that he has 
a good feed of meat about two hours before 
entraining, and that there is a sufficiency of 
water in his crate to last him until you can 
replenish it. The following tip is worth keep- 
ing in mind: instead of filling a tin with 
water, which will most assuredly be spilled, get 
a large sponge, cover it with muslin, soak it in 
water, and place it in a quart tin, fastening the 
tin to the side of the crate and the sponge to 
the side of the tin; then you can rest assured 
that your dog will be able to get a little water 
when he wants it. Lastly, do not forget to tip 
liberally. Remember, that the average train- 
hand can only be won over by gifts, and as you 
treat him so will he treat your dog. When you 
are taking the dog from Long Island to Georgia 
it is true economy to spend from $5 to $10 on 
tips, because you should realize that you will 
not get much fun out of your shooting unless 
your dog is in good condition and uninjured. 
It is a very good plan to make an extremely 
dilute solution of common carbolic acid and 
water. It must be very weak. With this sponge 
the dog occasionally, as it keeps him clear of 
vermin and prevents him from catching many 
skin diseases that he might otherwise contract. 
Your druggist will advise you as to the strength, 
only take care if you err to err on the safe side, 
as carbolic is a very deadly poison. 
A dog that is to be used either on the prairie 
or in the big fields of the South must be 
thoroughly broken to the whistle. One blast 
should bring him in at the gallop, right up to 
your hand, while if you give two blasts he 
should stop immediately, and look to you for 
instructions. A wave of the hand should send 
him to the right or to the left or farther out. 
Unless your dog is broken in this manner you 
will find it hard to control him on the quail 
grounds. 

The Merrie Beagle 
BY ‘‘ ROWHAMPSTEAD ” 
At this time of the year a good many sports- 
men are thinking about the beagle. They will 
do well if they decide to keep these merry little 
hounds. The spread of the beagle has been 
very rapid in the United States, but not more 
so than its merits warrant. A man can get a 
