JUNO, THE 
JAMES L, 
Before leaving here last November for 
my usual Autumn visit to my plantations 
in Virginia, | had given orders to my man- 
ager to put Juno, my 3 year old retriever, 
in the hands of her trainer, so she might 
have some field work before I should ar- 
rive. Recollecting her past history I ex- 
pected great things of her. 
The morning after my arrival the trainer 
and I mounted our horses, taking with us 
on another horse a boy to carry extra 
shells and luncheon, ande any game we 
might be fortunate enough to kill. 
I found quail abundant, more so than 
for several years past. Juno was perfectly 
aware of the duty expected of her and 
anxious to perform it. She ranged well 
in front of the horses, moving rapidly and 
covering the ground thoroughly. I soon 
ascertained that she is careful and staunch, 
and is a first class retriever. She never 
failed to find and fetch the dead bird 
promptly, and it was useless to insist on 
“dead bird,’ for if she did not get it and 
bring it in at once there was no dead bird 
to be brought. 
' During the first day’s hunt, and a little 
before noon, a covey of quails flushed wild 
and flew into a sedge field containing a f w 
scattered pine trees. It was a good place 
to shoot single birds, as they lie close in 
the sedge, and the pines interfere but little. 
We followed, and after good work by 
Juno and fair success on our part, she 
pointed again. That time the bird flew to 
the left and was shot by the trainer. 
At the word the dog bounded forward, 
picked up the bird and was returning when, 
with the quail in her mouth, she once more 
came suddenly to a stand. She held the 
point steadily while we gazed at her in 
admiration. Then, feeling that it was not 
fair to the dog to hold her longer on point, 
we closed in, and I kicked the bird out of 
the sedge. 
Both of us fired and the bird fell, seeing 
which Juno bounded forward and, still 
holdirg the first bird in her mouth, made 
desperate efforts to pick up the second. 
Failing in that, she left it where it lay, 
brought in the. bird she already had, then 
went back and fetched the other. A few 
minutes later, when at lunch, we gladly 
shared the best we had with Juno. 
I have been in the field almost every 
fall for the past 20 years, but until then 
had only once seen a dog stand a live bird 
while holding a dead one in his mouth. 
That was when I was a boy. I afterward 
described the scene to an old man who did 
RETRIEVER. 
LANCASTER, 
not know much about dogs, especially 
pointers. He listened, smiled, and then 
said: 
“T have always heard that if you want to 
make a first class liar of a boy you have 
only to give him a gun and a p’inter.” 
For a long time afterward I was shy of 
telling about that incident. 
I do not now think it worth while to 
explain this statement to sportsmen; but 
as some people, not sportsmen, who read 
your magazine, might be inclined to agree 
with the old man, I add this explanation: 
The pointer’s nose is trained to the scent 
of the live bird. This the bird will lose, 
in cold weather, in a few seconds after 
death; so the dead bird in the dog’s mouth 
does not prevent him from smelling the 
live one. It may confuse the scent some- 
what and render it less emphatic, but does 
not make it indistinguishable, especially at 
close range. 
A dog with the best of noses often has 
difficulty in finding a dead bird. He will 
run over it again and again, finding it only 
by the closest search and then frequently 
by sight. 
There are certain disadvantages in al- 
lowing a dog to flush birds, which over- 
balance any advantage gained by permit- 
ting him to do so. A dog that is allowed 
to flush can never be a good retriever. In 
the act of flushing birds, the dog’s atten- 
tion is engrossed with that alone, and he 
loses sight of or fails to notice the falling 
bird. This often means a long search. for 
dog and hunter, in order to find the bird; 
while if the hunter flushes, the dog soon 
learns to watch for the bird, and has little 
or no trouble in finding it. The dog should 
see the bird when hit and while falling, if 
he is to do his best work as a retriever. 
I saw Juno on one occasion bringing in 
a dead bird when another bird got up and 
was killed. She saw this bird fall, and 
instantly dropping the bird she had in her 
mouth, knowing, I believe, that she could 
easily find it again, rushed off to get the 
bird she had marked down. When she 
had brought that one in, she went back 
and promptly fetched the other. 
good retriever usually marks the 
falling bird, knowing that if the eye be 
taken off the spot there may be much 
trouble in finding it. Good sight, added to 
keen scent, makes a good retriever. 
I would count a retriever of little value 
if I had to spot the falling bird and then 
show the dog where it fell, only to see him 
pick it up and bring it to me. The value 
