i8o 



RECREATION 



generations of partridge dogs, that can be 

 broken with very little trouble. One of the 

 most important things to bear in mind, pro- 

 viding that in the first place you have one of 

 the right sort, is not to expect too much of 

 him in the beginning and have patience with 

 him when he makes mistakes. If he has the 

 right sort of a head for the work, and is 

 really a good one, he will soon find where 

 he is wrong and correct himself. Remember, 

 I am speaking now of the really good nat- 

 ural partridge dog, that has been well 

 handled previous to his entry on game. Do 

 not attempt to show him what to do, but let 

 him learn it himself. Never check him un- 

 less he is very wild. Never scold nor pun- 

 ish him unless he has committed a rank fault. 

 Put all the confidence you can in him — give, 

 him a chance to develop his bird sense, and 

 you will find him coming on much faster, 

 and very much better than if you are con- 

 tinually checking and talking to him and 

 thereby taking his attention off of his work 

 and preventing him from developing and 

 tising his own brain. Such a young dog as 

 I have spoken of may be difficult to find, but 

 it is well worth while to take time to select 

 such a one, for there is much greater pleas- 

 ure in handling one of that kind, and he can, 

 in one season, be developed into quite a sat- 

 isfactory dog to shoot over. And if he can 

 be made a companion of and be in constant 

 touch with his owner, he will go on improv- 

 ing from season to season until he becomes 

 too old for service. When I speak of im- 

 proving from season to season, I have in 

 mind dogs which I have owned and shot 

 over, and instances are brought to my recol- 

 lection of the most wonderful development 

 of" Ibird sense and intelligence, shown by 

 them, in cases where they seemed to figure 

 out the best plan to outwit some wary old 

 bird. 



I remember one instance very well, when 

 the dog showed a persistent disregard of my 

 wishes and finally prevailed on me to change 

 my mind and follow her direction. I was on 

 a "cart path" in very heavy cover, when my 

 dog, some fifty yards ahead of me, stopped, 

 half-pointed and indicated to me that there 

 was a bird on that side of the road. As I 

 came up, instead of working in, she went 

 ahead about thirty yards and turned into the 

 thicket. I waited to see what this meant J 

 she was gone some little time, and I was 

 about to break through the brush where she 

 had first stooped, when I saw her come out 



of the cover where she had gone in. When 

 she saw me she immediately turned back 

 again, looked over her shoulder in a way that 

 said, "Follow me," as plainly as if she had 

 spoken. I did as she desired, and she led 

 me in a half circle until she reached a point 

 opposite where she had first indicated game, 

 and I found myself in a small opening. She 

 then went into the cover very cautiously, but 

 quickly made a short circuit and pointed 

 towards me. I gave her the call to come on, 

 and as she obeyed she put up the bird in 

 such a way that he came out into the open, 

 and I killed him easily. If she had attempted 

 to locate the bird from where she first got 

 wind of it, and I had followed her, I could 

 not possibly have got a shot, as the bird 

 would have flushed wild, while I was break- 

 ing through. This was one of many in- 

 stances where the judgment of my dog was 

 better than my own, and I found that at 

 times when my dog showed a desire to do 

 different from what I thought should be 

 done, it was best to let him have his own 

 way. 



Of course, it is not always possible for one 

 to get the right material to develop, but it 

 is certainly essential to start with one that 

 has a natural tendency to hunt high-headed 

 and has an obedient disposition. And it is 

 a good rule to do all the breaking in the 

 yard, and as nearly as possible let the dog 

 do the rest. 



For 



BETBAYED 



BY HENRY CROCKER 



A bright little bubble 

 Is sailing in a pool; 

 a wee little minute it is there. 

 A pretty little trout, 

 Just swallowing a fly, 

 Made this dainty little dome of air. 



The bright little bubble 



Has betrayed the little trout, 



For a bright little boy is by the brook; 

 And now a little worm 

 Is dropping in the pool, 



A squirming little worm on a hook. 



A dozen little circles 



Are dimpling the pool; 

 They are chasing one another to the rim: 



'Tis the brook's "Good bye" 



To the pretty little trout, 

 For the farmer's little boy has him. 







/^ 



'S^Sjis^' 



