experienced sportsmen who do not acknowledge its
great value in shooting. Rate or beat a dog at one end of a field, and the
birds at the other will lift their heads, become uneasy, and be ready to
take wing the moment you get near them. "Penn," in his clever maxims on
Angling and Chess, observes to this effect, "if you wish to see the fish,
do not let him see you;" and with respect to shooting, we may as truly
say, "if you wish birds to hear your gun, do not let them hear your
voice." Even a loud whistle disturbs them. Mr. O----t of C----e says a
gamekeeper's motto ought to be,--"No whistling--no whipping--no noise,
when master goes out for sport."

8. These observations lead unavoidably to the inference, that no dog can
be considered perfectly broken, that does not make his point when first he
feels assured of the presence of game, and remain stationary _where he
makes it_, until urged on by you to draw nearer--that does not, as a
matter of course, lie down without any word of command the moment you have
fired, and afterwards perseveringly seek for the dead bird in the
direction you may point out--and all this without your once having
occasion to speak, more than to say in a low voice, "Find," when he gets
near the dead bird, as will be hereafter explained. Moreover, it must be
obvious that he risks leaving game behind him if he does not hunt every
part of a field, and, on the other hand, that he wastes your time and his
strength, if he travels twice over the same ground, nay, over any ground
which his powers of scent have already reached. Of course I am now
speaking of a dog hunted without a companion to share his labors.

9. You may say, "How is all this, which sounds so well in theory, to be
obtained in practice without great severity?" Believe me, with severity it
never can be attained. If flogging would make a dog perfect, few would be
found unbroken in England or Scotland, and scarcely one in Ireland.

10. Astley's method was to give each horse his preparatory lessons alone,
and when there was no noise or anything to divert his attention from his
instructor. If the horse was interrupted during the lesson, or his
attention in any way withdrawn, he was dismissed for that day. When
perfect in certain lessons by himself, he was associated with other horses
whose education was further advanced. And it was the practice of that
great master to reward his horses with slices of carrot or apple when they
performed well.