d, than
if one of his fore legs had been passed through his collar. Other
breakers, when hunting many couple together, fasten a belt with a few
pounds of shot round the necks of the wildest. But the sooner such
adjuncts to discipline can be safely discarded the better; for "brushing"
a close cover is severe work. Gorse is the most trying[12]. Its prickles
are so numerous and fine that the ears and eyes of every spaniel hunted
in it ought to be separately examined on returning home, and well bathed
in warm water. Their eyes are peculiarly liable to be injured by dust and
gravel from their hunting so close to the ground.

57. To give young spaniels sufficient courage to face the most entangled
cover, a judicious trainer will occasionally introduce them to thick
brakes, or gorse, early in the morning, or in the evening, when the noise
of his approach will have made the pheasants feeding in the neighborhood
run far into it for shelter. The effluvia of the birds will then so excite
the young dogs, especially if cheered with good companionship--which
always creates emulation--that they will utterly disregard the pricks and
scratches of the strongest furze.

58. If the time of year will permit, they should be shown game when about
nine or ten months old. At a more advanced age they would be less amenable
to control. Happily the example of a riotous pup will not be as
detrimental to the discipline of the rest of the team as the example of an
ill-conducted companion would be to a pointer--or setter--for the
influence of thoroughly steady spaniels makes the pup curtail his range
sooner than might be expected. Finding that he is not followed by his
associates he soon rejoins them.

59. A judicious breaker will regard perfection in the "drop"--22 to
25--as the main-spring of his educational system. He will teach his young
spaniels to "seek dead"--30, 31, 39--where directed by signs of the hand.
He will instruct them in "fetching"--92, 94. &c.--with the view to some of
them hereafter retrieving. He will accustom them to hunt hedge-rows, and
light open copses--because always under his eye--before taking them into
closer cover. Nor until they are under some command, and well weaned from
noticing vermin and small birds, will he allow them to enter gorse or
strong thickets, and then he will never neglect--though probably he will
have used them before--to attach bells of _different sounds_ to the
collars of his several pupils--one to e