e haunt of a cock, but making the cover ring again with their
joyous melody, when once the bird is flushed. A first rate cocker will
never deceive by opening upon an old haunt, nor yet find the gun
unprepared by delaying to give due warning before he flushes the bird.
When cocks are abundant, some teams are broken, not only to avoid flick,
but actually not to notice a pheasant, or anything besides woodcock.
Hardly any price would tempt a real lover of cock-shooting, in a cocking
country, to part with such a team. Hawker terms the sport, "the
fox-hunting of shooting." Some sportsmen kill water-hens to young spaniels
to practise them in forcing their way through entangled covers, and get
them well in hand and steady against the all-important cocking season.

74. When a regular retriever can be constantly employed with spaniels, of
course it will be unnecessary to make any of them fetch game--certainly
never to lift anything which falls out of bounds--though all the team
should be taught to "seek dead." This is the plan pursued by the Duke of
Newcastle's keepers, and obviously it is the soundest and easiest
practice, for it must always be more or less difficult to make a spaniel
keep within his usual hunting limits, who is occasionally encouraged to
pursue wounded game, at his best pace, to a considerable distance.

75. Other teams are broken no more than to keep within range, being
allowed to hunt all kinds of game, and also rabbits; they, however, are
restricted from pursuing wounded flick further than fifty or sixty yards.
Where rabbits are abundant, and outlying, a team thus broken affords
lively sport--nothing escapes them.

76. Wild spaniels, though they may show you most cock, will get you fewest
shots, unless you have well-placed markers. There are sportsmen who like
to take out one steady dog to range close to them, and a couple of wild
ones to hunt on the flanks, one on each side, expressly that the latter
may put up birds for the markers to take note of.

77. An old sportsman knows _mute_ spaniels to be most killing: a young one
may prefer those which give tongue--if true from the beginning owning
nothing but game,--because, though undeniably greater disturbers of a
cover, they are more cheerful and animating. The superiority of the former
is, however, apparent on a still calm day, when the least noise will make
the game steal away long before the gun gets within shot. But it is not so
in all countries.

78.