e who had a
fancy to himself hunt many dogs at a time.

170. If a professional breaker could show you a brigade of dogs well
trained to quarter their ground systematically, and should ask from fifty
to sixty guineas[29] a brace for them, you ought not to be surprised.
What an extent of country they could sweep over in an hour and not leave
a bird behind! And consider what time and labor must have been spent in
inculcating so noble a range. He would have been far better paid if he had
received less than half the money as soon as they "pointed steadily," both
at the living and the dead; "down charged;" "backed:" and were broken from
"chasing hare," or noticing rabbits.

171. Some men fancy that the faster they walk, the more country they hunt.
This is far from being always the case. Dogs travel at one rate, whether
you walk fast or slow, and the distance between the parallels on which
they work--being determined by the fineness of their noses, and the
goodness of the scent--ought not to be affected by your pace. Suppose,
therefore, that you shoot in an unenclosed country, whether you walk
quickly, or merely crawl along, the only difference in the beat of your
dogs _ought_ to be that, in the latter case, they range further to the
right and the left. You thus make up in your _breadth_ what you lose in
your _length_ of beat.

172. Nor do the fastest dogs, however well they may be broken, always
truly hunt the most ground. The slower dogs have frequently finer
olfactory nerves than their fleeter rivals,--therefore the parallels on
which the former work may correctly be much wider apart than the parallels
of the latter. The finer nose in this manner commands so much more ground
that it beats the quicker heels out and out.

173. You will see, then, how judicious it is to show forbearance and give
encouragement to the timid, but high-bred class[30] of dogs described in
114; for it is obvious that, though they may travel slower, yet they may
really hunt _properly_, within a specified time, many more acres of ground
than their hardier and faster competitors; and it is certain that they
will not so much alarm the birds. Dogs that are most active with their
heels are generally least busy with their noses.

FOOTNOTES:

[27] Entitled, "Field Sports in the United States and British Provinces,
by Frank Forester."

[28] A rule to be followed whenever you employ relays of braces.

[29] 250 to 300 dollars. This would be by no mean