ON CADDIES.
[To TEE EDITOR OP THE "SfECTATOR:.1 SIR,—Your correspondent who signs himself descriptively " Foozler " in last week's Spectator seems a little to foozle his argument in quoting what I said about caddies. He italicises the phrase " much to their profit," as if I had said it was much to their• profit that they had been caddies. The real sense of the words in their connection—misunderstood, it seems, by " Foozler "—is that it is to the boy's profit to quit caddying. Further, "Foozler " quotes remarks that I made in early editions of the " Badminton Library " golf volume about the rank-and-file of the professional players of that day as if I deemed it applicable to the present, and also implies that every caddy of necessity goes on to be a professional. But iu the score or so of years since the first publica- tion of that volume many things have changed for the better; and if he will read later "Badminton" editions he will see that I had by that time found reason for strong modifica- tion of what I wrote first. The law about education also has altered. Except in holiday-time, you cannot get schoolboys who have not passed their standards, and I am in full agree- ment with "Foozler's " whole argument (as he might have perceived had he taken my argument clean) that caddying is not a good trade for boys after passing standards. TLe suggestion may sound fantastic, but I mean it seriously, that in my own opinion the best way out of the trouble, quite fairly stated by " Foozler," would be that one of the dog-breaking people should teach large dogs—say retrievers—to carry. It could be easily done, and would be profitable. They must be taught not to tee the ball in a bunker, and there is no reason why they should not be good retrievers in the field as well. They would be invaluable in finding lost balls.--I am, Sir, &c., HORACE G. HIITCEINSON.
[It would certainly add greatly to the picturesqueness of golf courses to see the players followed by their pack-dogs. Presumably two carrying bags would be fitted as panniers, but we do not see how a dog so weighted could possibly retrieve. We should think the big Flanders and German draught-dogs would prove the most suitable breed.—En. Spectator.]
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