HORSES, GUNS, AND DOGS.
Horses, Guns, and Dogs. By J. Otho Paget, George A. B. Dewar, A. B. Portman, and A. limes Shand. (G. Allen. 6s.)—This is a new volume in the "Young England Library," and the book is an excellent one for the youthful sportsman. Everything that Mr. Otho Paget writes about horses and hunting is good, and when he addresses boys he does not fall below the usual standard. The chapters on first riding lessons, behaviour in the hunting field, the choice of a pony, and various hints on riding and driving contain the most excellent advice. The boy and his father will alike profit from them, and they are charmingly written. We are glad to see that he dwells on the mistake of teaching boys to ride on corn-fed, underworked ponies, which always develop alarming tricks. To obtain perfect confidence is the first essential in learning to ride. Mr. Dewar on " guns " has some practical advice on learning to shoot and the choice of a fowling-piece. He might with advantage have enlarged at greater length on the awful consequences of carelessness in shooting. His chapter on rabbits, partridges, and pigeons is full of pleasing recollections of his own young days. Mr. Portman, a well-known shot at country houses where pheasant-shooting is raised to the highest pinnacle of art and strategy, writes upon advanced shooting. We are amused by a quotation from the old game-book of Mr. Thornhill, of Riddles- worth Hall, Norfolk, written in 1814: "To-day we killed 99 cock pheasants, a feat never before performed in Norfolk and not likely to be done again." This is a strangely false prophecy, which cannot fail to interest those who think that the modern slaughter of pheasants has reached its limit. The only limits with hand-reared birds are the numbers the land will support, and the quickness with which the guns can fire. Mr. Portman writes also on grouse and partridge driving. Boys, we fear, will think some of Mr. Innes Shand's first chapter on dogs rather " twaddly." His disquisition on the various breeds of dogs, with remarks on their faults and qualities, is more to the point. But he might well have given the youthful dog-owner some more information on the proper way to feed dogs and keep them healthy. But taken all in all, the book is fairly practical without
being dull, and we feel sure will be a welcome present for the open-air "young Englander."
Previous page
