gamekeeper to Sir Henry Mildmay, testifies to the teachability of these animals; and therefore, as it is our intention to defend them from many of the aspersions cast upon them, we will quote it.
"Toomer actually broke a black sow to find game, and to back and stand. Slut was bred in, and was of that sort which maintain themselves in the New Forest without regular feeding, except when they have young, and then but for a few weeks, and was given, when about three months old, to be a breeding sow, by Mr. Thomas to Mr. Richard Toomer, both at that time keepers of the forest. From having no young she was not fed or taken much notice of, and, until about eighteen months old, was seldom observed near the lodge, but chanced to be seen one day when Mr. Edward Toomer was there. The brothers were concerned together in breaking pointers and setters, some of their own breeding, and others sent to be broke by different gentlemen; of the latter, although they would stand and back, many were so indifferent that they would neither hunt, nor express any satisfaction when birds were killed and put before them. The slackness of these dogs first suggested the idea that, by the same method, any other animal might be made to stand, and do as well as any of those huntless and inactive pointers. At this instant the sow passed by, and was remarked as being very handsome. R. Toomer threw her a piece or two of oatmeal roll, for which she appeared grateful, and approached very near; from that time they were determined to make a sporting pig of her. The first step was to give her a name, and that of Slut (given in consequence of soiling herself in a bog) she acknowledged in the course of the day, and never afterwards forgot. Within a fortnight she would find and point partridges or rabbits, and her training was much forwarded by the abundance of both which were near the lodge; she daily improved, and in a few weeks would retrieve birds that had run as well as the best pointer, nay, her nose was superior to the best pointer they ever possessed, and no two men in England had better. She hunted principally on the moors and heaths. Slut has stood partridges, black-game, pheasants, snipes, and rabbits, in the same day, but was never known to point a hare. She was seldom taken by choice more than a mile or two from the lodge, but has frequently joined them when out with their pointers, and continued with them several hours. She has sometimes stood a jacksnipe when all the pointers had passed by it: she would back the dogs when they pointed, but the dogs refused to back her until spoke to, their dogs being all trained to make a general halt when the word was given, whether any dog pointed or not, so that she has been frequently standing in the midst of a field of pointers. In consequence of the dogs not liking to hunt when she was with them, (for they dropped their sterns and showed symptoms of jealousy,) she did not very often accompany them, except for the novelty, or
