Mulberry, Ind.

Editor American Field: It is not very well known among the sportsmen of the country that we have here in Indiana a man who is capable of training setters and pointers for high-class field work for private shooting as well as for field trial competition. However, most of his training, up to the present, has been for eastern gentlemen who only have their dogs trained for their private shooting; so he has not had the opportunity to run any of his dogs in the trials, but I understand he will have several entries in the trials this season. The gentleman referred to is no one less than the noted trap shot, Mr. Fred Erb, Jr., of La Fayette, Ind.

I visited him some time ago and had the pleasure of taking a day's snipe shoot with him as well as to see his dogs work on snipe, which I assure you was a pleasure to me. He had at that time some fourteen dogs in training, and all looking well and working in good shape. He took out with him on our day's hunt two high-bred English setters that he has in training for a gentleman in Wisconsin. I don't know his name, but can say that he has a brace of good ones; and when Mr. Erb turns them over to him he can justly be proud of owning a brace of as well broken setters as any man can boast of.

Mr. Erb is located in one of the best all-round game sections of the west; that is, for training dogs on all kinds of game. In the spring, he has the snipe within a few miles of his kennel. After he has worked his dogs through on snipe, he has abundance of woodcock within a half hour's drive of his home, and he tells me that there's where he gets the dogs down to business and puts that finishing touch on them that all sportsmen like, and that is obedience.

After educating them thoroughly on woodcock, when the chicken season opens, he takes them from the bog and mire all hardened and fit for a hard day's work upon the broad stubble-fields of Benton county, where he has under his own control 25,000 acres of as fine chicken ground as the sun shines upon, and there he gives them their freedom to range. Now he stays right with them on their preserve until October 15, when the close season on quail expires, at which time he has them in shape to put the finishing torch on by working them out on quails, which are very plentiful in this section, not only plenty, but I believe I am safe in saying that they cannot be found anywhere more abundant than they are in this section of Indiana. Mr. Erb is a very ambitious and hard worker. He is out every day with a string of dogs, so that none of his dogs get stale for want of work. He turns them out perfect retrievers, no exceptions.

He tells me that sometimes he gets a very stubborn case, but he says they must finally give up to his method of retrieving, which I am not able to tell you; for it is a secret with him, but it fetches all alike, let it be bulldog or whatever. He says that it is a system that his father used in Germany and also in this country, and taught him several years ago when he and his father were shooting for the market, and no one knows the method to his knowledge but his father, Mrs. Erb and himself. However, it is a success and it does not intimidate the dog; but on the other hand it makes a cheerful, obedient and careful retriever of all alike.

Someone may ask himself the question why I have written this letter in praise of Mr. Erb's handling and excluded all others. It is simply this: I have had dealings with him and not with others. Mr Erb broke for me last season a large, high-couraged black, white and tan Llewellyn setter dog after I had exhausted all my training ability upon him the season before, and pronounced him entirely worthless and gave up all hope of ever getting any good out of him. I was telling Mr. Erb about him one day, and he said: "Let me take him and if I can't break him to suit you it will cost you nothing."

I gave him the dog and in about five months he brought the dog out. That was last October. We went out quail shooting with him. He worked to perfection, and Mr. Erb got his money. To-day I am proud to say that I have as good a dog to shoot over as any man in Indiana, and the world can't beat him retrieving. I have written this letter simply as an honor due from me to Mr. Erb, and for the benefit of brother sportsmen who want dogs thoroughly broken at reasonable figures, to whom I can heartily recommend him.

Geo. W. Earhart.

Erb's Training Device is protected by Letters Patent.