"What is his point work?" is the first question asked nine times out of ten by amateurs and people who have never seen a dog point.

There are two different ways by which dogs find game to point -by wind scent and by ground scent.

The air or wind scent points are all made at a long distance by dogs that hunt with a high head, and they go like the wind without a stop.

The ground scent points are made at shorter distances and the dog runs with his nose close to the ground, like a hound trailing coon or rabbit.

While you are hunting there may be a day when the birds don't move much, and there is no wind blowing. If, then, you have a high-headed dog depending on the wind scent, he will lose out against the dog that is nosing the ground all the time, as the birds don't have to move much for him to smell them, and so he gets into many likely places that the high-headed dog passes. Under most conditions of time and place, he is the dog for the amateur who goes out but once or twice a year to kill game over.

POINT WORK.

Very few dogs make a point alike. The reason probably is that they do not catch the scent the same way, and so the points are not quite the same. In the same way the dogs' tails move differently. There is a certain movement which the tail must make before it can stiffen out, and the direction of the scent seems to determine the position of the tail.

We know dogs' tails are a guide to them. To prove this, watch a dog while swimming and see if he does not use his tail to guide him. If a dog that cannot swim be put in shallow water, he will only splash with his front feet, but take him into deep water, put one hand under his breast and with the other hold his tail out of the water, then give him a little push with the hand on the breast and let go of the tail at the same time, and you will see him start swimming with a moving tail. The moving of the front feet and the tail floats him and the tail acts as a guide.

Many men, even writers of books, think that a pointer is an easier dog to train and care for than a setter. To one who knows how, it is no more trouble to handle a setter than a pointer, for the field. The question is merely one of choice, as the care and training are practically the same. If a dog is wanted for the water, the setter is the better dog on account of his coat. Never cut a setter's coat, as it makes it rough, but keep it smooth and glossy by combing it frequently with a large toothed comb. Keep your dogs free from fleas and lice. The fleas are bred in the dust and the lice come from pigeon lofts or chicken houses. Always pick the wood ticks out of your dogs' or cats' ears.

If your dog or cat hurts himself, always pet him. Use toilet water in a pet's bath, to perfume his coat.

Keep a clean kennel or box, and keep the kennel yard clean. Always have a shovel and broom at hand to use as needed. If the kennel yard is dusty, wet it at night and it will be fresh in the morning.

Keep your dog close at night and don't let him bark. Go out to him if he does and hang a chain or bell on him, and if he is bound to bark strap him a few times, using the word "Charge" and blow the whistle. He will soon learn to stop and if he begins again, start after him with the strap, saying "Charge," and he will understand and be quiet. A few nights will cure him.

When your dogs or cats have fits or spasms, are poor and thin, and you can't fatten them; when their hair looks rough and falls out, and they have a dry, hot nose, and their °yes look badly, treat them for worms.

Worm Medicine

Have a pill made from one and a half grains of powdered areca nut to the pound weight of the dog or cat, and give the pill on an empty stomach, after a twelve hours' fast. Open the dog's mouth and push the pill down the throat with the finger. Follow this in two hours with one teaspoonful of castor oil, if for a small dog or cat; one and a half, if for a large one, or even two spoonfuls. Two hours after giving the oil, feed a little soft food, such as bread and gravy. Any druggist can make the pill.