256 



DOGS. (GORDON SETTEE, IBISH SETTEE, POINTEE.) 



should fenge the hind as well as the fore legs. The 

 color of coat is not much insisted on among English 

 setters, a great variety being admitted. 



Gordon Setter. The points of the black-tan 

 setter are very nearly the same as those of the 

 English dog, the only deviation being as fol- 

 lows : 



The skull is usually a little heavier than that of the 

 English setter, but in other respects it resembles it. 

 The nose, also, is like the English setters, but it is usu- 

 ally a trifle wider. The flag is usually a trifle shorter 

 than that of the English setter, which it otherwise 

 resembles in shape. The coat is generally harder and 

 coarser than that of the English or Irish setter^ occa- 

 sionally with a strong disposition to curl, as m the 

 celebrated champions Reuben and Regent. The color 

 is much insisted upon. The black should be rich, 

 without mixture with the tan, and the latter should 

 be a deep^ mahogany-red, without any tendency to 

 fawn. It is admitted that the original Gordons were 

 often black, tan, and white : but, as in all our shows 

 the classes are limited to black-tan, the long argu- 

 ments that have been adduced on that score are now 

 obsolete. A little white on the chest, and a white 

 toe or two. are not objected to ; but a decided frill ia 

 considered by most judges to be a blemish. The red- 

 tan should be shown on lips, cheeks, throat, spot 

 over the eyes, fore-legs nearly to the elbows, hind- 

 legs up to stifles, and on the under side of the flag, 

 but not running into its long hair. 



Irish Setter. In its points the Irish setter only 

 differs from the English in the following: 



The skull is somewhat longer and narrower, the 

 eyebrows being well raised, and the occipital promi- 

 nence as marked as in the pointer. The nose is a tri- 

 fle longerj with good width, and square at the end, 

 nostrils wide and open, with the nose itself of a deep 

 mahogany or very dark fleshy color, not pink or black. 

 The eyes should be a rich brown or mahogany color, 

 well set, and full of intelligence ; a pale or gooseberry 

 eye is to be avoided. Ears long enough to reach 

 within half an inch or an inch of the end of the nose, 

 and, though more tapering than in the English dog, 

 never cominsr to a point ; they should be set low and 

 close, but well back, and not approaching to the hound's 

 in setting and leather ; whiskers red ; lips deep, but not 

 pendulous. In frame the Irish dog is higher on the leg 

 than either the English or the black-and-tan, but his 

 elbows are well let'down ; nevertheless ; his shoulders 

 are long and sloping ; brisket deep, but never wide ; 

 and his back ribs are somewhat shorter than those of 

 his English brethren. Loin good, slightly arched, 

 and well coupled to his hips, but not very wide ; quar- 

 ters slightly sloping, and flag set on rather low, but 

 straight, fine in Done, and beautifully earned. Breed- 

 ers, however, are giving preference to straight backs 

 like that of Palmerston, with flags set on as high as 

 in the English setter ; legs very straight, with good 

 hocks, well-bent stifles, and muscular" but not heavy 

 haunches. The feet are hare- like, and moderately 

 hairy between the toes. The flag is clothed with a 

 long^ straight comb of hair, never bushy or curly, and 

 this is beautifully displayed on the point. Th'e coat 

 should be somewhat coarser than that of the English 

 setter, being midway between that and the black-and- 

 tan, wavy but not curly, and by no means long. Both 

 hind and lore logs are well feathered but not profuse- 

 ly, and the ears are furnished with feather to the same 

 extent. The color should be a rich blood-red, with- 

 out any trace of black on the ears or along the back ; 

 in many of the best strains, however, a pale color or 

 an occasional tinge of black is shown. A little white 

 on the neck, breast, or toes is by no means objection- 

 able, and there is no doubt that the preponderance of 

 white, so as to constitute what is called " white and 

 red," is met with in some strains. 



Pointer. The most approved pointers are 

 described as follows: 



The skull of good size, but not as heavy as in the 

 old Spanish pointer, and in a lesser degree his half- 

 bred descendants ; wider across the ear than that of 

 the setter, with the forehead rising well at the brows, 

 showing a decided u stop." A full development of 

 the occipital protuberance is indispensable, and the 

 upper surface should be in two slight rounded flats, 

 with a furrow between. The nose should be long 

 (4 to 41 inches) and broad, with wide-open nostrils. 

 The end must be moist, and, in health, is cold to 

 the touch. It should be black, or very dark brown, 

 in all but the lemon and whites ; but in them it 

 may be a deep flesh-color. It should be cut off 

 square, the teeth meeting evenly. Ears soft in coat, 

 moderately long, and thin hi leather, not folding like 

 the hound's, but lying flat and close to the cheeks, 

 and set on low, without any tendency' to prick. Eyea 

 soft and of medium size ; color brown, varying in 

 shade with that of the coat. Lips well developed, 

 and frothing when at work, but not pendent or flew- 

 like. The neck should be arched toward the head, long 

 and round, without any approach to dewlap or throati- 

 ness. It should come out with a graceful sweep from 

 between the shoulder-blades. The shoulders and 

 chest are dependent on each other for their formation. 

 Thus, a wide and hooped chest can not have the 

 blades lying flat against its sides ; and, consequently, 

 instead of this, and their sloping backward, as they 

 ought to do in order to give free action, they are up- 

 right, short, and fixed. Of course, a certain width is 

 required to give room for the lungs, but the volume re- 

 quired should be obtained by depth rather than width. 

 Behind the blades the ribs should, however, be well 

 arched, but still deep. Depth of back rib is specially 

 important. The loin should be very slightly arched 

 and full of muscle, which should run well over the 

 back ribs ; the hips should be wide, with a tendency 

 even to raggedness, and the quarters should droop 

 very slightly from them. These last must be full of 

 firm muscle, and the stifles should be well bent and 

 earned wide apart, so as to allow the hind-legs to be 

 brought well forward in the gallop, instituting a form 

 of action that does not tire. The legs, elbows, and 

 hocks must act in the straight line of progression. 

 Substance of bone is therefore demanded, not only in 

 the shanks but in the joints, the knees and hocks* be- 

 ing specially required to be bony. The elbows should 

 be well let down, giving a long upper arm, and should 

 not be turned in or out, the latter being the lesser 

 fault, as the confined elbow limits the action. The 

 reverse is the case with the hocks, which may be 

 turned in rather than out. Both hind and fore pastern 

 should be short, nearly upright, and full 01 bone. 

 Breeders have long disputed the comparative good 

 qualities of the round, cat-like foot, and the long one, 

 resembling that of the hare. In the pointer, my own 

 opinion is in favor of the cat-foot, with the toes well 

 arched and close together. This is the desideratum 

 of the M. F. H., and I think stands work better than 

 the hare-foot, in which the toes are not arched, but 

 still lie close together. In the setter the great amount 

 of hair to a certain extent condones the inherent 

 weakness of the hare-foot ; but in the pointer no such 

 superiority can be claimed. The mam point is the 

 closeness of the pads compared with the thickness of 

 the horny covenng. The stern must be strong in 

 bone at the root, but should at once be reduced in 

 size as it leaves the body, and then gradually taper to 

 a point. It should be very slightly curved, carried a 

 little above the line of the back, and without the 

 slightest approach to curl at the tip. Of symmetry 

 and quality the pointer should display goodly pro- 

 portion, as no dog shows more difference between 

 the " gentleman " and his opposite. The texture of 

 coat in the pointer should be soft and mellow, but 

 not absolutely silky. In color there is now little 

 choice, in point of fashion, between the liver and 



