24 THE AMERICAN BOOK OF THE DOG. 



change of form it would probably have been lost by inter- 

 crossing with the parent type, by the natural tendency of 

 animal organizations to revert to parental forms, or by the 

 destruction of the variation as being mongrel. This con- 

 jecture is not improbable, since no breeder at the present 

 day would consider his stock pure if the progeny were not 

 true to type, nor would he allow such progeny to exist; 

 therefore there is no probability that such variation would 

 be cultivated and preserved, even if it existed. 



Fifth. There would, in all probability, be in existence 

 numerous intermediate gradations of forms from the Setter 

 to the Springer, showing more or less perfectly the different 

 stages of transition; for it is hardly tenable to suppose 

 their total destruction, leaving the two breeds distinctly 

 established, without any connecting link between them. 



Sixth. There is an absurdity in the statement that a 

 Spaniel was taught to point, and that soon thereafter the 

 instinct became general; for if one educational matter- 

 became hereditary, why did not all others become heredi- 

 tary at the same time and in the same manner ? 



Seventh. The pointing instinct, t as exhibited by the 

 Pointer and Setter, is applied for their own profit in hunt- 

 ing, and has no reference whatever to the purposes of the 

 gun. 



In advancing on their prey, of which game birds are but 

 a part, Setters (and, for that matter, Pointers also) must 

 approach cautiously on the birds which are lying close and 

 concealed from view. The dog must rely solely on his pow- 

 ers of scent in his approach to the place of concealment, and 

 must locate the birds with precision to make a success of 

 his effort. As he approaches the birds, his muscles become 

 tense, preparatory to the spring to kill, and he stops for a 

 few moments to gauge the distance and location of the birds, 

 then springs with astonishing quickness and precision, and 

 not infrequently effects a capture. If he has the birds accu- 

 rately located as he draws to them, the preparatory pause, 

 technically called the point, will be very short, or perhaps 

 there will be none. This phenomenon is such as is exhibited 



