The Spanish Pointer The Pointer. 117 



CHAPTER XX. THE SPANISH POINTER. 



BY CORSINCON. 



THE old heavy lumbering Spanish pointer is said to be no more, at least, 

 in this country ; but, judging from specimens we still see occasionally at 

 shows, he has not been entirely improved out of existence in the British 

 Isles. As the source of our far more elegant, faster, and stauncher 

 pointer, we must speak of him with feelings of regret for the obsolete 

 that was useful in its day. 



Compared with the modern English pointer, he was bigger, coarser, 

 and clumsier. Standing higher on the leg, his coarse head and badly 

 balanced body gave him an over-topped appearance. His feet were apt 

 to be flat and spreading, which added to his slowness ; but in nose he 

 excelled, and to careful breeding from him the present pointers' high 

 qualities in that respect are due. Close observers may still see in litters, 

 bred without the exercise of care and judgment, specimens with unknit 

 frames, unsymmetrical build, and heavy chumpy heads evidence of their 

 origin from a dog most useful in his day. 



No detailed description of him is necessary, but we owe too much to 

 him altogether to ignore his existence and the influence he has had on 

 the modern race. 



CHAPTER XXL THE POINTER. 



BY G. THORPE-BARTRAM. 



THE pointer is now, and has ever been, most essentially a sporting dog. 

 Although his origin is not quite clear, nor the country from which he 

 was imported into England satisfactorily made out, still he is generally 

 credited with coming to us from Spain. Even now we not unfrequently 

 hear the phrase, "That is a regular old-fashioned Spanish pointer," 

 applied to a heavy, lumbering dog, such as was much used by our fore- 



