280 BRITISH DOGS 



Currie's), at Cluny (Sir Reginald Cathcart's) ; and amongst others 

 who own or have owned kennels of this breed might be included 

 Lord Lovat, Lord Panmure, the Marquis of Huntly, Lord 

 Saltoun, and Sir James Elphinstone, who could trace the origin 

 of their dogs also to the Gordon Castle strain. Among frequent 

 exhibitors we find Sir George Bullough, Mr. Robert Chapman, 

 Mr. Gibb, Mr. Baillie, Mr. J. C. Hignett (one of whose dogs 

 illustrates the variety), Dr. Charles Reid, in the North ; and in the 

 South, Sir Humphrey de Trafford, Mr. Lee Bulled, Mr. Jacobs, 

 Mr. Emery, Mr. Manning, Colonel Le Gendre Starkie, Messrs. 

 Greenbank, Mr. J. R. Tatham, and Mr. Edwin Bishop. 



Till recent years breeders in Scotland preferred a deeper tan in 

 their dogs, and this was quite marked in the important exhibitions 

 at Kennel Club shows and Birmingham, where the Northern and 

 Southern kennels opposed each other. At the present time the 

 difference is not so marked, but Northern experts claim that the 

 Southern dogs are still " wanting in quality. 7 ' 



The following are the description and points of the Gordon 

 Setter as adopted by its club, and as these have been issued by 

 a body of prominent breeders, they ought to carry considerable 

 weight. While agreeing with the opinion that the original colour 

 was black, white, and tan, they appear to err in publishing in such 

 the opinion of Dr. Walsh (" Stonehenge ") as to the origin of the 

 breed viz. " that he is a compound of Collie, Bloodhound, and 

 English or Irish Setter." In the absence of all proof for such a 

 statement, surely this was unnecessary. " In the best Gordons we 

 almost invariably find the leading features of the Collie, the Blood- 

 hound, and the Setter, and perhaps in about equal proportions, giving 

 what we call the type." While this may have been true even twenty 

 years ago, it certainly cannot apply to the breed at the present time. 

 Though the head is perhaps heavier by a trifle than in the English 

 or Irish varieties and deeper in both cranium and muzzle, still, it 

 is not that of a Bloodhound. " Many Gordons show slight * haw ' 

 and * dewlap ' ; a proper development of these is probably the true 

 type." The writer cannot agree to this statement, as both of these 

 defects have disappeared from our best kennels, and indeed this 

 also applies to the length of flag, heavy body, especially in the 

 shoulders, and other defects in dogs of last century. Undoubtedly 

 the type more closely resembles the English Setter than formerly, 

 with some minor differences, especially in head, as already mentioned. 

 Breeders have tried to eradicate acknowledged defects in this breed 

 with marked success. 



There seems to be little authentic information as to the Gordon Setter. 

 Authorities, however, agree that originally the colour was black, white, and tan. . . . 

 Of late years no doubt the breed has been tampered with for show purposes, 

 and crosses, more particularly with the Irish Setter, with the idea of improving 



