288 BRITISH DOGS 



There is little to take exception to in this description, but the 

 proportion of marks allotted to various points might with advantage 

 be altered. For instance, 24 per cent, is allotted for head and 

 neck, while only 20 per cent, goes to legs and feet, a surely more 

 important matter in an animal wanted above all things to go. The 

 fourteen points allowed for size, style, and general appearance might 

 well be increased to 'twenty, this being the indefinable something, 

 the combination of all the parts into a typical whole, whose ultimate 

 result is the perfect Irish Setter a form once seen not easily for- 

 gotten. Even the trained eye, however, is frequently led astray 

 from the true form by the undeniably handsome animals exhibited 

 at most shows ; but from the show standpoint alone, it would be 

 better if judges relied more on the above description than on the 

 experience gained from observation of recent winners, who in many 

 cases have departed sadly from a better type. 



Perhaps in no individual points is this departure more accentu- 

 ated than in the head and colour. The head and muzzle should 

 be long and clean, carrying a certain amount of squareness right to 

 the nostril, giving a general idea of size without heaviness. The 

 colour should be exactly as in the Club's description, " A rich golden 

 chestnut, with no trace whatever of black " ; yet hardly one of the 

 present-day celebrities conform to these two simple but indisputable 

 points of an Irish Setter. The frequent bench wins and consequent 

 publicity of the late Major Jameson's Ponto led many people to 

 breed from him, and the curious black tinge in his coat and that 

 of his progeny, which for years in England appeared to be con- 

 sidered the proper thing, and even still is written up by some 

 reporters of dog shows, has left a stain which is not yet eradicated. 

 Indeed, this dull dark mahogany-red is a colour which never appears 

 in a litter of pure-bred Irish Setters, although in almost every litter 

 one, if not more, will have coats too light in colour, while it is said 

 that occasionally a pure black pup appears. 



It will be observed that the above description is that of the Irish 

 Red Setter ; but there is also another Irish Setter, red and white, of 

 which now there are but few kennels left, those of the Marquis of 

 Conyngham and Captain Stewart being best known. These dogs 

 are highly spoken of by their breeders, who state that they have all 

 the characteristics of the red dog, with the additional advantage of 

 being more readily distinguishable on the moor. At Strabane Show 

 a special class was formerly provided for them, and a very sporting 

 dog they looked ; but they are now seldom seen at any show, and 

 have never been represented at a field trial. The present red dog 

 is in all probability the specialised descendant of the red-and-white. 

 Even now few litters are born that will not have one or two among 

 them with more white than would comply with the standard of the 

 Red Setter Club, and one can easily imagine that with indiscriminate 



