96 DOMESTICATED DOGS FOB THE GUN. . . 



THE ENGLISH SETTER. 



Since the first publication of the articles on the various breeds 

 on dogs in TJie Field, during the years 1865-6, the strain of English 

 setters known by the name of " Laverack," from the gentleman 

 who bred them, has carried all before it, both on the show bench 

 and in the public field trials which have been annually held. For 

 this high character it is greatly indebted to the celebrated Countess, 

 who was certainly an extraordinary animal, both in appearance 

 and at work; for until she came out the only Laverack which had 

 shone to advantage was Sir R. Garth's Daisy, a good average bitch. 

 Though small, Countess was possessed of extraordinary pace, not 

 perhaps quite equal to that of the still more celebrated pointer 

 Drake, but approaching so closely to it that his superiority would 

 be disputed by many of her admirers. On referring to her por- 

 trait (see frontispiece), it will be seen that her frame, though on 

 short legs, is full of elegance, and her beautiful head and neck 

 are absolutely perfect 



The most remarkable feature in the Laverack breed of setters is 

 the extraordinary extent to which in-breeding has been carried, as 

 shown in the pedigree of Countess, given by Mr. Laverack in his 

 book on the setter. By examining this carefully, it will be seen 

 that every animal in it, is descended from Ponto and Old Moll, 

 which were obtained by Mr. Laverack in 1825 from the Rev. A. 

 Harrison, who lived near Carlisle, and who had kept the breed 

 pure for thirty five years. Four names only besides these two 

 are found in the right hand column, and these four are all de- 

 scended from Ponto and old Moll, as will be seen at a glance by 

 referring to the names in italic in the middle of the table. Thus 

 it appears that they alone formed Mr. Laverack's breed, though 

 he often stated that h(? had tried the introduction of alien blood, 

 but finding it not to answer, he had abandoned the produce, and 

 resorted agam to the original stock. This has led to the belief 

 that the pedigree is incorrect, but he was very positive in his state- 

 ment. If correct, it certainly is the most remarkable case of 

 breeding-in-and-in I ever met with. 



