THE SETTER. 167 



of service to be got out of him, to two pointers, and for 

 the satisfactory style of doing the work, and the cheerful 

 endurance of the toil without suffering, yet more superior. 



On this subject, I shall quote the brief opinion of " a 

 gentleman, a large breeder of sporting dogs," from a work 

 of " Craven's," which I feel myself the more justified in 

 doing that he often, and once in this very work, borrows 

 from me, not only not rendering credit where it is due, but 

 inventing a "Mrs. Harris" in the shape of an American 

 correspondent, to bear the weight of my offendings. 



" I have tried all sorts," says he, " and at last fixed on 

 a well-bred setter as the most useful. I say well-bred, for 

 not many of the dogs with feathered sterns, which one 

 sees nowadays, are worthy of the name of setter. Pointer 

 fanciers object to setters on account of their requiring 

 more water, but there are generally sufficient springs and 

 peat-holes on the moors for them, and even in the early 

 part of September a horsepond or ditch is to be met with 

 often enough. For covert or snipe-shooting the setter is 

 far superior ; facing the thorns in the covert, and the wet 

 in the bogs, without coming to heel shivering like a pig 

 with the ague. I have always found, too, that setters, 

 when well broke, are finer tempered, and not so easily 

 cowed as pointers. Should they get an unlucky unde- 

 served kick, Don, the setter, wags his tail, and forgets 

 it much sooner than Carlo, the pointer. My shooting, 

 lying near the moors, takes in every description of coun- 

 try, and I always find, that after a good, rough day, the 

 setter will out-tire the pointer, though, perhaps, not start 

 quite so flash in the morning. 



