UPLAND SHOOTING. 



315 



I quote the above as I have said, merely to caution the 

 sportsman against giving the least heed to any such stuff", and 

 to warn him to avoid any crossing or intermixture of breeds as 

 he would the plague. If ho prefer the Pointer, let him stick '-''-' ■• 

 to Pointer, but let it be a Pointer pure. If Setter, let him do/-/ ' •'- }\ 

 the same. Any mixture, even of those two kindred bloods is ^ litt 

 in nine cases out of ten, disadvantageous, and instead of com-, ^~i 

 bining the peculiar excellencies, the produce is very apt to / 

 unite the worst qualities of the several strains, superadded to a 'n <'-* 



sullenness and badness of temper, which is in some sort, the ;'j , ,^ ^^ 

 characteristic of all mules. , ' 



Mr. Lewis is under the impression, as I gather from his '^' ^ 

 comments on Yoiuitt, that it is the fashion in England, to ff-i* 



intermix Setter and Pointer blood, by way of imprcwing the 

 former, and that the majority of English Setters has been so 

 intermingled intentionally, with the idea that the qualities of 

 the animal are improved thereby. 



This idea is utterly eiToneous ; for, although doubtless much ' J ^ 

 Setter blood has been thus vitiated, no persons priding them- 

 selves on their kennels, or fanciful, not to say scientific, about ^ 

 their breeds of dogs, would admit one of these mongrels into S «> 

 •their establishment, much less breed from him. Such an inter- ^^ / 

 mixture is regarded as decidedly a taint, as a strain of cock-tail , ', 



• J ' til 



blood in the pedigree of a thorough-bred horse. And veiy '-^- 1^ 

 many noblemen and gentlemen pay as much attention to their ^) f.L.,yf 

 breeding kennels, and their peculiar and private strains of 

 Pointers and Setters, as others do to the breeding and rearing 

 of the race horse. 



The Pointer is a 7/iade dog, that is to say, he is not of an 

 original or pure breed, traceable to any one variety, nor has he " 



been kno^^^l to the sj^orting world for any considerable length ,''M' 

 of time. The Spaniel is first mentioned, and that in his / 



improved form as a Setter, i. e. taught to couch, in a MS. work ' 



written by the grand huntsman to Edward the Second, so long t h-^ 

 ago as A. D. 1307, whereas the Pomter was not known in the' ' ■ - ^n^ 

 sixteenth century, and probably has not existed in his present ^ ^. 



