UPLAND SHOOTING. 317 



The Setter is too well known in this country to require a 

 particular description, it may be well, however, to call tlie 

 attention to some of those points, which peculiarly indicate 

 purity of breed ; the first of these is undoubtedly the nature of 

 his coat, which, in the finest and purt\st strain, is loni^, sleek 

 and wavy, but not curlij, even upon the ciest and ears — a ten- 

 dency to curl indicatino^ an admixture of the Water Spaniel — it 

 should be as soft, and almost as fine and glossy as floss silk, and 

 on his stern and along the back of his legs should exjiand into 

 a fringe known technically as the feathering, often oi" many 

 inches in extent. The head should be broad between the eyes, 

 with a high bony process or ridge at the hinder extreiiiity of 

 the skull, between the ears, which is by many sportsmen thought 

 to indicate the degree of the animal's olfactory powers. There 

 should be rather a deep indenture between the eyes; the nose 

 should be long rather than broad, and somewhat tapering, with 

 soft, moist, well-expanded nostrils, and above all things, a 

 hlack nose and palate, with a full, licjuid, dark and singularly 

 expressive eye. The best breed is not very tall or bulky, and 

 the great, heavy-shouldered, coarse, square-headed, club-tailed, 

 fleecy brutes which are generally called Setters, in this country, 

 are probably the result of some such cross as that recommended 

 by Mr. Tolfrey, on the original Setter stock. 



The best and most useful dog is of medium height, very deep- 

 chested and high-withered, what we should call in a horse, 

 well coupled, or closely ribbed up, and very strong and broad 

 across the loins. The legs should be straight, and the longer to 

 the knee and hock joints, and the shorter thence to the pasterns 

 the better. The feet should be hard, round, and cat-like, and 

 Avell provided with ball and toe tufts, which are of great effi- 

 cacy in protecting the feet from becoming sore, either from wet 

 and ice, or from hard, stony, or stubby ground. Their action, 

 wlien in movement, is very lithe and graceful, the stern is carried 

 liigh, and constantly feathered, and it is a good sign if the head 

 is likewise carried high, and if the dog simft'the air when scent- 

 mg his game, rather than stoop his nose to the gi-ound, and 



