The Irish Setter 163 



next note we came across was in "Sporting," edited by that well-known 

 writer "Nimrod," who was about as good an all-round sportsman as England 

 produced during the first half of the last century. "Sporting" was issued 

 in 1837, and in it we found one brief paragraph to the effect that the Irish 

 setter was red and white. 



MR. LAVE RACK'S STATEMENT 



As a contemporary of "Nimrod" we have Mr. Laverack who, as in the 

 case of the English setter, was the first writer to give us any definite infor- 

 mation regarding this variety. Mr. Laverack had good knowledge of all 

 setters from a very early period of the nineteenth century and condensed 

 much information into small compass: 



"Perhaps there has been no greater controversy than on the merits 

 of the Irish setter. When pure and thoroughly broken, they are an admir- 

 able and excellent breed of dogs, being possessed of great powers of endur- 

 ance and speed. So highly do I value the true blood belonging to the Irish 

 that I have visited Ireland four times for the express purpose of ascertain- 

 ing where the pure blood was to be found, with a view of crossing them 

 with my Beltons. 



" I very much regret to say that after all my trouble and efforts, I found 

 that this fine and magnificent old breed had degenerated, owing to the 

 carelessness and negligence of the Irish in not keeping it pure. 



"I believe it is admitted by some of the leading sportsmen in Ireland, 

 among whom I may name John King of Firbane, Colonel White of Newton 

 Manor, near Sligo, and others, that there is scarcely any breed now to be 

 relied upon for purity. 'Sixty-one/ an Irishman, and who probably knows 

 Ireland and the breed of setters as well as any one, does not, I am told, 

 hold them in the highest estimationo As far as my own researches and 

 observation go, the late John La Touche, of Harristown, possessed this 

 breed in its greatest purity. 



"One of the best specimens of the Irish setter I ever saw was in the 

 possession of Rowland Hunt, of Leicestershire, who has the Braemore 

 shooting, Caithness. This dog, he informed me, he purchased at the late 

 Marquis of Waterford's sale. Another magnificent specimen I saw at 

 Cockermouth Castle, Cumberland, belonged to the late General Wyndham. 

 Both these dogs were blood red with a dark shade on the tips of their coats. 



