178 The Dog Book 



specially spoken of by Mr. Rawdon B. Lee in the quotation already given 

 from 'Modern Dogs.' The dam of Isinglass was Henmore Shotover, 

 second Irish Puppy and Irish All- Ages Stakes, Irish Trials, 1889. She was 

 a daughter of Henmore Refina, 'the very best field dog I ever owned,' Mr. 

 Cooper wrote me, and she was of Palmerston-Elcho blood and full sister 

 to the dam of Wrestler and Woodbine, second Grand All-Ages Stakes for 

 setters and pointers, the Irish Henmore Sure Death being first, at the Irish 

 Trials, 1889. 



"In the All- Ages Stakes of the English Kennel Club of 1896 the only 

 Irish setter out of fourteen competitors was Punchestown, and he was 

 placed second, the London Field stating that he should have won. He was 

 also first at the National trials and won three firsts at the Irish meeting. 



o 



This was a strongly inbred Palmerston-Elcho dog and, I might almost 

 say consequently, was one of the greatest show-winners of his day. 



"Breaking away for a spell from the performance record I will quote 

 from the London Field regarding the good looks of Irish field dogs, the 

 occasion being the first field trials held in Ireland: 'With the working of 

 the Irish setters we were generally pleased. They bore the character 

 of being headstrong, wild rangers, disobedient to whistle and wilful in the 

 extreme. To none of these not gentle impeachments did we find them 

 more prone, or even as much so as their cousins of the Laverack, Llewellyn 

 or any other variety. So uniformly handsome a lot of dogs never before 

 ran at trials; indeed, about one-third of the animals running had appeared 

 and been successful before what are known as bench show judges. A fact 

 of this kind is so contrary to the ruling that obtains either at the National 

 or Kennel Club Trials as to be quite remarkable. An English setter having 

 a record i. e., as a winner both on the bench and in the field is indeed 

 a rarity, but here, at the first trial of Irish setters, we have a best on record 

 obtained immediately. In so far the strain common to the Emerald Isle 

 possesses a great advantage.' 



"Aveline was well styled 'the beautiful,' and justified that by winning 

 first in the field trials class for all breeds at the English Kennel Club show. 

 Plunket was also a show-winner, though not of high type himself, and 

 neither did he get anything that was, excepting, perhaps, Kite and Knowing. 

 Although a good-looking dog, he was much darker in colour, when I saw 

 him, than he was generally reputed to be, but was not nearly so typical as 

 his full brother Rover, used as the best illustration obtainable in one of 



