202 FRANK SCIILEY'S PARTRIDGE AND PHEASANT SHOOTING. 



division of the globe, but essentially cosmopolitan, be exists 

 wherever man dwells, arid relatively keeps pace with bis 

 muster in development of intelligence and the higher attri- 

 butes of his nature. It is very reasonable to suppose that 

 the dog, like many other species of animals, was divided 

 into different families, according to the localities in which 

 he dwelt, and the influence to which he was subjected. 



The best of modern writers, among whom I may men- 

 tion "Stonehenge," Laverack, and "Idstone," all say that 

 the Setter is a direct descendant of the Land Spaniel, and 

 speak of a "Setting Spaniel" as the first Setter. There is 

 no doubt that this is a correct theory, and that our Setter 

 is a pure, unadulterated, but improved, Spaniel. "Stone- 

 henge" says: "A Duke of Northumberland trained one to 

 set birds in 1555, and shortly after the Setter was pro- 

 duced." It must be borne in mind that the "Setting Span- 

 iel" was a very different dog from the Spaniel of the 

 present time, which does not as a rule, and never has dis- 

 played, a faculty for setting or pointing game. The old 

 Setting Spaniel has lost his identity by merging it in his 

 descendant, the Setter; in fact, this Spaniel may be said to 

 have become extinct by the breeding of an improved ani- 

 mal. "Idstone," in his work on the dog, says: "The 

 English Setter was known in England many years before 

 the Pointer was introduced, and I have little doubt that he 

 followed the Romans, or was brought with them." 



"Stonehenge" also says: "He is the most national of all 

 our dogs, and certainly has existed for four centuries." 



The trans -Atlantic Setter family is now divided into three 

 great national classes, the English, Irish, and Gordon or 

 Scotch varieties; each with its strong^ marked distinc- 

 tions of form, color, and style of performance. These may 

 be considered the only Setters worthy of note, for though 

 there are certainly a number of continental breeds, they 

 cannot compare with those I have mentioned. In this 

 country our best dogs are, as a class, those recently im- 

 ported or the descendants of imported stock, although we 

 now and then find a dog to which the title "native" may 



