ii8 The Dog Book 



Stonehenge on Laveracks and Llewellyns 



The opening paragraph of Stonehenge is as follows: "Since the 

 pubHcation of the articles on the various breeds of dogs in The Fields during 

 the years 1856-57, the strain of setters known by the name of Laverack, 

 from the gentleman who bred them, has carried all before it, both on the 

 show bench and in the public field trials which have been held annually. 

 For this high character it is greatly indebted to the celebrated Countess, 

 who was certainly an extraordinary animal, both in appearance and at 

 work; for, until she came out the only Laverack which had shone to advan- 

 tage was Sir R. Garth's Daisy, a good average bitch. Though small. 

 Countess was possessed of extraordinary pace, not perhaps equal to that 

 of the still more celebrated pointer Drake, but approaching so closely to it 

 that his superiority would be disputed by many of her admirers. Though 

 on short legs, her frame is full of elegance, and her combined head and neck 

 are absolutely perfect. With her high pace she combined great powers of 

 endurance, and her chief fault was that she could never be fully depended 

 upon; for when fresh enough to display her speed and style to the full, she 

 would break away from her master and defy his whistle until she had taken 

 her fling over a thousand acres or so. . . . On a good scenting day it 

 was a great treat to see her at work, but, like most fast gallopers, she would 

 sometimes flush her game on a bad scenting day, and then she would be 

 wild with shame. Nellie (her sister) was of the same size, but not so fast, 

 nor so ekgant, still she was good enough to beat the crack on one occasion 

 at Vaynol in 1872, but on most days she would have stood no chance with 

 Countess. She served to show that Countess was not wholly exceptional, 

 as was alleged by the detractors of the Laveracks; and these two bitches, 

 together with Sir R. Garth's Daisy, may fairly be adduced as indicating 

 that at all events the Laverack bitches are quite first class. No dog, how- 

 ever, has put in an appearance at any field trials with any pretension to high 

 form, but several winners have appeared half or quarter bred of that strain.'* 



Countess, although bred by Mr. Laverack, was run by Mr. Llewellyn,, 

 who bought her from Mr. Sam Lang, who got her from Mr. Laverack. 

 Nellie was apparently bought direct from Mr. Laverack, as no mention is 

 made of Mr. Lang in the stud book. Hence although she gave prominence 

 to Mr. Llewellyn's kennel, the credit was really due to the Laverack strain. 

 That all was not plain sailing for the Laveracks is apparent from this remark 



