The Irish Setter 167 



"The whole aspect of the Irish setter denotes gameness, courage, 

 speed, endurance, intelligence and talent." 



Stonehenge specifies the following as the best known strains: La 

 Touche, O'Connor, Coats, Lord De Freyne, Sidwell, Eyers, Lord Water- 

 ford, and Captain Hutchinson. 



The Colour of Various Strains 



Turning now to the letters referred to we will extract such information 

 as is historical. Mr. John Walker started the discussion with a letter 

 written in January, 1866, in which he questioned the correctness of the claim 

 that the Irish setter should be blood red, although he had hitherto been of 

 that opinion. He quotes from an unnamed old friend with forty or fifty 

 years experience with the breed, to the effect that the oldest and purest 

 strains had a touch of black and that it did not come from the Gordons. 

 Captain Hutchinson and Colonel Whyte responded, having been named 

 by Mr. Walker as two whom he would like to hear from. The former 

 affirmed that the true colour was a "very deep, rich blood-red" and said he 

 felt certain that Mr. La Touche would agree with him, "he being once a 

 breeder of the finest coloured red setters in this country, and one of whose 

 red dogs sold for the very large sum of ;^73 lOs. by public auction in Dublin." 



Colonel Whyte supplied the following: "The French Park breed 

 was, in former times, celebrated for its purity. After the death of the 

 first Lord De Freyne, I attended a sale there, and, of course, did not neglect 

 the kennel, but was much disappointed, finding them a worn-out, and 

 apparently a degenerated lot. I asked particularly to be shown one that 

 could be warranted of the pure old race, and they pointed out a bitch that, 

 if I recollect right, was not to be sold. She was a low but strong animal, 

 with very little feather, extremely dark red, almost mahogany colour; dark 

 mark down her back; dark tip to her ears and dark muzzle; no white about 

 her anywhere. 



"In contradistinction to this I remember some twenty-five years ago 

 two kennels, then much celebrated for their breed — Lord Forbes's and 

 Mr. Owen Wynne's of Hazlewood. These animals in no way resembled 

 the French Park bitch; they were higher on the leg and rather lighter in 

 the rib, but powerful, wiry, active dogs, by no means very dark in colour, and 

 showing a good deal of white about the face, chest and fore legs. I never saw 



