6 Varieties of the Dog. 



soon give way, and the dog becomes lame. The feet 

 should be round and cat-like, with hard horny soles, 

 pasterns short, large in the bone and tendons, and not 

 sloping backwards towards the knees to any great extent. 

 A long and muscular arm is specially necessary, and the 

 elbow must be neither in nor out. These points may be 

 valued as follows, viz. : — feet, 6 ; legs, 6 ; elbows, 4 ; 

 hocks, 2 ; stifles^ 2 — total, 20. 



The general quality and stern indicate by their appear- 

 ance the amount of breeding, and are therefore neces- 

 sarily attended to, but the former cannot he described. 

 The stern should be shaped like a bee's stvng, having a 

 strong root, a straight, Jijic, and stiff body, and a pointed 

 tip — total value, 10. 



Of the colour, symmetry, and coat, the first may be 

 selected according to fancy, but most people prefer a dog 

 with a good deal of white, so that he may readily be seen 

 in turnips. Liver and white, or lemon and white, are the 

 most common, next to which come black and white, 

 which, when mixed with tan on the cheeks, indicates the 

 hound cross. Whole colours are liver, red, black, and white. 

 The texture of the coat should be short and soft, but not 

 too fine, the last-named quality being often accompanied 

 by a delicate constitution. T\\qsq. poi?ifs are put at 10. 



Setters of the present day are classed as either Eng- 

 lish, Scotch (Gordon), Irish, or Russian. It is needless 

 to describe the last-named, as the breed, which was com- 

 mon enough thirty years ago, is now seldom met with, 

 and has no advantage to recommend it. It is a very 

 long-haired animal, almost resembling a poodle in coat, 

 except that there is not so much curl. Hence, in the 

 ^ hot weather so often experienced in August and September, 

 ^' it is soon knocked up, and though possessing a very 

 fine nose, this is of little use at its master's heels. 



All the various breeds of the setter are doubtless de- 

 scended from the spaniel, which dog has a natural pro- 

 pensity to pause before springing on his game. This 

 peculiarity has been encouraged and developed until the 

 innate point has become established, and the setter puppy, 

 if well bred, may be expected to point game on the first 



