282 Modern Dogs. 



approacheth near to the place where the bird is, he lays down, and 

 with a mark of his paws betrayeth the place of the bird's last abode, 

 whereby it is supposed that this kind of dog is called Index 

 setter, being, indeed, a name both consonant and agreeable with 

 his quality. 



Caius then proceeds to tell how the fowler ensnares 

 the birds in his net, and he does not look upon the 

 performance as very extraordinary, for such a dog 

 is a " household servant, brought up at home, 

 with offals and the trenchers and fragments of 

 victuals ; " and a hare, " a wild and skippert beast, 

 has been trained to dance a measure, play upon a 

 tabbaret, and nip and punch a dog with her teeth 

 and claws." This performing hare Dr. Caius saw 

 in the year 1564. 



There is no mention of shooting birds over 

 such dogs, but in a later chapter, when writing 

 of the water spaniel, our author alludes to him 

 as useful in bringing back the boults and arrows 

 that have missed their mark [game], and also such 

 water fowl as be stung to death by any venomous 

 worm. 



Although Caius uses the word index or setter 

 in application to a dog used in a manner very similar 

 to that in which he performs his duty in the present 

 day, his tone of writing conveys the idea that such 

 a dog was not generally known at that time. Still 



