31 8 Modern Dogs. 



nose. Their owner said " they were the best 

 in the world," but difficult to rear, and seldom 

 producing more than a brace or three puppies 

 at a time. I fancy both these strains have dis- 

 appeared with the " statesman " of the dales who 

 shot over his own land, and could go over that 

 of his neighbour were the latter not a sportsman 

 himself. The surroundings of shooting have of late 

 years changed in the north, and with this change 

 such strains of setters as I have alluded to have 

 disappeared. 



There was another valued strain to be found in 

 the kennels of the Marquis Breadalbane, and which 

 I should not be surprised to find that Mr. Laverack 

 had used freely. They were called " red marbles " 

 or " blue marbles," the latter word possessing a 

 similar meaning to that we attach to " mottle," 

 " ticked," or flecked." Of this strain were a 

 brace or two that " Sixty-one" owned, on which he 

 set great store, and called Balloch setters. They 

 were long, low dogs, with great bone ; they had 

 nicely-shaped, but rather short, heads ; their peculi- 

 arity lay in having a thick coat of, so to say, " fur," 

 almost wool, at the roots of the ordinary jacket an 

 undercoat, in fact, like that a good collie should 

 possess. No doubt the extra coat, not noticeable 

 without examination, was provided by nature to with- 



