398 THE BOOK OF THE DOG. 



I would not refuse a large dog for no other reason than his size, as, however large a dog 

 may be, it often happens that he has strength according to his bulk. . . . 



" With respect to colour, much may perhaps depend upon fancy and no doubt there are 

 very good dogs of all colours. However, those I would recommend are the liver or brown-and- 

 white. A white dog is to be preferred on account of his good temper, and, being naturally 

 less subject to disease than others, which arises from the predominancy of phlegm in his con- 

 stitution. He has an excellent nose, is a curious hunter, is full of stratagems and cunning, and 

 may be seen at a great distance. Pointers of a brown or liver colour are generally good ones, 

 but they are certainly difficult to be seen at a great distance, particularly on a mountain, 

 which gives the sportsman sometimes a vast deal of trouble. At the same time, a brown 

 dog will bring you nearer the game, and is particularly useful when it will not lie well. Birds 

 will suffer a brown dog to approach them much nearer than a white one, which arises solely 

 from his colour approximating more nearly that of stubbles, &c., among which he hunts, and 

 consequently renders him a less distinguished object. 



" A dog of the lemon or red colour is generally of a giddy and impatient nature, as 

 choler is found to be the most predominant humour in him. In fact, in general, white and 

 brown, or these colours mixed, are to be preferred. If a dog has much white upon him, it is 

 an indication of good temper." 



The opinions of this writer certainly seem to be largely based upon conjecture, for 

 as far as our own experience goes, we have no reason to agree with him that white, 

 or nearly white dogs, are by any means better in constitution or temper than Pointers of any 

 other shade. There is this much, however, to be said with reference to Thomas's theory, 

 and in defence of any ideas he may have formed, that it must be borne in mind that 

 there is every reason to believe that Foxhound blood was very largely contained in the 

 veins of Pointers about that period, and consequently the lemon or red coloured dogs, to 

 which he alludes, may possibly have been more nearly allied to the hound, therefore more 

 headstrong than the livers, which partook more of the nature of the steady-going Spaniard. 

 His ideas on the subject of colour are certainly sound, as far as they refer to the work- 

 ing of dogs in the field, for it is palpable that a white dog can be seen farther off" than 

 a liver-coloured one ; and also that the latter is less likely to disturb birds than a light- 

 coloured one. His reasonings upon the amount of phlegm which he asserts to exist in 

 the white dogs are merely conjectures on his part, and given as they are, unsupported by 

 any practical reasons for the assertion, may safely be set aside when the question of 

 colours is to be discussed. No reference to such advantages possessed by one colour over 

 another is made in " Kunopaedia," an excellent work on breaking the Pointer and the 

 Spaniel, which was written by William Dobson, Esq., of Eden Hall, Cumberland, in 1814, 

 and this, we are of opinion, would surely have been done if it were by any means a 

 generally popular idea at that period that a white dog was constitutionally superior to a 

 dark-coloured one. 



The Foxhound cross has been resorted to by Irish sportsmen of the day for the purpose 

 of increasing stamina, and giving a wet-resisting coat suitable to the moist climate of Ireland, 

 and these results were well exemplified in specimens we saw exhibited at a Dublin show, 

 bred and shown by a thorough sportsman an appreciator of every branch, but whose 

 specialities are hunting and shooting. 



More than one later authority on Pointers has argued that the breed has been subjected 



