THE POINTER 137 



both the book and the exhibition would become of real use. 

 A similar principle is involved at the King's Premium Show of 

 thorough-bred horses, where the performances on the Turf of 

 the competitors are placed before the judges; and in 1906 the 

 latter have recommended that they should be allowed to con- 

 sider pedigrees also in making their awards. 



Formation, which indicates power to work, is of as much 

 importance in a well-bred dog as pedigree, which should in- 

 dicate will to work. But in a badly bred dog formation is of 

 no importance, but, by the Kennel Club management of dog 

 shows and Stud Book, formation is treated as of the first im- 

 portance, and true working blood as of no importance whatever. 

 The author ventures to predict an alteration, or, failing that, a 

 time when all the owners of sporting dogs of all kinds will 

 ignore the Kennel Club as completely as the Masters of Hounds 

 Association and the Governing Body of Coursing always have. 



Mr. B. J. Warwick, who has Compton Pride, a liver-and- 

 white pointer with the distinction of winning the Champion 

 Field Trial Stake at Shrewsbury twice, is a member of the 

 Kennel Club, and Mr. Sidney Turner, its Chairman, has pro- 

 posed at meeting only to give championship Kennel Club 

 certificates to field trial winners ; but the sporting influence 

 is weak in the Club, and nothing has come of the Chairman's 

 proposition, which by itself would not go half far enough to 

 redeem the sporting character of the Kennel Club, or to put 

 under ground all show dogs that are nominally sporting but 

 cannot work. Nothing less drastic will be of the smallest use 

 in improving the shows for the true working breeds. The 

 author is speaking only of pointers and setters here, of which 

 breeds large numbers could qualify. The same treatment for 

 spaniels and retrievers would naturally be deferred until field 

 trials for those breeds had produced more winners and more 

 dogs bred from winners in the field. 



The following contrast will assist in showing the care 

 necessary in the choice of blood ; for no breed differs more 

 between its individuals than the pointers. 



About 1865 the writer had a small black-and-white dog of 



