1 62 THE COMPLETE SHOT 



that they generally have so merry a stern action that they look 

 to be bustling, when in fact their actual getting over the 

 ground is not fast. Their low noses cause them to take very 

 narrow parallels when they are careful, so that if they are 

 judged by the ground they actually cover or beat they are 

 usually of less capacity than their only moderate speed suggests. 

 They ought to last well at the pace they go, but although 

 stamina is said to be another of their strong points over English 

 setters, the author has known many of the latter breed that 

 could do more work than any Irish setter he has seen. These 

 have included some of the best Irish setter winners at field 

 trials. But years ago there were Irish dogs that could go a 

 good pace and stay well. They were bigger dogs than those 

 which win at shows now, and looked more like workmen. It 

 is to be feared that breeding for show points has evolved a 

 bustling and busy rather than a business-like race. They are 

 now smaller, shorter, especially in the quarters, and more 

 upright in the shoulder, than the best of the old sort. There 

 is not now anything at all like Palmerston and Kate, winners 

 at Birmingham about the same time. The last-named was 

 probably as well made and as setter-like as any dog could be, 

 and to compare the present show setters with her is like com- 

 paring a polo pony with a Derby winner. At the spring field 

 trials of 1906 only one Irish setter was entered, and that one 

 was far from being even moderate in its work. 



There may be dogs of the old type hidden away in Ireland, 

 and if so they are much more worthy of attention than those 

 which for so long have been bred for show points. The best 

 Irish setters the author has seen for the last ten years are those of 

 Mr. Cheetham. This gentleman kept them for grouse shooting 

 in the Lews, and as his shooting was late in the year, when the 

 heat had departed, they were admirably suited for the purpose. 



The opinions given are of course based upon comparisons 

 of the breed with the very best of other races of setters and 

 pointers. There is one point, however, in which the Irish setters 

 seem to be the inferiors of all others namely, the large pro- 

 portion of inferior animals bred, compared with the small 



