THE TURNSPIT. 141 



permit. An hour afterwards, the Hound was brought out. He was placed on the spot whence the 

 man had started. He almost immediately detected the scent, and broke away, and, after a chase of an 

 hour and a half, found him concealed in a tree fifteen miles distant !" 



THE SETTER, 



according to Youatt, " is evidently the large Spaniel, improved to his peculiar size and beauty, 

 and taught another way of marking his game, viz., by setting or crouching. If the form of the Dog 

 were not sufficiently satisfactory on this point, we might have recourse to history for information on it. 

 Mr. Daniel, in his 'Rural Sports/ has preserved a document, dated in the year 1685, in which 

 a yeoman binds himself, for the sum of ten shillings, fully and effectually to teach a Spaniel to sit 

 Partridges and Pheasants. The first person, however, who systematically broke-in sitting Dogs is 

 supposed to have been Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, in 1335." The hinder surface of the legs, 

 and the under surface of the tail of the Setter, should be well " feathered," that is, beset with long hair. 



THE POINTER. 



Mr. Darwin says : " Our Pointers are certainly descended from a Spanish breed, as even the 

 names Don, Pontc, Carlos, &c., would show. It is said that they were not known in England before 

 the Revolution in 1688; but the breed, since its introduction, has been much modified," the change 

 having been " chiefly effected by crosses with the Foxhound." The value of this Dog consists in his 

 habit of " pointing," or standing silently, with lifted foot and outstretched muzzle, as soon as he finds 

 game. A very remarkable circumstance with regard to this habit is the way in which it is inherited : 

 a young Dog points instinctively the first time he is taken into the field. 



More or less distinct sub-breeds of the Pointer are to be found in Spain, Portugal, France, and 

 Russia. The hair is short, the colour variable. 



THE RETRIEVER, 



according to Brehm, is a cross between the Newfoundland and the Pointer. It is a good water-dog, 

 and is used for sport, especially in shooting water-birds. It derives its name from its talent for 

 retrieving, or following a wounded bird, and bringing it back to the sportsman without mangling. 

 It is a large Dog, with a good forehead and long ears, and is covered with a closely-curled hide of a 

 brown or black colour. (See figure on p. 113.) 



THE OTTER-HOUND 



is a breed formerly in great requisition for hunting the Otter, a sport which is now almost if not quite 

 discontinued. This Dog " used to be of a mingled breed, between the Southern Hound and the rough 

 Terrier, and in size between the Harrier and the Foxhound." 



THE TURNSPIT. 



Before the invention of bottle-jacks, this Dog was used in England to turn the spit on which the 

 joint was roasted, for which purpose they were attached to a sort of wheel. It is a queer-looking 

 Dog very long-bodied and very short-legged, and is possessed of a great degree of intelligence. 

 Brehm relates an anecdote of two Turnspits, who were employed in the kitchen of a house at 

 Plessis, one of whom, the cook's favourite, had to turn the spit on Mondays and "Wednesdays ; the 

 other taking his turn on Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. Friday and Saturday were holidays for 

 both. One Wednesday the favourite Dog was absent, and the cook endeavoured to press into service 

 the other rather than search for and disturb his pet. But No. 2, although he had made no objection 

 to having three days of work to his mate's two, could not stand this : he growled and bit, and positively 

 refused to be harnessed. At last he rushed out of the house, and made his way to an open place, 

 where his lazy colleague was playing with some friends. As soon as he saw the truant, he hustled and 

 bit at him, and finally drove him into the house to the cook's feet, having accomplished which act of 

 justice he became calm, and looked quietly up to his master, as much as to say " Here's your Dog : 

 it's his turn now." 



