CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 5. CARNIVORA. 



221 



mm/ < . 



THE SETTER. 



" But, if the shady woods my cares employ, 

 In quest of feather'd game my spaniels beat, 

 Puzzling the entangled copse, and from the brake 

 Push forth the whirring pheasant." 



The cocker is here very useful, although he is occasionally an exceedingly impatient animal. 

 He is apt to whimper and babble as soon as he comes upon the scent of game, and often raises 

 the bird before the sportsman is within reach ; but when he is sufficiently broken in not to give 

 tongue until the game rises, he is exceedingly valuable. There can scarcely be a prettier object 

 than this little creature, full of activity, and bustling in every direction, with his tail erect, and, 

 the moment he scents the bird, expressing his delight by the quivering of every limb, and the 

 low, eager whimpering which the best breaking cannot always subdue. Presently the' bird 

 i springs, and then he shrieks out his ecstasy, startling even the sportsman with his sharp, shrill, 

 and strangely expressive bark. . • 



The Springer is slower and steadier in its range than the cocker ; but it is a much safer dog 

 for the hunter, and can better stand a hard day's work. It is much esteemed by some sportsmeu. 



The King Charles' Spaniel, so called from the fondness of Charles IT. for it — who usually 



