POINTERS AND SETTEES. 397 



hogany tone, appearing on lips, cheeks, throat, spot over 

 eyes, fore legs nearly to elbow, hind legs up to stifles, 

 and on under side of flag, but not running into the long 

 hair. There may be a spot of white on breast or toes, 

 but the less the better. 



Many of the best specimens of this breed are too 

 straight in stifles and tight in shoulders to run well, but 

 the proper type, as I conceive it, should be built much 

 like a bear loose- jointed, with elbows let far down and 

 hocks very low, giving an easy, rolling gait, admirably 

 adapted to getting over bad ground. 



Such dogs are rare, and the owner of one has a treas- 

 ure he can not too highly prize. 



I consider this to be distinctly a Scotch breed, and 

 probably quite ancient, though I have not been able to 

 trace it to such antiquity as the English setter. 



THE IRISH SETTER. 



The very best field dog I ever saw was an Irish setter; 

 yet, seek as I will, I do not find enough such dogs to put 

 the breed on a par with either English setters or pointers. 

 It is common to account for the infrequency of good per- 

 formers by saying that the Irish dog needs more train- 

 ing and constant work; but this will not account for 

 the fact that these exceptionally good dogs are very 

 tractable and easy to handle, and are no more rank than 

 other dogs at the beginning of the open season. 

 My own way of accounting for the facts is this : 

 I consider that the "bird dogs" are true and ancient 

 breeds, whose instincts regarding their approach to game 

 have been fixed for ages so firmly, that they can only be 

 disturbed by the introduction of the blood of some other 

 breed having conflicting instincts. Such outcrosses have 

 been frequent in all times, and the remedy for the 

 damage they occasion is usually found in inbreeding, 



