POINTERS AND SETTERS. *j(>7 



to distinguish between a good and an indifferent 

 pointer would be futile. How much of the blood 

 of the pointer a dog has in him will be read in his 

 countenance, rather than inferred from his general 

 shape and appearance. There is an indescribable 

 something in the countenance of a thorough-bred 

 or nearly thorough-bred pointer, which a little 

 habit of observation will enable the sportsman to 

 detect with tolerable accuracy, so that he may 

 judge of the capabilities of a dog, as a physiog- 

 nomist will read at a glance a person's disposition 

 and ability, in his countenance. 



The instinct of pointing, we apprehend, is an 

 indestructible principle in the blood of the pointer, 

 which, however that blood may be mingled with 

 inferior blood, will always, in some degree, manifest 

 itself; and on this ground we build our theory, 

 that the further any dog is removed from the 

 original Spanish pointer, the worse the dog is ; 

 and, consequently, that all attempts to cross the 

 pointer with any other blood must necessarily de- 

 teriorate the breed. The grey-hound is seldom or 

 never crossed to give him additional fleetness, nor 

 the hound to improve his nose ; why then should 

 the pointer be crossed with dogs which, in so far 

 as the sports of the field are concerned, scarcely 

 inherit one quality in common with him ? At- 

 tempts, however, are constantly made to improve 

 the pointer by a cross with the blood-hound, fox- 

 hound, Newfoundland dog, or mastiff, sometimes 

 with a view of improving his appearance, and 

 bringing him to some fancied standard of perfec- 



