DOGS 487 



that it was implanted by education. This is sustained 

 by the admitted fact that while the setter has infinitely 

 more pointing instinct than has the spaniel, he in turn 

 has much less than has the pointer. It may be ob- 

 jected that the setter does not show any physical re- 

 semblance to the pointer. As a matter of fact, he 

 shows a great deal, the chief distinction being in the 

 coat. A cross of setter and pointer the dropper 

 may appear to be pure setter or pointer. By selection, 

 the physical attributes of the pointer could soon be 

 bred out, while the instinct to point would be added 

 to the many others which the two breeds, spaniel and 

 pointer, possessed in common. 



As before remarked, the act of pointing is not the 

 exclusive attribute of pointers and setters. The point 

 seems to be a necessary factor in the successful pursuit 

 of birds, and is many times developed by the dog from 

 observation, from a realization of its helpfulness in 

 effecting a capture. That a dog will change his meth- 

 ods of pursuit to meet its conditions is well shown by 

 the differences of method employed in following the 

 trail of a rabbit and that of birds. In the one case he 

 gives tongue vociferously, in the other he is cautious 

 and silent. While the point no doubt has its origin 

 in an instinctive impulse, as, indeed, the impulse to 

 hunt is instinctive, a high degree of intelligence in 

 its practical application is an essential of its useful- 

 ness to man. 



The modern setter, as owned by the majority of 

 sportsmen in the United States, is the Llewellin 



