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promised to be useful in certain kinds of work, developed it by 

 education in certain breeds till it became characteristic of them, 

 while others lost it by disuse. This view we think wrong. The 

 crouch alluded to is characteristic of the feline tribe, but not of 

 the canine. The domestic cat exhibits it as strongly as the tiger. 

 All wild members of the cat tribe habitually seize their prey in 

 this manner; but wild dogs, though they approach their quarry 

 with caution, generally seize it by rushing upon it, and springing, 

 if at all, from the running position. That the point is not a 

 developed natural crouch, but the result of special education, is 

 also indicated by the original differences in the pointing position 

 of the setter and pointer, the former dropping to his game, and the 

 latter standing erect. As no natural reason appears for the crouch 

 being changed to the stand in the pointer, it seems reasonable that 

 the pause in both positions was taught and not instinctive, and that 

 the difference was due to the different uses the dogs were originally 

 put to. As we shall show presently, the setter is the descendant 

 of the spaniel, a dog originally used by sportsmen to assist in net- 

 ting birds before the art of shooting was introduced. The dog 

 was used to discover the whereabouts of birds by his scenting 

 powers, but if he pushed on he would flush them, and so destroy 

 the sportsman's chances for capture, and to prevent this he was 

 taught to crouch, and remain in that position while the net was 

 drawn over him. If he stood erect, such drawing would be diffi- 

 cult, if not impossible, hence the advantage of the drop or crouch. 

 So far as we have any means of knowing, the pointer was never 

 used for this kind of work. It appears probable he was not used 

 as a bird-dog till a much later period, when the introduction of 

 guns made the sportsman independent of the net, by enabling him 

 to kill his game from a distance, and consequently all that was 

 necessary was that the dog should pause long enough to enable the 

 gun to come up, before the game was started. The position in 

 which the pause was made was, however, no longer material, and, 

 being unrestrained, the dog naturally remained erect, and pointed 

 rather than set his birds. The results of this difference in edu- 



