Irish and Gordon Setters 99 



performance was repeated. The dog galloped 

 straight through a covey without looking to the 

 right or left or appearing in the least interested 

 in the birds. Captain Woodson remarked that if 

 the rascal would even chase, he would be satisfied 

 to give it further education. But not once during 

 the entire run was there evidence that the dog 

 recognized game. He passed into the hands of 

 somebody else in a few days, and I do not know 

 what was his further development. Very likely, 

 however, if the captain had turned the dog over 

 to a trainer, a season of experience would have 

 brought back a well-established and valuable 

 shooting colleague. 



Irish setters are indisputably satisfactory to a 

 great many sportsmen. Those which are good 

 are hardy hunters, excellent retrievers, and ready 

 for either water or weather. The fact that they 

 do not reach their best until three or four years 

 old operates against them. I might record 

 another feature of the Irish setter character 

 which I have never seen mentioned. Though the 

 good ones are bold even to recklessness, the timid 

 ones are the most creepy and exasperating pot- 

 terers I have ever seen of any breed. This 

 trouble appears especially often on the female 

 side. 



In public field trials the Irish setters have not 

 been able to compete with pointers and English 



