Breeding i^s 



sometimes it doesn't. One of the finest families 

 of Irish setters, of which the famous Geraldine 

 was a member, came originally from an acciden- 

 tal union of Palmerston with his full sister. Quail. 

 The most remarkable incident of inbreeding of 

 English setters in this country was that of Dr. 

 Stark, then of Wisconsin and afterward of South 

 Dakota. Taking Mr. Adams's Dora, by Duke 

 out of Rhcebe, as a foundation, her daughter by 

 Rock — he also carrying Duke-Rhoebe blood — 

 was bred to Bergundthal's Rake, he being closely 

 inbred to Rhoebe. From this union came Madam 

 Llewellin, and she was bred back to Rake, pro- 

 ducing a large lemon-and-white dog named Wild 

 Rake. This dog went into the hands of Mr. 

 W. W, Titus, and afterward belonged to Messrs. 

 W. C. Kennerly and P. H. O'Bannon of Vir- 

 ginia. The last I heard of him he belonged to 

 Mr. Jester of Delaware. Wild Rake was of little 

 or no value, as all these breeders proved, but he 

 had plenty of size and physical vigor and no de- 

 ficiency of intelligence — that is, of intelligence for 

 ordinary purposes. But from the continuous in- 

 breeding to old Rhoebe, and, perhaps, from the 

 Rock blood which he carried, he had little defin- 

 ite ambition or responsiveness to training. I had 

 one litter from him which were all large dogs, 

 two of them almost giants. The largest ones 

 were fairly good on birds, but very slow. One of 



