66 THE DOGS OF THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 



in our prize lists, omitting the Welsh setter, which is not of sufficient importance 

 to interest any but the few possessors of him who remain. 



The setter is, without doubt, either descended from the spaniel, or both are 

 offshoots from the same parent stock. Originally that is before the improvements 

 in the gun introduced the practice of " shooting flying," it is believed that he 

 was merely a spaniel taught to " stop " or " set " as soon as he came upon the scent 

 of the partridge, when a net was drawn over the covey by two men. Hence 

 he was made to drop close to the ground, an attitude which is now unnecessary ; 

 though it is taught by some breakers, and notably to very fast dogs, who could 

 not otherwise stop themselves quickly enough to avoid flushing. Manifestly, a dog 

 prone on the ground allowed the net to be drawn over him better than if he 

 was standing up ; and hence the former attitude was preferred, an additional reason 

 for its adoption being probably that it was more easily taught to a dog like the 

 spaniel, which has not the natural cataleptic attitude of the pointer. But when 

 "shooting flying" came into vogue, breakers made the attempt to assimilate the 

 attitude of the setting spaniel, or "setter" as he was now called, to that of the 

 pointer ; and in process of time, and possibly also by crossing with that dog, 

 they succeeded, though, even after the lapse of more than a century, the cataleptic 

 condition is not so fully displayed by the setter as by the pointer. In the present 

 day, as a rule, the standing position is preferred, though some well known breakers, 

 and notably G-eorge Thomas, Mr. Statter's keeper, have preferred the "drop," 

 which certainly enables a fast dog to stop himself more quickly than he could 

 do by standing up. It is, however, attended with the disadvantage that in heather 

 or clover a " dropped " dog cannot be seen nearly so far as if he was standing, 

 and on one occasion, at the Bala Trials of 1873, the celebrated Eanger was 

 lost for many minutes, having " dropped " on game in a slight hollow, surrounded 

 by heather. As a rule, therefore, the standing position is the better one, but 

 in such fast dogs as Eanger and Drake, "dropping" may be excused. At the 

 above meeting, however, after a long and evenly-balanced trial between Mr. 

 Macdona's Eanger and Mr. E. J. LI. Price's Belle, the latter only won by her 

 superior attitude on the point, and Eanger was again penalised for dropping at 

 Ipswich in 1873. 



With regard to the low carriage of the setter's flag when at work, and his 

 spaniel-like lashing of it ; I think they indicate his spaniel descent, and are to 

 be considered from that point of view. This "tail action" is now out of fashion 

 with many good sportsmen, who allege that grouse as well as partridge do not 

 lie so well to a dog exhibiting it fully as they do to a quiet trail. In theory this 

 sounds well, but, as far as I know, it was never propounded until it was required 

 to excuse the fox-like trail of Drake and Eanger in particular, and generally of 

 the Laverack setters ; and I confess that in practice I never noticed it in a long 

 experience with both kinds of flag carriage. My bias in favour of "tail action" 

 was founded upon the close observation of three successive litters, which I bred 

 from a wonderfully good bitch about thirty years ago. Lucy was extremely 

 handsome, fast, and untiring, which qualities, coupled with a good nose, gave her 



