68 THE DOGS OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 



theory, the hound cross was borne by the pointer, while it was fatal to the 

 setter, making the latter who had by a long process of selection lost the 

 spaniel's kind of nose in the hands of the most successful breeders return to 

 his original low carriage of head and "quest" of the foot scent. 



There is a quality of great importance to the enjoyment of a good day's 

 shooting over setters or pointers which has not in our field trials, been, I think, 

 sufficiently attended to, namely, the mental development necessary to distinguish 

 between a "false point" and one really on game. Even in partridge shooting it 

 is a great nuisance to be dragged all across a large field without seeing fur or 

 feather before you, your dog standing "as stiff as a crutch;" but on a grouse 

 moor it is still worse. Of course even the best dog will occasionally make a 

 mistake, but to be constantly misleading his master is an unmitigated bore. 

 There are two or even three causes of this "false pointing." 1st. A dog may 

 be so bred as to develop the tendency by association of ideas ; that is to say, to 

 point without any. scent at all, and only from some indication either of eye or 

 ear. 2ndly. A point often occurs from a dog feeling the scent which has been 

 left behind by birds or "fur" recently gone away; and 3rdly. Some soft or 

 lazy dogs point when they are tired, simply to get a rest from their gallop. 

 Now, as to the first of these causes, I have had little or no personal experience 

 in the setter ; but I have certainly seen it strongly developed in the old-fashioned 

 pointer, and notably in a well-known strain kept very pure by the last Lord 

 Foley, which, like the Laverack setters, were very much in-bred. But they were 

 very different from that strain in point of stamina and courage, and required no 

 breaking whatever. I should not, therefore, from their example have suspected 

 its existence in the Laveracks, which are said to require a great deal of breaking ; 

 although, since it was alleged against them as a fault by " Setter," I can call to 

 mind the fact that Sir E. Garth's Daisy, when she won at Shrewsbury in 

 1869, began to point almost as soon as she was cast off by her breaker, and the 

 general impression was that it was a trick, for which E. Armstrong got the 

 blame, as her false point ended in a draw ; and this going on till she came on 

 game, Daisy obtained credit which it was thought she did not deserve. Not 

 having seen Blue Belle III. at Horseheath, I must depend on the evidence of 

 the Field reporter, who describes her as manifesting the fault five times in succession 

 in a short time, pointing and staring about her when on the point, in a way to show 

 clearly that no game was before her. Assuming this account to be correct as 

 I have no doubt it is it certainly corroborates "Setter's" statement in a re- 

 markable manner, and endorses the opinion generally formed that the strain is 

 too much in-bred. Most probably Mr. Laverack selected for stud purposes those 

 animals which showed the greatest tendency to point naturally, and in this way 

 obtained the cataleptic tendency in excess. But this propensity is by no means 

 objectionable when crossed with other strains, and hence we have seen such good 

 dogs as Mr. Field's Daisy, Mr. Macdona's Ranger, Mr Brewis's Dash II., and 

 Mr. Purcell Llewellin's Norna and Nora. 



The second kind of " false point " is the most common, and should be severely 



