THE ENGLISH SETTER. 71 



Plunket, approaching them very nearly, but not quite reaching their level. Roll 

 and Frank, who won several prizes on the show bench, are of the same cross as 

 the grandsire of Ranger, all being out of Lort's Dip by a Laverack dog, and 

 these last being all the same blood, as I shall presently show, though their sires 

 are respectively named Rock and Fred II. Roll was a grand dog in shape, with 

 the exception of his loin, in which a certain amount of slackness was displayed 

 when a little out of condition, as he generally was when shown, being a shy feeder. 

 I am told by Mr. Lort, who shot over him for some time, that he was as good 

 in the field as on the bench, but when I tried him he had no nose whatever. His 

 pace was very great, with the usual Laverack quiet trail of flag ; and the spaniel-like 

 character peculiar to the Laverack dogs is also quite lost in him by the cross with 

 the Anglesea bitch Dip. Next to this cross comes that with the Corbet and 

 Graham strains as shown in Mr. Brewis's Dash II., who this year (1877) has 

 beaten Ranger in two out of three stakes at Shrewsbury and Horseheath, and whose 

 portrait I have selected, with that of Countess, to illustrate this breed as excellent 

 specimens of the high-bred English setter, though the dog is still, in my opinion, 

 a little too spaniel-like in the shape of the body. He and his sister, Daisy, also 

 a field trial winner, are by Laverack's Blue Prince, out of Armstrong's Old Kate. 

 This bitch is by Laverack's old Blue Dash, out of E. Armstrong's Kate, sister to 

 his Duke, the sire of Dan, about whose stock a great deal has been written in the 

 highest terms by " Percival" and " Setter" in the Field and elsewhere, and by Mr. 

 Purcell Llewellyn, who has used him as a stud dog almost exclusively to cross with 

 his Laverack bitches, after purchasing him at a very high price, together with his 

 brother Dick, from Mr. Statter at the Shrewsbury meeting of 1871. The opinions 

 expressed by these gentlemen must be taken cum grano sails, as they are manifestly 

 interested in the breed, which they style as par excellence "the field trial breed" 

 from the successes obtained by its component parts at these trials. I shall there- 

 fore confine myself in my remarks on it to their public performances as observed by 

 myself and others, disregarding all private opinions in this as in all other cases, 

 from my experience of the little reliance to be placed upon them. 



The most remarkable feature in the Laverack breed of setters is the extra- 

 ordinary extent to which in-breeding has been carried, as shown in the pedigree 

 of Countess, given by Mr. Laverack in his book on the setter. By examining this 

 carefully, it will be seen that every animal in it is descended from Ponto and Old 

 Moll, which were obtained by Mr. Laverack in 1825 from the Rev. A. Harrison, 

 who lived near Carlisle, and who had kept the breed pure for thirty-five years. 

 Four names only besides these two are found in the right hand column, and these 

 four are all descended from Ponto and Old Moll, as will be seen at a glance by 

 referring to the names in italic in the middle of the table. Thus it appears that 

 they alone formed Mr. Laverack's breed, though he often stated that he had tried 

 the introduction of alien blood, but finding it not to answer he had abandoned the 

 produce, and resorted again to the original stock. This has led to the belief that 

 the pedigree is incorrect, but he was very positive in his statement. If correct, 

 it certainly is the most remarkable case of breeding in and in I ever met with. 



