78 THE DOGS OF THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 



should have a gentle sweep ; and the nearest resemblance to any familiar form 

 is to the scythe with its curve reversed. The feather must be composed of 

 straight silky hairs, and beyond the root the less short hair 011 the flag the 

 better, especially towards the point, of which the bone should be fine, and the 

 feather tapering with it. 



10. Symmetry and quality (value 5). In character the setter should display a 

 great amount of " quality," a term which is difficult of explanation, though fully 

 appreciated by all experienced sportsmen. It means a combination of symmetry, 

 as understood by the artist, with the peculiar attributes of the breed under 

 examination, as interpreted by the sportsman. Thus, a setter possessed of such a 

 frame and outline as to charm an artist would be considered by the sportsman 

 defective in " quality " if he possessed a curly or harsh coat, or if he had a 

 heavy head with pendant bloodhoundlike jowl and throaty neck. The general 

 outline is very elegant, and more taking to the eye of the artist than that of the 

 pointer. 



11. The texture and feather of coat (value 5) are much regarded among 

 setter breeders, a soft silky hair without curl being considered a sine qua non. 

 The feather should be considerable, and should fringe the hind as well as the 

 fore legs. 



12. The colour of coat (value 5) is not much insisted on among English setters, 

 a great variety being admitted. These are now generally classed as follows, in 

 the order given: (1) Black and white ticked, with large splashes, and more or 

 less marked with black, known as " blue Belton;" (2) orange and white freckled 

 known as orange Belton; (3) plain orange, or lemon and white; (4) liver and 

 white ; (5) black and white, with slight tan markings ; (6) black and white ; (7) 

 liver and white ; (8) pure white ; (9) black ; (10) liver ; (11) red or yellow. 



THE BLACK. TAN SETTEE. 



(SOMETIMES CALLED GORDON.) 



The black-tan setter, until the institution of shows, was commonly called 

 " Gordon," from the fact that the Dukes of Gordon had long possessed a strain 

 of setters of that colour, which had obtained a high reputation. At the first 

 dog show held at Newcastle in June 1859, Mr. Jobling's (of Morpeth) black 

 and tan Dandy was shown with success in an open class ; and in November of 

 the same year Mr. Burdett's Brougham followed suit at Birmingham. In 1861 

 Mr. Burdett's Ned (son of Brougham) won the first prize in an open class at 

 Birmingham, after which a special class was made for dogs of that colour at Bir- 

 mingham, London, and other large shows, the breeders of English dogs fancying 

 that the beautiful colour of the " Gordons " was too much in their favour. Up 

 to the above-mentioned period the black-tan setter had not been generally intro- 

 duced into the midland and southern counties of England, Mr. Brown, of Melton 

 Mowbray, Mr. Burdett, of Birmingham, the Eev. T. Pierce of Morden, and Mr. 



