86 THE DOGS OF THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 



"Plunket and Marvel went beautifully together and each did some pretty work 

 till towards the end of their time, when Plunket making a point, Marvel drew by 

 him, and put the birds up. This, of course, penalised them ten points. Countess 

 and Nellie, going in fine style, made no mistake whatever, and, being credited 

 with their full quota of points, were made the winners without dispute." Plunket 

 therefore lost none of his reputation by this defeat, except through his son Marvel, 

 whose fault was moreover dependent on his breaking only ; and as his daughter 

 Music, " going in fine form and very merrily," won the Dinorwig Stakes, at the 

 same meeting, he gained rather than lost from the stud point of view. 



Plunket (and his brother Eover of the same litter) are by Beauty out of the 

 Eev. E. Callaghan's Grouse. This gentleman informs me that Plunket was bred 

 by himself, and not by the Hon. D. Plunket, as stated in the " Stud Book" ; Beauty 

 by Birtwhistle's Tim out of Hebe ; Grouse by Capt. Hutchinson's Bob. 



Since the above was written, Eover has been placed above Palmerston at the 

 Kennel Club Show, where he took the first prize. 



CHAPTER II. 

 THE MODERN POINTER-THE DROPPER. 



THE MODEEN POINTEE. 



selecting the setter for the first of the articles on the dog in the 

 present series, I have not intended to fix the comparative claims of 

 these two dogs to superiority in the field. It is alleged that the field 

 trials have not done much towards settling this vexed question, which, 

 however, they could only do irrespective of those enduring qualities not 

 capable of being tested even at Bala, where, on two occasions, several hours have 

 been devoted to a single trial. As far as they go, until this year (1877), the two 

 breeds have been nearly equally successful when first-class specimens have been 

 tried together, excluding that phenomenon, Sir E. Garth's (now Mr. Lloyd Price's) 

 Drake. Countess (setter) and Belle (pointer) have each won once when tried 

 together, while the latter and Eanger (setter) have also exchanged wins ; so that, 

 exclusive of Drake, who was never pitted against a setter till long past his prime, 

 the balance has not been struck, except in so far that, while Belle defeated Eanger 

 single-handed, the latter only won from her in the braces. In the present year 



