THE MODERN POINTER. 91 



may be a deep flesh colour. It should be cut off square and . not pointed known 

 as the " snipe nose " or " pig jaw." Teeth meeting evenly. 



3. The ears, eyes, and lips (value 4) are as follows : Ears soft in coat, moderately 

 long and thin in leather, not folding like the hound's, but lying flat and close 

 to the cheeks, and set on low, without any tendency to prick. Eyes soft and of 

 medium size ; colour brown, varying in shade with that of the coat. Lips well 

 developed, and frothing when in work, but not pendant or flew-like. 



4. The neck (value 6) should be arched towards the head, long and round, 

 without any approach to dewlap or throatiness. It should come out with a graceful 

 sweep from between the shoulder-blades. 



5. The shoulders and chest (value 15) are dependent on each other for their 

 formation. Thus a wide and hooped chest cannot have the blades lying flat against 

 its sides ; and consequently, instead of this and their sloping backwards, as they 

 ought to do in order to give free action, they are upright, short and fixed. Of 

 course, a certain width is required, to give room for the lungs ; but the volume 

 required should be obtained by depth rather than width. Behind the blades the 

 ribs, should, however, be well arched, but still deep; this depth of back rib is 

 specially important. 



6. The back, quarters, and stifles (value 15) constitute the main propellers of the 

 machine, and on their proper development the speed and power of the dog depend. 

 The loin should be very slightly arched and full of muscle, which should run well 

 over the back ribs ; the hips should be wide, with a tendency even to raggedness, 

 and the quarters should droop very slightly from them. These last must be full 

 of firm muscle, and the stifles should be well bent and carried widely apart, so 

 as to allow the hind legs to be brought well forward in the gallop, instituting a 

 form of action which does not tire. 



7. Legs, elbows, and hocks (value 12). These chiefly bony parts, though merely 

 the levers by which the muscles act, must be strong enough to bear the strain given 

 them ; and this must act in a straight line of progression. Substance of bone is 

 therefore demanded, not only in the shanks but in the joints, the knees and hocks 

 being specially required to be bony. The elbows should be well let down, giving 

 a long tipper arm, and should not be turned in or out ; the latter being, however, 

 the lesser fault of the two, as the confined elbow limits the action considerably. 

 The reverse is the case with the hocks, which may be turned in rather than out ; the 

 former being generally accompanied by that wideness of stifles which I have already 

 insisted on. Both hind and fore pasterns should be short, nearly upright and full 

 of bone. 



8. The feet (value 8) are all-important ; for, however fast and strong the action 

 may be, if the feet are not well shaped and their horny covering hard, the dog 

 will soon become foot-sore when at work, and will then refuse to leave his 

 master's heels, however high his courage may be. Breeders have long disputed 

 the comparatively good qualities of the round cat-like foot, and the long one, 

 resembling that of the hare. In the pointer my own opinion is in favour of the 

 cat-foot, with the toes well arched and close together. This is the desideratum of 



