THE ENGLISH SETTER. 101 



broad knees, short pasterns, of which the size in point of bone 

 should be as great as possible (a very important point), and their 

 slope not exceeding a very slight deviation from the straight line. 

 Many good judges insist upon a perfectly upright pastern, like that 

 of the foxhound ; but it must not be forgotten that the setter has 

 to stop himself suddenly when at full stretch he catches scent, and 

 to do this with an upright and rigid pastern causes a considerable 

 strain on the ligaments, soon ending in " knuckling over ;" hence a 

 very slight bend is to be preferred. The hind legs should be mus- 

 cular, with plenty of bone, clean strong hocks, and hairy feet. 



8. The feet should be carefully examined, as upon their capabil- 

 ity of standing wear and tear depends the utility of the dog. A 

 great difference of opinion exists as to the comparative merits of 

 the cat and hare foot for standing work. Foxhound masters in- 

 variably select that of the cat, and, as they have better opportuni- 

 ties than any other class of instituting the necessary comparison, 

 their selection may be accepted as final. But, as setters are spe- 

 cially required to stand wet and heather, it is imperatively neces- 

 sary that there should be a good growth of hair between the toes, 

 and on this account a hare foot, well clothed with hair, as it gen- 

 erally is, must be preferred to a cat foot naked, as is often the 

 case, except on the upper surface. 



9. The flag is in appearance very characteristic of the breed, al- 

 though it sometimes happens that one or two puppies in a well- 

 bred litter exhibit a curl or other malformation, usually consid- 

 ered to be indicative of a stain. It is often compared to a scimitar, 

 but it resembles it only in respect of its narrowness, the amount 

 of curl in the blade of this Turkish weapon being far too great to 

 make it the model of the setter's flag. Again, it has been com- 

 pared to a comb ; but as combs are usually straight, here again the 

 simile fails, as the setter's flag 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 on the flag the 

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

 fine, and the feather laperlng with it. 



