108 DOMESTICATED DOGS FOR THE GtJN. 



brought well under him, and a merry lashing of the flag on the 

 slightest indication of scent often, indeed, without it. His ad- 

 vocates contend that he is as steady as any other setter when once 

 broken, but, as far as my experience goes, I scarcely think this 

 position can be maintained. Neither Plunket, nor any that I have 

 seen of Mr. Purcell Llewellyn's breeding, nor indeed any of those 

 which I have had out in private, have been always reliable, and I 

 fear that, like almost all other setters of such high courage, it must 

 be admitted that he requires work to keep him in a state of control 

 fit for immediate use with the gun. In this respect, and indeed in 

 delicacy of nose, both the English and Irish setter must yield to 

 the black and tan of the best strains ; but to do the same 

 amount of work, at least a double team of the last mentioned 

 must be kept. 



Having been charged, by Mr. Adcock, in the case of the bulldog, 

 with selecting inferior specimens for illustration, it is perhaps 

 necessary that I should explain my reasons for choosing a dog 

 without any public reputation to represent the Irish setter in pref- 

 erence to Mr. Hilliard's Palmerston, who has taken all the chief 

 prizes since the last appearance of Dr. Stone's Dash at the Crystal 

 Palace in 1875. As remarked above, no strain but that of the 

 Hon. D. Plunket has been tried in the field ; and, as that has done 

 great credit to the breed in the shape of Mr. Macdona's (afterwards 

 Mr. Llewellyn's) Plunket,* his daughter Music, and his sons Marvel 

 and Kite, I prefer a portrait of one of this tried strain to that of 

 any dog not similarly tested. Both Plunket and his daughter 

 Music were too small to serve as a type, while Kite and Marvel 

 have faults which render them equally unfit for that purpose. 

 Fortunately, however, I have been able to meet with a grand 

 specimen of the breed iri Rover, an own brother to Plunket, which 

 Mr. Macdona has recently obtained from Ireland, and which 

 has never yet been shown. The faithful portrait of this dog pre- 

 sented on page 109 speaks for itself as to his external shape ; but for 

 his performances it is necessary to look to his brother Plunket, 



* Plunket was purchased by Mr. Llewdlyn from Mr. Macdona for $750, and J9 

 now in the possession of W. J. Farrar, of Toledo, Ohio. 



