NATURAL HISTORY OF THE DOG. 79 



dng has been taught to suspend his intended rush, as it is the 

 priv ilege of his master, and not himself, to finish the work the 

 dog has only begun. Such is the hereditary instinct of the 

 highly-bred Spanish Pointer, that a whelp, not more than five 

 months old, has been known, when, without any previous 

 training, brought for the first time into the field, to point 

 steadily at lying game. I heard one instance, indeed, related 

 of a whelp of this age, and under such circumstances as I 

 describe, actually backing its dam in her point. This sounds 

 strange ; but the party to whom I am indebted for the anec- 

 dote, is not merely a thorough sportsman, but a thorough 

 gentleman, whose word is beyond suspicion. 



The Spanish Pointer is apparently a dog of very ancient 

 extraction ; but not, as his name would imply, of Spanish 

 origin at least not remotely so ; for the primitive breed is 

 traceable to the East. Indeed some ancient Egyptian figures, 

 published by Caillarid, distinctly represent a dog, beyond 

 question of this variety, in the act of pointing. The old 

 Spanish Pointer is, when perfectly thoroughbred, remarkable 

 as possessing a cleft nose, similar to the Russian variety, 

 presently to be described. 



This dog was found too heavy for the ardor of British 

 sportsmen, and, with the old Talbot, or Manchester hound, 

 sunk gradually into disuse ; and has since become supplant- 

 ed by a lighter, more active, and energetic dog, better suited 

 to the tastes of our eager countrymen, viz., the English 

 Pointer. 



THE PORTUGUESE POINTER 



Is lighter than the Spanish ; .has a feathered tail ; is un- 

 steady and quarrelsome ; and by no means to be commended. 



THE FRENCH POINTER 



Wants the stanchness of our English dog. He is less ob- 

 jectionable than the variety just described, but still not the 

 thing. 



THE ITALIAN POINTER. 



I thus name a dwarf variety of pointer that I formerly de- 

 scribed in the "Sportsman." This is a perfect miniature va- 

 riety of a very highly-bred English pointer, seldom exceeding 

 one foot in height. I saw one about twelve years ago, in pos- 

 session of Stewart Menteith, Esq., of Closeburn, Dumfriesshire, 



