244 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



to the right hand, or yealding toward the 

 left (in making mencion of fowles my mean- 

 ing is of the Partridge and the Quaile), 

 when he hath founde the byrde, he keepeth 

 sure and fast silence, he stayeth his steppes 

 and wil proceede no further, and with a close 

 couert watching eye, layeth his belly to 

 the grounde and so creepeth forward like 

 a worme. When he approacheth neere 



CH. MALLWYD SARAH 



BY RUMNEY RACKET PRINCESS EVELYN. 



BRED BY MR. T. STEADMAN. 



to the place where the birde is, he lays him 

 downe, and with a marcke of his pawes, 

 betrayeth the place of the byrdes last abode, 

 whereby it is supposed that this kinde of 

 dogge is called Index, Setter, being in deede 

 a name most consonant and agreeable to his 

 quality." 



This extract, although not throwing much 

 light upon the appearance of the Setter in 

 the reign of Queen Elizabeth, nevertheless 

 is a proof of the existence of this separate 

 breed and of the uses to which it was 

 trained, and the fact that Dr. Caius, in his 

 classification, placed it with the Spaniel 

 is evidence of its relationship with the latter 

 breed at the period in which the learned 

 Doctor wrote. 



Though Setters are divided into three 

 distinct varieties, there can be no doubt 

 that all have a common origin, though 

 it is scarcely probable, in view of their dis- 



similarity, that the same individual ancestors 

 can be supposed to be their original pro- 

 genitors. Nearly all authorities agree that 

 the Spaniel family is accountable on one 

 side, and this contention is borne out to a 

 considerable extent by old illustrations and 

 paintings of Setters at work, in which they 

 are invariably depicted as being very much 

 like the old liver and white Spaniel, though 

 of different colours. 

 Doubt exists as to 

 the other side of their 

 heredity, but it does not 

 necessarily follow that all 

 those who first bred them 

 used the same means. 

 Of the theories put for- 

 ward, that which carries 

 the most presumptive 

 evidence must go to the 

 credit of the old Spanish 

 Pointer. Where else could 

 they inherit that wonder- 

 ful scenting power, that 

 style in which they draw 

 up to their game, their 

 statuesque attitude when 

 on point, and, above all, 

 the staunchness and pa- 

 tience by which they hold 

 their game spellbound until the shooter has 

 time to walk leisurely up, even from a 

 considerable distance ? 



But, apart from the question of their 

 origin, the different varieties have many 

 other attributes in common ; all perform 

 the same kind of work, and in the same 

 manner ; consequently the system of break- 

 ing or training them varies only accord- 

 ing to the temper or ideas of those who 

 undertake their schooling. 



Few dogs which grace the show benches 

 are more admired than English Setters, and 

 those who are looked upon as professional 

 exhibitors have not been slow to recognise 

 the fact that when a really good young dog 

 makes its appearance it is a formidable rival 

 amongst all other breeds when the special 

 prizes come to be allotted. For this reason 

 a recognised winner will always command 

 a remunerative price for the breeder, and 



