and tlie Maritime Provinces. 417 



black. One of the most perfect specimens of this beautiful breed is illus- 

 trated elsewhere in this volume. 



The origin of the Irish setter is more obscure than that of the others, 

 there being no authentic records concerning it prior to the beginning of 

 the present century. Its form is not so graceful as that of the English 

 setter, and its head is more slender and its legs longer. Its color is a 

 brownish or yellowish red. 



The Gordon setter is a much more recent breed, it having been estab- 

 lished by the Duke of Gordon about 1820. It is said that the collie was 

 originally used in the crossing, and some of its peculiarities have not yet 

 entirely disappeared. The Gordon is heavier in the head and body than 

 the English setter, its stern is somewhat shorter, and the texture of its 

 coat is not quite so fine; but it is a handsome animal, its color being a 

 deep black and a rich mahogany tan. 



The setters, like the pointers, are distinguished for their propensity 

 of pausing when game is scented before flushing it. This peculiarity has, 

 by breeding and education, been developed to such a degree that staunch 

 dogs will set or point at a bird for a long time without moving. The 

 writer had an English setter that stood on one occasion, like a statue, for 

 over half an hour, and has heard of others that were even more staunch. 



This habit is now so well developed that the puppy will point or 

 rather set game almost as soon as it can run, or on the first occasion of 

 its finding the scent. 



The English setter is a rapid worker, ranges well, and is, generally, 

 tractable and steadfast. The Gordon is, as a rule, slower in his move- 

 ments, although he is at times very nervous and ambitious. In scenting 

 game he equals the other, but his endurance is less. 



The Irish setter is quick in action — sometimes too quick — and a 

 great ranger, his powers of endurance being very great. He is not as 

 tractable as are the others, being often headstrong and wilful, but if well 

 trained and kept in training, he is a valuable dog, particularly in difficult 

 coverts, where slower working dogs would "potter." 



The modern pointer is the outcome of many crosses and of long-con- 

 tinued, careful and systematic breeding. Its progenitor, the Spanish 

 pointer, which was imported into England from Spain about the year 1600, 

 was a heavily-framed, coarse-boned, loosely-made dog, cautious and slow 

 in its movements, possessed of a wonderful sense of scent, and staunch and 

 tractable in a remarkable degree. 



It was well adapted to the needs of those times, for until the sporting 

 gun was introduced, and the habit was acquired of shooting on the wing, 

 a dog was wanted solely to find the game, set or point it, and then remain 

 quiet until the nets were drawn and the birds secured, that being the 

 method by which game was then captured. But with the advent of the 



