208 CAPABILITIES OF A SETTEE. 



become skeletons only ; and it is a just observation 

 made by Beckford, that " a half-starved homid is 

 no match for an afternoon fox." 



I was much struck some little time since by the 

 appearance of a very handsome well-bred setter 

 belonging to a genuine sportsman, and formerly a 

 keen fox-hunter, and observing " Three days a week 

 would not be too much for such a dog," his reply 

 was, " Mve days a week are barely sufficient to 

 keep him in good hunting order ; with less, he 

 would become ungovernable." Since then I have 

 had an opportunity of deciding that his opinion of 

 his dog's capabilities was not in the least overrated. 

 He is a strong, bony, muscular animal, with fine 

 head and neck, good shoulders, and straight legs, 

 and no day is too long for him. The pace at 

 which he ranges the field, and the manner in which 

 he clears a gate or a fence, are quite in fox-hound 

 style ; in fact, I cannot help thinking there must 

 have been a cross with the fox-hound in some of 

 his progenitors. This setter, when I first saw him, 

 had been at work for more than two months, ave- 

 raging four days a week, from nine in the morning 

 until four o'clock in the afternoon, beating over a 

 rough, hilly country, and exhibited the ne plus 

 ultra of condition. 



Some years ago, I remember two pointers be- 



