THE SETTER. 139 
‘as usually met with, his soles are so hard as to stand a daily road 
journey for an indefinite term. Great substance of bone is, how- 
ever, not regarded as of any importance. 
The tail closely resembles the correct type of the pointer’s, but 
is usually carried higher than is approved of in that dog. 
The coat is short and moderately fine, but not silky. 
The colour is by preference black spotted on a white ground, 
‘but liver and dark blue are also. permitted. A slight stain of tan 
‘about the face and legs is also allowed. A rich jet black counts 
first ; then black and tan; thirdly, liver; and fourthly, blue; but 
there i is not much difference i in value between the two last. 
The marking, however, makes the dog in the eye of the fancier, 
many good judges going for it alone. ‘When perfect, the spots on 
the body are evenly distributed, but quite clear of one another, and 
should not exceed the size of a half-crown piece, nor be less than 
a shilling. Such absolute perfection is, however, yet in nubibus. 
On the tail there should be several spots. without coalescing. 
Symmetry in this dog is regarded as a sine qud non. 
VL—SETTERS (ENGLISH, IRISH, SCOTCH, WELSH, AND 
RUSSIAN). ‘ 
That the setter is a spaniel taught by art to point his game is 
universally admitted, and Daniel in his ‘‘ Rural Sports” gives a copy 
of a bond signed by John Harris, on October 7, 1485, in which he 
covenants to keep for six months and break a certain spaniel to 
“set partridges, pheasants, and other game, in consideration of 
ten shillings of lawful English money.” Thus it is certain that 
four hundred years ago the setting spaniel existed in this country, 
and most probably he was nearly identical with our modern setter, 
though probably not so fast. There is reason to believe that, until the 
gun was used to shoot game flying, the setting spaniel was qeetiered 
to the pointer, because from his crouching attitude the net could 
be drawn over him more easily. On the invention, however, of 
the flint lock, it was found that the attitude of the pointer mented 
him more visible to his master, and as the net was no longer used 
‘by sportsmen, the Spanish pointer was imported, and used in pre- 
ference to the native setting spaniel. In course of time, either by 
