496 
There is a useful Setter in Germany, 
which differs very little from our ordinary 
brown Retriever, both in regard to the 
shape of his head and the texture of his 
coat. Usually he is liver-coloured, or white 
with large liver-coloured patches. His chief 
point of difference from the English Retriever 
THE NEW BOOK 
OF THE DOG. 
of the breed extends back some fifty years, 
and the last specimen I owned of it—a 
light-coloured one—I gave away to a 
friend who would not take a hundred 
pounds for it. 
‘“ Their noses never seem to be affected by 
a change of climate; hence their value in 
my eyes. I have worked with 
them in September’s sun and in 
January’s snow, and they were 
equally good. They were some 
of the best dogs I ever had, 
and never varied; and under 
exceptional cases as regards 
the weather, we always had 
the Russians out. The one 
fault I found with them was 
the difficulty in getting new 
blood, for those we had showed 
evidences of scientific breeding, 
and a_ strict adherence to 
type. The fact that they 
were successfully crossed, to 
M. J. BAUSSART’'S FRENCH “SPANIEL” 
MEDOR DE SANVIC. 
is that his ears are of great size. The 
Russians, while preferring the English or 
the Gordon Setter for work with the gun, 
nevertheless have a variety of their own. 
British sportsmen who have known them in 
their native country have reported that for 
all kinds of shooting the Russian Setter is 
not to be equalled in nose, sagacity, and 
every other necessary quality that a sporting 
dog ought to possess. 
Mr. William Lort, writing of them some 
years ago, described them as follows : 
“Roughly speaking, in appearance this 
dog is rather like a big, ‘ warm’ Bedlington 
terrier. There are two varieties of the 
breed, and, curiously enough, they are dis- 
tinguished from each other by the difference 
in their colour. The dark-coloured ones are 
deep liver and are curly-coated. The light- 
coloured ones are fawn, with sometimes 
white toes and white on the chest; some- 
times the white extends to a collar on the 
neck. These latter are straight-coated, not 
curly like the dark ones. My recollection 
my knowledge, with English 
Setters, satisfies me that they 
are really Setters and not an 
alien breed. I may add that 
they are excellent water dogs.” 
RETRIEVERS. 
The so-called Russian Retriever may be 
mentioned in this connection. In appear- 
ance it is not unlike the Setter of its own 
country, with a suggestion of the Irish 
Water Spaniel superadded. He is a square- 
built dog—square in muzzle, and wide in 
skull, short headed, cloddy in body, and 
long on the leg. The chief pecuharity of 
the breed is its dark-brown coat, which is 
long and dense, and as often as not matted. 
This makes him unsuited for work in covert. 
Retrieving dogs are not often used by 
Muscovite sportsmen, however, and even 
the Spaniel is not popular in Russia. English 
Retrievers, recognised as such, are some- 
times employed in France and Germany ; but 
there are no native breeds especially trained 
for the retrieving of game and for that work 
alone. 
POINTERS. 
Of the Pointer, or Braque, there are many 
