196 MANUAL FOE YOUNG SPORTSMEN. 



is commonly known as a double nose ; and, in my opin- 

 ion, and that, I believe, of most real judges of the ani- 

 mal, an exceedingly ugly characteristic, amounting nearly 

 to a deformity. This double nose consists in a deep cut 

 or furrow between the nostrils, causing them to a casual 

 observer, and on a slight inspection, to appear disunited. 



In the French pointers, which are for the most part 

 coarsely-bred, ill-made and worthless animals, this mark, 

 owing to the superabundance in them of Spanish blood, is 

 general ; and it is surprising to me that Mr. Youatt should 

 describe it as " materially interfering with their acuteness 

 of smell." 



This, however, is not the error which I propose here 

 to correct, but the converse of this ; which I have found, 

 in all countries, particularly among uneducated or partially 

 educated sportsmen, to be a prevalent idea — that this 

 double nose is an indication of, and as it were a guarantee 

 for, the existence of an unusually good nose in the animal 

 so marked. This external furrow can, I conceive — and I 

 am borne out in my opinion by the judgment of Dr. Lewis 

 of Philadelphia, celebrated alike for his medical and 

 sportsmanly abilities — have no effect or influence one way 

 or other on the scenting capabilities of the animal, being 

 wholly unconnected with the internal olfactory apparatus. 



How the idea should have originated, it is simple 

 enough to see — the old Spanish pointer is, beyond dispute, 

 an animal of superior powers of scent, - and he is often 

 double-nosed. Hence came the superstition that the supe- 

 rior scent is due to the ugly furrow between the nostrils, 

 though it might have been as well ascribed to the slack 



