6 Varieties of the Dog. 
soon give way, and the dog becomes lame. The feet 
should be round and cat-like, with hard horny soles, 
pasterns short, large in the bone and tendons, and not 
sloping backwards towards the knees to any great extent. 
A long and muscular arm is specially necessary, and the 
elbow must be neither in nor out. These fozzts may be 
valued as follows, viz.:—-feet, 6; legs, 6; elbows, 4; 
hocks, 2 ; stifles, 2—total, 20. 
The general quality and stern indicate by their appear- 
ance the amount of breeding, and are therefore neces- 
sarily attended to, but the former cannot he described. 
The stern should be shaped like a bee’s sting, having a 
strong root, a straight, jie, and stiff body, and a pointed 
tip—total value, ro. 
Of the colour, symmetry, and coat, the first may be 
selected according to fancy, but most people prefer a dog 
with a good deal of white, so that he may readily be seen 
in turnips. Liver and white, or lemon and white, are the 
most common, next to which come black and white, 
which, when mixed with tan on the cheeks, indicates the 
hound cross. ‘Whole colours are liver, red, black, and white, 
The texture of the coat should be short and soft, but not 
too fine, the last-named quality being often accompanied 
by a delicate constitution. These poznts are put at 10. 
Setters of the present day are classed as either Eng- 
lish, Scotch (Gordon), Irish, or Russian. It is needless 
to describe the last-named, as the breed, which was com- 
mon enough thirty years ago, is now seldom met with, 
and has no advantage to recommend it. It is a very 
long-haired animal, almost resembling a poodle in coat, 
except that there is not so much curl. Hence, in the 
hot weather so often experienced in August and September, 
it is soon knocked up, and though possessing a very 
fine nose, this is of little use at its master’s heels. 
All the various breeds of the setter are doubtless de 
scended from the spaniel, which dog has a natural pro- 
pensity to pause before springing on his game. This 
peculiarity has been encouraged and developed until the 
innate point has become established, and the setter puppy, 
if well bred, may be expected to point game on the first 
