178 MANUAL FOR YOUNG SPORTSMEN. 
much more closely adheres to what we now call the 
spaniel, than does his Irish cousin. 
I am inclined to think that black, black and white, 
pale lemon-colored and white, and perhaps—though I 
speak this doubtfully—liver and white, are the true and 
distinctive colors of the English setting spaniel. I some- 
what doubt the liver-colored, because I observe, first, that 
it is distinctively the water-spaniel color; and secondly, 
that where that color prevails, one is apt also to find a 
greater tendency to curl—another water-spaniel sign—in 
the hair. 
I also believe, that wherever orange or deep red is 
found in the English breeds, especially coupled with the 
black nose and palate, there is an Irish strain. 
Sure I am that, as a rule, though of course there are _ 
exceptions, the red or red and white dogs are the wildest 
and the most difficult to break. 
In choosing an English setter, the first thing to 
examine is the head; it should be broad and expansive 
between the eyes and across the brow, with a high bony 
process extending upward from the base of the skull to the 
ridge of the occiput. The nose should be rather long 
than broad, the nostrils well opened, soft and moist—the 
latter condition being a proof of good health and a sine 
qua non to the possession of great scenting powers. The 
eye should be large, soft, and bland, and the whole expres- 
sion of the face amiable and gentle. 
In this last point of physiognomy I put much faith— 
T never saw a good dog with a bad face; nor a thoroughly 
bad one, with an intelligent, open expression of counte- 
nance. 
