The Irish Setter 167 
“The whole aspect of the Irish setter denotes gameness, courage, 
speed, endurance, intelligence and talent.” 
Stonehenge specifies the following as the best known strains: La 
Touche, O’Connor, Coats, Lord De Freyne, Sidwell, Eyers, Lord Water- 
ford, and Captain Hutchinson. 
Tue Cotour or Various STRAINS 
Turning now to the letters referred to we will extract such information 
as is historical. Mr. John Walker started the discussion with a letter 
written in January, 1866, in which he questioned the correctness of the claim 
that the Irish setter should be blood red, although he had hitherto been of 
that opinion. He quotes from an unnamed old friend with forty or fifty 
years experience with the breed, to the effect that the oldest and purest 
strains had a touch of black and that it did not come from the Gordons. 
Captain Hutchinson and Colonel Whyte responded, having been named 
by Mr. Walker as two whom he would like to hear from. The former 
affirmed that the true colour was a “very deep, rich blood-red” and said he 
felt certain that Mr. La Touche would agree with him, “he being once a 
breeder of the finest coloured red setters in this country, and one of whose 
red dogs sold for the very large sum of £73 10s. by public auction in Dublin.” 
Colonel Whyte supplied the following: ‘The French Park breed 
was, in former times, celebrated for its purity. After the death of the 
first Lord De Freyne, I attended a sale there, and, of course, did not neglect 
the kennel, but was much disappointed, finding. them a worn-out, and 
apparently a degenerated lot. I asked particularly to be shown one that 
could be warranted of the pure old race, and they pointed out a bitch that, 
if I recollect right, was not to be sold. She was a low but strong. animal, 
with very little feather, extremely dark red, almost mahogany colour; dark 
mark down her back; dark tip to her ears and dark muzzle; no white about 
her anywhere. 
“Tn contradistinction to this I remember some twenty-five years ago 
two kennels, then much celebrated for their breed—Lord Forbes’s and 
Mr. Owen Wynne’s of Hazlewood. These animals in no way resembled 
the French Park bitch; they were higher on the leg and rather lighter in 
the rib, but powerful, wiry, active dogs, by no means very dark in colour, and 
showing a good deal of white about the face, chest and fore legs. I never saw 
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