138 
FOREST AND STREAM 
sarv. A skillful breaker can break a dog of any age to re¬ 
trieve in a short time, and find it best, to e-ccupy ten or 
fifteen days in perfecting them. Blit there is a knack in 
thus breaking a dog to retrieve that very few shooters have, 
or can attain. Among a host of persons who have ex¬ 
pressed tu us a desire to know how to do it, and to whom we 
have exemplified the process, not more than one out of ten 
could succeed. 
In a recent publication on this subject the writer, who 
lays down some excellent rules, says, among other things, 
“That any man may attempt to break a dog with a cer¬ 
tainty of success, provided he will keep ever in mind 
the watchwords of this science: observation, patience, and 
perseverance.” That is just what is the matter: but few 
men have those desitable qualifications- 
THE KENNEL REGISTER. 
List tit dogs entered in the Kennel Register for tlie week ending 
Tuesday, April4th:— 
SETTERS. 
Mr. Dwight.Frances’ March; Mr. L. C. Bruce’s Flash; Mr. G Bird 
Grinin 1 !!'- Rock, Jr; Mi. Alexander Pope, Jr.’s Jirle; Dr. F. B. 
Greenougli’s Mag and Ned; Mr. Isaac Ifiske’s Kent andMollie; Mr. 
John Neshett’s Boblc,Zolphu, Rina, Boz, and Rob Hey. 
POINTERS. 
Mr. Max Lcroairc’s Jack. 
The Springfield Bench Show. —A lack of space com¬ 
pels us lo omit tliis week an abstract of the premium list 
which we had designed printing. We have, however, a 
quantity of the lists in pamphlet form which will he for¬ 
warded Lo the address of any of out 1 readers on applica¬ 
tion. 
—In addition to the special dog prizes offered for Cen¬ 
tennial Dog Show, to be held on September 1st. The fol¬ 
lowing have been offered since our last issue:— 
Frank Roan, Esq., West Philadelphia—Silver collar for 
best Dachshaund dog of any age. 
John Krider, Esq., Philadelphia—Silver mounted field 
Whip for the best. American-bred setter of any age. 
Capt. A. H. Clay, Philadelphia—Solid silver dog whistle 
for the second best American-bred setter. 
A Large Litter.— Mr. F. A. Palmer’s setter bitch 
Dove dropped a litter of 21 pups to Mr. Colburn’s Sancho, 
son of Mr. Forman Taylor’s one-eyed Sancho. This we 
believe is the largest litter on record. The same bitch, 
last August dropped 18 pups to Mr. Taylor’s Sancho. 
—John H. Develiu, Esq., of this city, claims the name 
of “Moya" and “Mollie” for a brace of pure red Irish set¬ 
ter bitches, fifteen months old, imported from the kennel 
of Albert J. Meldon, Esq., of Dublin, Ireland. Moya 
visited Fluukel on the 22d ult. 
—The many friends of our clever little sporting com¬ 
panion Charley Bancroft, congratulate him on the safe ar¬ 
rival from the Emeral Isle of his long looked-for pair of 
pure Irish pups. They are perfect beauties according to 
my poor judgment, and in time, with Charley’s manage¬ 
ment will, I am sure, make their mark. They are decidedly 
the best addition I have seen for years to our Maryland 
•dog stock. Hoping he may have the beat of luck with 
them is the honest wish of u-any friends. J, T. 
—The next great English Bench Show to he held at the 
Crystal Palace will commence on June 8d next. 
are rather long backed, very strong, and not very long eared, white with 
yellow spots, very good to see In cover, splendid noses, and never make 
a sound. You see them work ont every Inch of ground, sending the 
game out, but not running it. anl some of them retrieve it when re¬ 
quired. They are quite strong enough to retrieve ducks and hares. 
They are good water do-s, and very handsome.” His minute descrip¬ 
tion of these spaniels Is due to my having written to him for information 
on the subject. Ibex. 
Pittsbcro, March 28th, 1875. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
In the last issue, Vol. 6, No. of your interesting paper, there is a 
letter from‘‘Ibex,” in which he advocates tho use of a dog whose only 
duty is to retrievo when shooting over setters and pointers . 1 agree so 
completely with Ibex, that I was quite disapointed torea’d yourcom- 
meuts upon bis letter. You state that yon ‘‘doubt if he ever shot over a 
setter or pointer which was properly broken to that accomplishment," 
and also, that you "have never met a single individual who has pursued 
the course recommended by Ibex." Now Mr. Editor, I also may never 
have had the pleasure of shooting over a setter or pointer which was 
properly broken to the accomplishment of retrieving, but T wish ill sup¬ 
port of the argument advanced by Ibex, to give you an instance when 
his course has been pursued with gratifying success. 
1 have a friend in Missouri, whose custom it is to shoot quail, not only 
over two setters with a special retriever, but frequently with two setters 
and a pointer, with tho same retriever. I have hunted with this friend 
when he had the four dogs under, as it appeared to me, perfect control, the 
retriever Close at our heels, and the two setters and pointer ranging in 
obedience to the motions of his hand. The setters and pointer backed 
each other admirably and when a bird was lulled, dropped to down 
charge, and remained in that position until the bird was retrieved, our 
guns reloaded, and they were told to hie on. 
I call to miiid one memorable day, about four years ago, when this 
friend and I bagged with muzzle-loaders, eighty-two quail by pursuing 
this course, and when our days sport was over he called mv attention to 
the fact that during the whole day we had not seen a single bird upon 
the gronnd, eiiher alive or dead. 
Mr. Editor, I am interested in this matter solely from my love of the 
sport, and perhaps. I am unduly influenced by the pleasure and rejuven¬ 
escence afforded me in these periodical hunts with my Missouri friend. 
I expect you to make due allowance for me, and am encouraged to write 
by the fact that your paper is open to the expression of individual opin- 
iens fiom gentlemen sportsmen. My profession not only keeps me from 
keeping dogs of my own, but deprives me of many pleasant shooting 
excursions. 
My thoughts revert so strongly to my happy experiences with quail, 
grouse, and water fowl, in Missouri, that I cannot close this letter with¬ 
out a puff to the friend who has so ofien been my companion in those 
pleasures. • He lives upon a snug fitrie farm, situated tn the midst of an 
excellent quail region, adjacent to the Mississippi bottom, whore ducks 
and snipe resort in spring and autumn, and not far distant from the roll¬ 
ing prairies abounding with pinnated gronse. He is a thorough sports¬ 
man. If he has a guest, he invariably gives that guest the drst shot, 
and never, uuder any circumstances does he himself shoot the wrong 
bird. He swears by tho memory of Frank Forester, whose books he ap¬ 
pears to know by heart. Frank Forester himself was not a truer sports¬ 
man, a better shot, o"r a warmer friend than he; and now as T sit at my 
deskin this smoky city of I ittsburgh, I feel an inexpressible loDging 
for a weeks camping out with him upon the Mississippi bottom. 
Mr. Editor, if jou ever go to Missouri to shoot qnail, and will lot me 
know of it, I hope to show yon a man who uses a special retriever with 
marked success. * Bsao- 
THE POINTS OF A SETTER. 
SETTERS AS RETRIEVERS. 
Editor Forest and Stream :— 
• Yonrtremarks upon my letter on this subject are to my mind perfectly 
conclusive as regards shooting in the htatos. I have had no experience 
in shooting in any part of America, except in the extreme North and 
South, in both of which places 1 saw at once, that except for duck, a re¬ 
triever was unnecessary, as a retrieving setter could do all the fetching 
that was wanted, bat 1 was not aware that the shooting was of the same 
nature throughout the States, and thought that on the prairies at least it 
would be advantageous to use a brace of setters and a retriever, as is 
constantly done in Scotland and some other countries. 
Where one dog is only required at a time, it is of course desirable that 
he should retrieve, and 1 am not one of those who think that doing so 
is any Injury to the nose. Bur. Ido think that it spoils, or at any rate, 
alters the style that some of our best bred dogs naturally have. To ex¬ 
plain my meaning, we will suppose that A and B are two young setters 
sent to mo on trial, I take them out to rough, open gronnd, free from 
Wuod, A jumps on a wall, and immediately comes lo a set. B doos the 
buuic, both their heads being in this ease on a level. We move on, and 
put up a covey Of partridges at a considerable dis’ance. I see that both 
dogs have good noses, hut 1 must know more of them, so on we go. I 
notice that A carries his head very high, while B carries his particularly 
low. (Suggestive of hunting mice). A comes to a point again, but B 
does not see him, and gets much too close to the game before he rninda 
it, owing to his bad stylo. I have now seen enough, A is the dog Tor me. 
At present he is only fit- for open work, bat when he has been hnnted in 
covert, and taught to retrieve, he will como down in liis style a bit, and 
make a first class dog. If I did not want him for covert shooting, or re¬ 
trieving, 1 should prefer his business to liis natural style, and he would 
get the credit of having a tip top nose. As for B, T consider him a pot¬ 
tering beast, bat if I could not get a thoroughbred retriever, and wanted 
onn, I would take him in preference to A, I rancy some of the imported 
dogs are something like A, and not, at first, of much use for general 
shooting. 
I ouce look a gentleman (the owner of several prize dogs) out shoot¬ 
ing with me, over some very rough ground in Wales; my only dog being 
a small, but very active setter bitch. He watched her for Borne time and 
at last exclaimed “Why none of my dogs can work like that, they would 
he useless here.” I had previously shot with him on open ground, and 
been delighted with the slyle of pne of his setters in particular, who had 
. taken a first, or second prize at the Shrewsbury Trial Stakes. (I forget 
Which). My little bitch could do anything, including finding wounded 
game, hat she bad not so pretty a style as Ida dog. 
If not trespassing too much on your valuable space, the following ex¬ 
tract from tire letter of a friend of mine, who has been shooting this sea¬ 
son in Torkshiro, England, may interest some of yom readers: “The 
morning your letter came here, I went out shooting, and we had seven 
spaniels at «tork, uud no other dogs, and they worked splendidly. They 
Pomfret Centre, Conn., March 80th, 1878. 
Editor Forest and Stream :— 
Anything that pertains to the improvement of my favorite dog, the 
setter, I take a deep interest in, and as the Rod and Gnu Club of Spring- 
field are Eoon to hold another gTand Bench Show of Dogs, it might not 
be amiss that those who intend to exhibit for prizes should know what Is 
generally conceded the most approved form of a setter of the present 
time, combining endurance, beauty, strength, and general usefulness. 
For myself, I have my own personal views iu the matter, that an expe¬ 
rience of more than forty years’ field practice has led me into, and how¬ 
ever bigoted I may be in my own opinion, I would uot pretend to advance 
it as tho most correct or popular one. 
Now, wilt some brother sportsman kindly give ns the general outii 
of the most approved form of the setter of the present time? It might 
serve, in a great measure, as a correct guide in the selection of setters to 
show at the coming exhibition, more especially to those who have large 
kennels to select from. I would much like to hear from Esqaire Smith 
on the subject. There seems to be plenty of discussion in all the sport¬ 
ing papers iu regard to color of different breeds, and we sec at all the 
bench shows the number of points each dog is marked; yet 1 think very 
few of the practical sportsmen folly understand the form on which these 
points were awarded. 
It seems to me that exhibitors are entitled to know, before making 
their entries, the scale of points on which their dogs are to be judged. 
Is the short-legged, long-bodied setter, with long, turn-up tail, prefer¬ 
able to one with long legs and short body, with short, straight tall? 
Should the tail be carried high, or low? Should the chest bo deep, 
rather round, and the loins broad, and flank deep, or the reverse? 
Should the feet bo round and well feathered between the toes, or pointed 
and less reathcred? Should the shoulder or rump he the highest? Should 
the neck be long and nearly of the same size at each extremo, or short 
and tapering? Should the ears he long, with rounded points, or shorter 
and more pointed? Should they be rather smooth at the extremity, or 
fringed heavily? Is a illicit ear better than a thin one? Should the head 
be narrow, or broad at the top? Should it be narrow from top to eyes, 
or hold full width? Is a large, full oye considered better than a small 
one? Should the nose be thick, rather thau thin, from the eyes down¬ 
ward? Should the tips he pendulant, or only moderately so? The coat 
fine and silky, or coarse, and should it be straight, or curly? Long, 
short? Should one with the fringe below the gambiti joint be prelered 
to one without? How many points should a native setter receive for 
color, all else being equal? What would be considered the best color 
for field service? llow many generations mast one have been bred iu 
America before it is entitled to be called a native? In reality all t 
originally from foreign Block. Is an extra large one preferable to I 
dium-sized, or Binall one? How many points are awarded for merely 
size? Should two dogs be equal in all points save pedigree, how many 
points are lost for lack of pedigree? Does a dog lose any points by hav¬ 
ing his tail shortened to avoid a crook in it? 
As the roregoing inquiries combine the most mooted points in ques¬ 
tion, a reply Horn some one better posted than myself would be very 
gratifying to me, and of much practical value to the sporting public gen¬ 
erally. Ethan Allis 
COURSING. 
New York, March 18,1876. 
Editor Forest and Stream:— 
1 was much interested in yonr artUlo on "Conrsing," and hopo yon 
may be the means or making that roost delightful sport better known 
The last time I followed the greyhonnds was some tweuty-five years 
ago, in Yorkshire, England, while on a visit there, going oat in the early 
morning wltli my host, and a couple of well bred dogs; one famous 
that part of the country for his speed, ami I lia ether a small, tint remark¬ 
ably clever slut. After killing a oonple of bares wilhont anything of 
special note, the horses almost kicked n third ont. of her form. We had 
a sharp run. mid "Pass," bard pressed, made for a gate leading to n . 
hie field. The dog went over with one of those magnificent honnds 
beautiful In the greyhound, while the alar, in passing uuder the lowest 
bar, caught and killed the hare iu the act of doubling back. It was tho 
prettiest kill 1 ever saw. 
1 think the greyhound of California, you write about, as kitting wild 
cats and California lions, cannot possibly be the smooth haired English 
greyhound Are they not the rou ih haired Scotch deerhound, than 
which there is no more handsome, intelligent, and fearless dog in the 
world? Flamboro. 
[The greyhounds we alluded to were tho smooth-coated 
English dogs, or dogs bred from English stock. Possibly 
the fact of their having been iu that wild country and ac¬ 
customed from puppyhood to course coyotes, or prairie 
wolves, and such vermin, increased their courage. A 
splendid dog for that country would be the Australian 
kangaroo hound, or a cross between llte greyhound and the 
Scotch stagliound.— Ed.] 
CLUMBER SPANIELS. 
Ke.ntvili.e, N, S., -March itOlh, 1876. 
Editor Forest And Stream:— 
My clumber bitch, ‘‘Bess,” visited my well-known "Biutler" on the 
30th March. This strain is well known in Nova Scotia, where it is justly 
considered la creme cle la creme . 
I should be glad to answer any inquiries as to pedigree, etc., by giving 
n account of my keDnel. 1 may say en pavsani that "Busy," now ten 
months old, bred as above, astonished the natives by taking to hunting 
four months old, and was as good as could he at four months and two 
weeks—before she had shed her first teeth! She now weighs forty-five 
pounds. Bess, while working her six days a week, weighs thirty-six, 
and Bustler forty-eight pounds. They arc nearly white Willi pule lemon 
■euly divided and ticked, long, broad, and level, with short, straight 
legs, heavily feathered, good (cherry) noses, good tempered, and never 
tired. B. S. 
(§<wi£ and (§nn. 
GAME IN SEASON IN APRIL. 
Wild duck, geese, brant, i&c, 
Game in Market.—D ucks continue plentiful, and indeed 
rather slow of sale, canvas hacks bringing only $3 per pair ; 
black ducks, widgeon, broad bills, etc., are worth from CO 
cents to 75 cents per pair; geese, $1.25 each; wild pigeous 
are more abundant, and bring $1.00 per dozen. 
—An Indian river (Florida) correspondent says that 
hunting has been poor this winter, probably on account of 
the long-continued drought, which has driven deer, hears, 
etc., down south towards the everglades, where they can 
get water. 
A Novel Gun.—I t is rarely that we see anything in tl-c 
shape of a combination gun which comes up to the mark in 
utility, hut the combined shot gun and rifle made by Messrs. 
Allerton & Baker, of Lisle, Broome County’, this State, 
really seems to fill the hill. The gun is a breech loader, 
and one action opens all three barrels, the rifle, which 
takes a .44 calibre metalic cartridge, occupying >.o more 
room than the ramrod of a muzzle-loader. Wo consider it 
a good thing, and can safely recommend it to those who 
may be looking for such a weapon. 
Adirondack^ — Windsor, March 27(7t.—In a letter from 
Fenton, of No. 4, Lewis county, N. Y., he says:—“Mark 
Smith killed a large panther last week, about one mile west 
i.i house. Weather very cold the past ten days, and 
tne thermometer has fallen below zero several times; snow- 
fell about a foot deep. Smith lives at No. 4 with his 
father, Chauucey, known to all the boys Who visit this sec¬ 
tion of the wilderness. F. Bolles, Jr. 
Long Island —Qootl Ground, March Z0th.—l laving paid 
a visit to Pon Quogue for the purpose of shooting, I was 
not disappointed. Haviug visited all the shooting places on 
the island with not much success, 1 thought I would try the 
above plate. I saw more birds, and had the best shooting 
I ever had. I am told that on account of the inlet being 
shut up last year, although running now, these waters be¬ 
came brackish, and by that an abundance of feed was pro¬ 
vided for the ducks. As high as 110 brondbills was shot 
by one man in a day; another killed 85; and they averaged 
from 20 to 40 per day. It was thought the shooting would 
last until the middle of May on account of so much feed. 
Sportsman. 
Illinois, April 4th.—Snipe, geese, ducks, brant, etc., 
are reported abundant iu Illinois, and the lakes and streams ■ 
free of ice. 
PIGEON MATCHES. 
—Ira A. Paine and Mr. Giidcrsleeve shot two matches 
at Dexter Pjik, on Wednesday of last week, the stakes 
being $300, the conditions, each to shoot at thirty birds in . 
eacli match, the first to be at 21 yards rise and the second 
at 25 yards, Mr. Giidcrsleeve to have the use of both bar- 
reis, while Paine was only allowed one. The result was 
as follows:— 
First Match. —Paine—1 1 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 111 I I 0 I M 1 1 1 1 0 t 
1 1 1 1 It 1—Total killed, 33. 
Gildersleeve—0 0 1 1 1 1 0 l* 0 0 0 t 1 t* 1 1 1 1 J 0 1 1 l 1 1 1* 
011 1—Total kitted. 33. 
Second Match.- t-aine—t 1 1 10110010011010111110 
1110 11 0— Total killed, 20. 
Gildereleeve— 1 1 1* 1 1 n no SO 1 1 I t 1 li l* I* 0 l 1 1 t l 1 1 
0 0 0-Total killed, 20. 
♦Killed With second barrel. 
In shooting oil the draw, fo decide, Mr. Giidcrsleeve 
killed three birds to Paine’s two, and won. 
Syracuse.— The Onondaga County Sportsmen’s Club 
had a practice shoot on Wednesday, March 20th. The 
following was the score. Twenty-one yards, five birds:— 
J Bedford, 5; R. B. Strong, 4: K. Lodder, 4; W. Fage, 
4; T. Brazell, 4; C. Earle, fl; F, Denison, ii; T. lumber, 
2. II- Ay ling, 1; J. Fage, 2. J. Bedford took first money’. 
Messrs. Brazell, Lodder, W. Fage, and Strong then shot 
off the lies of 4, and Mr. Fage took second money by 
shooting two out of three. Messrs. Hudson uud EtWle di¬ 
vided the third money, Seneca. 
_Capt, A. It. Ilogan!us, champion wing shot of the 
world "live an exhibition of his sUi-i on the 7tli ult., at 
Bc-Acon'ParU, by killing hi) out of *ii h rds, alter which he 
