FOREST AND STREAM. 



283 



THE NEW YORK BENCH SHOW. 



THE following letter, coming from one of the most distant 

 exhibitors at the latti show, antl moreover from an un- 

 ,. . im pleasure, as giving the frank 

 of ii looker-on i 

 That great interest would He taken hi the bench show of 

 forei id by the large number of entries, but the re- 



.... I... I l ii. . ■! r i r !,.•; ■ . ii i. ma ni Avflrv fvne I - II 1 1 ,. ,r. i'a 



the anticipations of everyone. Gilinorc's 

 q ■,,■,! D was literally thronged with visitors each day and 



: j i.f tii'- show.' and the large proportion of ladies among 

 ill. .in showed Mi in dogsis not confined to sports- 



Indeed the sporting, dogs received rather more 

 i mi from the ladies than any other class— the settt 

 pointers apparently appreciating and enjoying the many 

 ■ , . . '..i ■.':•'! upon ihem by I he fair ones, although some 

 dogs muSI liave suffereil wilh headache, if being pat- 

 ted several thousand times daily would produce it. 



Wady" of the owners of the more favored dogs wit! 

 with jealous eyes the affectionate attentions, eveukisses and 

 embraces, bestowed upon their pets lie Ihe ladies: and in 



i : "Love me, love my dog," longed to re- 



l-ausposed to " Lnvc my ilo^. love me." 



To the liberal |>atrona<;e of the ladies was , '.in- in no small 



measure Ihe success .1! Ihe show financially, for where Ihe 



ladies go for amusement there will all the world go; and bench 



shows promise to be a more fashionable resort than the opera. 



"if one in 1 1 he precedent just given in New York. 



No doubt there will be some improvements made another year. 



bin ihe managers of the New York Bench Show are to- be 



oi mi lulatcd upon the perfection of arrangements obtained at 



this their first exhibition, especially as Ihe dogs were in their 



respective stalls, and the rloo§s opened to the public at the 



advertised time— Tuesday morning— after but iwenty-four 

 linns lime f.ii' preparation at \\\n Hippodrome. Ike primary 



, of success, however, v. as Ihe fact that the exhihi- 

 M was given by gentlemen whose games alone »ere 

 sufficient guarantee to both the exhibitors and the 

 public that everything connected with the show would bi- 

 as it should be 3 and no one had cause 10 be disappointed in 

 their expectations. Of course absolute perfection was not 

 reached in every respect, but much praise is due for Ihe near 

 approach to it that was made. 



As is usual ihercwas a certain amount of grumbling among 

 the exhibitors ancl those interested in competing dogs, and 

 there were a few awards made upon Mich apparently iiiexpli- 



,1,1, ._ T , lunch as to givi color 10 some of their complaints. 



Yei'no charge of "unfairness or favoritism conldbemade, 

 Ihe judges discharging their onerous and extremely difficult 

 In a most Commendable manner. If there be cause for 

 s. hi heads. 1 feel that 1 might lie included in llial class, for 1 

 with entries in. both special and 

 regular classes, vet not owl- of I hem was awarded a prize-, and 

 why should not I, as well as any one else, believe I hat my own 

 dogs are superior to any others? I will, however, ackoow- 

 i. , . Unit there were liner dogs on exhibition, although no one 

 would expect me f> ihink thai am in the same class wilh my 

 own wore finer or more worthy of winning a prize. 



1 think that nearly all of the awards were very just ones. 

 although in some instancesdiffering from the judges in opinion 

 OH pohlt&of which 1 feel competent to speak. 1 think it n© 

 !■ ir launching forth in condemnation, nor for Tanking in- 

 vidious remarks which are likely to be unjust, but ascribe 

 such variances to errors of judgment, either of the judges or 

 myself. In the larger classes of sporting dogs parlicularly 

 were the duties Of the judges most difficult, as in a class of 

 fifty-five dogs there would he many deserving ones. 1 ought 

 ,, ,t complain, thai the one selected by the judges from all of 

 these was not the most deserving, simply because not the one 

 that best pleased me. Only the owners of sporting dogs and 

 those who have seen them in the field know their real worth. 

 Adogmaj show well on the bench and be comparatively 

 worthless in the field, or a fine field dog be worthless for ex- 

 hibition or breeding purposes. 



Still the chances arc greatly in lavor ol the well-bred dog 

 proving the most useful one. the difference in qualities being 

 •is •n-c;n with dogs as ii is with horses or other live stock. The 

 ll; ;,,!..,• intelligence of high-bred animals renders possible the 

 development of qualities never attained By (hose of more com- 

 mon stock. There may be some striking individual excep- 

 tions, but they arc exceptionsonlytowhat is a well-established 



Among the many fine dogs exhibited at Gilmore's Garden 



were some thai might cause the beholder to wonder why they 

 were exhibited, unless if were for contrast. An apropos reply 



to Ihe query. " Do you call that a good dog?" asked in regard 

 to one of the sporting dogs, was that " Jl depends lor what 

 purpose you wisli him. 1 should think he'd be a. very good 

 watch rlc-B." 



None of the few retrievers that were exhibited would 

 compare very favorably with the fine specimens that, 

 were exhibited at the Centennial Bench Show at Phila- 

 delphia in September, 187(5, on which occasion there Was 

 a line display of this class of dogs, especially of the 

 Chesapeake Bay dogs and Irish wafer spaniels. There were 

 quite a large number of cocker and field spaniels exhibited at 

 the Hippodrome, but there was not one thoroughbred (Jltuuber 

 spaniel among them. Indeed this latter breed seems now to 

 be quite scarce; the only ones I have seen in America that 

 rou.e up to the standard were those owned by the late Benj. 



Smith, Esq., of Nova Scotia. This accomplished gentleman 

 and sportsman had a kennel of thoroughbred clumbers that 

 were very well broken, and the writer has hail the pleasure of 

 shooting over them, Can any reader of Forest and Stp.eam 

 tell me What has become of Ihcse dogs? 



[One was purchased by Mr. Walters, of this city.— Ed.] 

 Busy little fellows they wen-, and when in cover wilh I hem, 

 (he woods seemed to be full of them. Having line noses, not 

 a bird would be overrun. Al.lhe sound of the gun they would 

 Ionic to heel to awaii orders to retrieve, and if the shot, had 

 been tired by their muster they would not seek " dead bird'' hi 

 vain Much sport may be had shooting-snipe over clumbers 

 Where the birds are so plenty thai dogs arc useful only for flush- 

 ing ami retrieving. They are superior to the cockers in 

 Mrem'tli and endurance, and their straight hair is better adapt- 

 ed lo'wet dirty work. There was an excellent exhibit of that 

 recently imported breed, the dachshunds, but unless Ihe daclis 



rted here they will prove to be of little rise 



for shooting purpose, unless it be in hunting the festive wood- 



cuuek. Then- were several line couples ol beagles and har- 

 riers and these little fellows might afford sport in winter in 

 the Von hern States, where hares are abundant, and at a time 

 when "there is no other game in Season. There was a fine ex- 

 hibit of fox terriers, a : known 



Hi ' In " ' ■- - although fo, 



LETTER FROM CAPT. JACK TAYLOR. 



Bellekonte, Nottoway Co., Va., May 20, 1ST7. 

 Editor Forest and bTr.Eist and Rod and Gnu i 



Will you allow me Space In your journal to express ray thanks 

 through you lo the members of the Westminster Kennel Cub, anil my 

 steward, Mr. WngmulT, of Bubylon. L. I., In particular, lor Ihe kiail 

 and courtecma attention I received from one and all during the many 

 hours of arduous duty iu my oiticiut capacity lis one of the judges at 

 the recent grant] New York beach show. John. II. Tayloi:. 



THE SETTERS AND POINTERS OF THE 



SPRING FIELD TRIAL SEASON IN 



ENGLAND. 



[liV A CORRESPONDENT.] 



IT is difficult to obtain a season of any length in England 

 for the purpose of field trials, as the crops are nol forward 

 enough to afford sufficient cover until the second week in 

 April, and Ihe birds are lusting in the first week in May. 

 These three meetings could be held every- .spring, and just for 

 one year, 1874, such a series of meetings occupied ihe atten- 

 tion of English sportsmen, namely, the Devon and Cornwall, 

 the National trials al Shrewsbury and the Kennel Club trials. 



Qg purposes they must he classed with the dach- 



■ •!, dogs, once a fashionable breed, "there were but 

 five entries. 



The class of Newfoundlands was poorly represented. One 

 of them was entered as of the same stock as "the dog that 

 was presented to the Prince of Wales:" but if that refers to ihe 

 same dog that attracted so much attention whenever exercised 

 ashore hi Charge of a mariner at the time of the visit ofihe 

 Prince of Wales lo the United States in bsfif, the specimen ex- 

 hibited is not n credit to his noble ancestor. 



There were a number or collies, or shepherd dogs, exhibited, 

 and if the "Little Boy Blue' r had kept one of this us fa] bn id 

 of dogs the sheep would have been minded while he was '■un- 

 der the haystack fast sleep." Manv persons have had cause lo 

 regret owning ■•sheepdogs," but their dogs were of the tnUttOn- 

 making breed and not collies. There was a dog entered in Ihe 

 miscellaneous class a ■■ .. < i . - i n u ,en a St. Bernard and Rus- 

 sian setter." This provokes the question, what is a Russian 

 setter? There is a well-known class of setters, of headstrong 

 dispositions that will repeatedly rush in upon the game at the 

 sound of the gun, if not before; wide ranging rabbit. chasers 

 l hat are almost, unci wit 1v.JU1l1le.and these might be appropriately 



termed f$u»Mng setters; but there is no recognized breedof set- 

 ters peculiar to Russia. 

 In noticing n,e dogg entered among the champions, those 



classes being of especial interest. I would mention Snapshot, 

 the winner of first prize for champion pointei dogs. One 

 might well ask why he was given the preference over Flake or 

 pshol is a powerfully built dog, but throat v; and 

 was entered as lemon and white, but the color is that of a de- 

 cayed Icmoit, being decidedly brownish. In the same class 

 was a ,li ig of quite a mastiff like appearance. In the class for 

 imported English seller puppies, the prize was won by Safe, a 

 beautiful while and lemon dog. with dark eyes, pink and black 

 lips and nose, and hue form and coal. Rose, an own sister lo 

 Safe, won the prize in the same class for bitches, but sin- was 

 white and black ticked. They were entered as ten months 

 old, hut are very mature in form. 



In the native English setter class, l he curly-haired orange 

 and white dog Lark, won first prize. In this 'class there was 

 a large setter of a rare color, it being an iron gray. I allude 

 lo Blue Dash, of Ihe Kdina Kennel, entered as '•blue black 

 roan." There were several fine red dogs in this class, their 

 brilliant color being much more beautiful titan the very deep 

 Irish red. The bit eh Kate, winner of first prize for native Irish 

 hitch -■ ' ■! a similar shade of red. and a beautiful color il is. 

 One might think Ihe bitch Belle, in (he latter class, to be the 

 result of a cross witli an owl, from the length and profusion of 

 hair on her feet 



In the native or imported Gordon setter class, the black 

 while and lau dog Sancho was awarded first prize. This 

 award was protested On Ihe alleged ground of his not being a 

 Gordon setter. Sancho is a '. ■ .g. with a pinched or 



docked tail. In the class for native black, white and tan 

 bitches Nellie, of the Harrison Kennel, was awarded the prize. 

 Nellie is a black bitch, with rather curly hair and spaniel-like 

 form, the little tan color upon her being' very dull. She was 

 out of Rente's Nellie by Rodman's Dash, the she of so many 

 red and white .setters. This award was. however, won without 

 competition. Docked tails were considered no detriment, and 

 there were a great number of pinched tails— even among the 

 champions. 



There is room for improvement in classification. As the 

 avowed object of bench shows is not only the improvement of 

 breeds, but also the important one of instruction for flic public 

 ''■" respect t.i the animals exhibited, the respective classes for 

 well-known breeds should be exclusively for pure-bred ani- 

 mals. Until this isdone.the uninitinlcd beholder is likely to form 

 some erronei ms opinions. Some of the finest dogs are cross-bred, 

 and for them there should be suitable classes.'ljut they should 

 not be admitted as representatives of a class of which they 

 have but one half, or, perhaps a quarter blood. Tin- progeny 

 of a pure-bred Gordon setter dam and a pure-bred Irish sire 

 should not be exhibited in the same class with either parent, 

 however great the resemblance might be. I would here ask if 

 tan is a color recognized iu England as belonging, in any de- 

 gree, to the pure English setters:-' ]t is a" legitimate 'color 

 among the •■Blue Belt ons." and under the name of this modern 

 variety, are entered setters of various crosses that have a good 

 proportion of Gordon blood in their veins, whether the- blood 

 be "blue" or "red." In the class for champion English setter 

 bitches, the first, winner, Dart, is white with black ears and 

 black aud-tan ticks. In the imported English setter, the first 

 prize for dogs was --won by Paris, white "with black-and-tan 

 ticks, while Nina, first of ihe bitch.-, is white, black-and-tan 

 ticks, and the head marked with tan. The unprecedented suc- 

 cess of ihe N. Y. Bench Show proved the. increasing interest 

 iu sporting dogs, not only wilh sportsmen, but also the pub- 

 lic, generally. As a class, there are no flogs of greater intel- 

 ligence, or more amiable disposition than the setters and point- 

 ers, and therefore arc they desirable as pets. Much credit is 

 due the committee for the vigilance exercised in preventing 

 thefts of dogs, there liming been an organized gang of dog 

 thieves, who endeavored by various methods to carry off liv- 

 ing plunder, but were thwarted. Axiicrs Oaxiim. 



The first of these owed ils origin to a member of the kennel 

 club, and of course he was supported by his fellow members ; 

 but private family affaire obliging Air. Chappel Bodge the 

 member in question, to abandon I he honorable secretaryship of 

 the Devon and Cornwall trials, and no one coming forward to 

 take them up, Ihey fell though ere another season came round, 

 and for the last 'two years there lias only been the meeting at 

 Shrewsbury and the Kennel flub reunion at Ilorseleaft. There 

 will be a considerable influx next year, as the Devon trials are 

 lobe revived, and autumn trials will again become n 

 fixtures, to commence this year in connection with Ihe Shrews- 

 bury Society: and there is every likelihood that the Kennel 

 Club will hold a meeting next October in the neighbor!,, 

 Swansea. Field trials are therefore on the rise in England 

 and considering the demand there is for good dogsforfhe 

 moors there is every reason why they should increase in im- 

 portance, its it is now generally acknowledged that the only 

 good dugs to be found are those bred specially for field trinLs 

 The shows have done much to spoil pointers and setters iii 

 many particulars, as really good stud dogs have neve,- been 

 broken, but kept merely to look at, and it is well known thai 

 if dogs are not used to the work which is especially associated 

 with their kind and instinct they will lose the latter qualifica- 

 tion in a generation or two. Hence it is that we bear of go many 

 disappointments-as regards the Laverack setters for instance 

 The pure breed has .been in a few hands, an.l consequently the 

 price tor whelps has been very high. Like most high-bred an 

 imals, also, they are difficult to rear, and the possessor of One 

 that has come to maturity has so prized his acquisition that he 

 has not dared to let him go into a breaker's hands-, ■„• hardly 

 into afield, bit-fear of some accident, and the resnli has been 

 a show dog will, no more idea of hunting than a tame monkey 

 Bitches reared in the same sort of way are mated to him and 

 theu it is wondered at that tin- puppies cannot be broken 'to be 

 any us,- in the field. They are kept iu turn, however for the 

 shows, or exported to America as pure Laverack. Very dif 

 fereni was the old breeder, Mr. Laverack, to those wno have 



endeavored to copy him as the exponents of his breed. He 

 only kept a few, and these were thoroughly broken for his own 

 shooting, the old gentleman being only too imxiotts that -my 

 one who came to see his kennel should try his dogs and lie 

 was neve- tired of descanting on the peculiar field nieril 

 "Blue Dash," "Blue prince," "Pride of the Bonier," -J ■-.,, 

 or "Cora." and I know from personal observation that he did 

 not exaggerate their worth in the slightest degree It was 

 therefore, always safe tobreed from his and dogs, and it is vc n - 

 easy to perceive their success in comparison with H 

 called Laverack, Old Blue Dash gol no fewer than ten .55 

 trial winners, and Blue Prince is Ihe sire of the day as regards 

 wmmng stock. Pointers were somewhat, in advance of set 

 ters. thanks to Mr. Whitehouse and Mr. Samuel p r j ce Th ' 

 possessed the stain which obtained the greatest str-ns or the 

 show bench, and they never feared to let the best specimen 

 theh kennels produced go through the full ordeal of breaking 

 or fie d trials and for ordinary use to the gun. .Ye fijKl , ££ 

 fore, that Mr. S. Price's Bang has won ten prizes on the 

 bench without a single defeat, and likewise ten Meld trials ol , t 

 of fifteen stakes for which he has started, and Mr White 

 house's Hamlet won three field trials and twice as nrim- 

 champion prizes on Ihe bench. This is j ust as it shoul(I ' be 

 and there is nothing the least surprising to find the best poi,,,' 

 CM Of the day are descendants of Bang or Hamlet Setter 

 breeders have been coming round to the above idea also din- 

 ing the past three or four years, and the consequence is thai 

 the most marked improvement has been visible in U]r , ^ 

 ranks, more particularly in the Spring Field Trials of tLe prt , 

 al season. Such a lot as appeared at Shrewsbury, the oldest 

 sportsmen declared have never been seen together before a I 

 COM i one. and when pedigrees were examined il was seen thin 

 breeders bad evidently made a close study of field trial form 

 and show performances - ; ,s to get h,p,, v combinations Mr 



Dasiril'LrwE;:n r h I^Ut: ^m,,"^™ Hrf.T ".'. ', :a ," i «'»'' - 

 and, he credit of breeding, his |% is due to Jh^rn M? dwini 

 Armstrong. These brothers owned the firsi field trial ™Sr 

 rity, namely, Duke, a black and white dwhvffir^^'i; 

 ■,r,h.;un,I)u k ^oat-fSirViucimCirtaiUm'^i^ll 

 this dog to Mr. Barclay Field, and after befog -, r .| n , ",-\„ , 

 Shrewsbury, he was mated to Mr. StaUer's Phot, heBuS 

 being the extraordinary number of nineteen puppies ,en or 

 which were kept on the bitch, and they were s,,jd i„- At 2, 

 terfor 1,000 guineas. The annstrongs unknown , 

 one. however, kept a sister to Duke, a' bitch e-d!,,,i tr", ? K 

 they sen, her to Mr. Laveraek's old 111,,,/ Dash "h "'"h,^ 

 only one puppy from Ihe alter, namely ic,,,. n ,. .« 

 turn, was senn;, Blue Prince, and the induce w ^ MrV 

 Brewis' Hash II., and Daisy. Naturally after Um^^'' 

 brace, the Armstrongs sent Kate o [![„,. i\-\T,,.'- ° • * 



the result was Dash 111. the besi lo,*i„,r „, n - .,' "'I; 1 ,"' ' U1 ' 1 

 bury, but only half broken. This is me'iv'v , : ' ;./' ,„ f c '?'f 



ii-nig.vithVotMieloItaiiili ^A^iulmi ^ 

 reached, whilst John Armstrong wa.s°„noo „ , j ", ". it \°r " a . s 

 first trial, but still the answer was, '• N, & r "™ ,° '," s 

 it." In breeding between the Annstrongs D„k ''1 ^ 

 the l.avcracks, it was a case of combining snze and una H . I 

 Duke was a very big dog: so is his son, Mr. LlewelhWfW 

 certainly the large,! setter in England, and so D,s tr , 

 Dash III., being twice the size of iheir sire Bine P-L 

 easily accounted for. The Laveracks, on theeoiitrarv i 

 small, arc full of quality, arid there never was a hanni - 

 binal ion than thai which is seen in Dash II Next i h? 

 Armstrongs, 1 think the Bishops have he.- j" 



Tbej owned, some six years ago. a seller alsv, cubcV Moi'-'i' 

 but go. by Don out of Bess. | )v sir H Dn-deii'sl £?& 

 Bishops Nell, by- Sir Richard Garth's old champion' S °/ 

 Jlus dog Duke ihey crossed with a bitch called Doss a Gor 

 don l,y Lent, and the produce was Judith, a winner of .seveTal 



