i 4 4 DOMESTICATED DOGS. 



the moors of Scotland, Wales, the North of England, and Ireland. 

 Almost every grouse-shooter had his own particular breed or 

 strain, but the five I have alluded to in process of time absorbed 

 all the rest. Gradually the setter was spread over England, but 

 in most cases preference was given to dogs resembling those 

 which are now far excellence, called English, that is to say, setters 

 with no marked difference from the type of their kind, either in 

 colour or shape. About fifty years ago the late Mr. Laverack of 

 Manchester began to be noted for his breed, which was derived 

 from a single pair, and he alleged that ever since that time he 

 has bred " in and in " to them without outcross of any kind. 

 These tfrowere named "Ponto" and " Old Moll," bred by the Rev. 

 A. Harrison, near Carlisle, and he had kept the breed pure for 

 thirty-four years, so that, if Mr. Laverack's account is true, the 

 Laverack setter has been bred " in and in " for nearly a hundred 

 years. Eearing a bad result, he said that he had at various times 

 crossed his bitches with external blood, but always finding a fall- 

 ing off in the produce, had gone back to his old stock. Probably, 

 however, he occasionally made a slip in his memory, and certainly 

 there was a curious admixture of colour in his kennel, if we are 

 to believe his account. In other cases of inbreeding, even of 

 much less stringency and duration than his, I have always 

 remarked that the colour and markings were almost repeated 

 throughout the strain, but Mr. Laverack's dogs were of all colours 

 with a white ground, some being white and red, some white and 

 blue, some white and black, and others again white, black, and 

 tan. Latterly the blue Belton (a thickly ticked white and black) 

 was the prevailing colour, but even with these a whole litter never 

 appeared alike. His celebrated "Countess" was of this colour, 

 but her brother and sister were black and white in large patches. 

 It is not, however, denied that his strain were very much inbred, 



