Jajtcjlsi 20, 1881.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



491 



THE ENGLISH POINTER. 



sprinted from advance Bheeta ofVoroShavr'a "Book of the Dog," 

 fWUlehod to the Forcbt ajib Stbram by the authoi', through 

 Cawell. Petter, BiLlpin 4 Co., publisUera, Ko. S5»6 Broadway, 

 New YcTli.l 



rilHERE are very few rarietics of dog which owe more to 

 JL tbe inslitullOTi of Jof; shows than the modern pointerdoea. 

 Up to the commencement of canine exliibilions the majority of 

 the admirers of lliia treed appear to ba^'e deroted the greater 

 portion of their attention to bneding for sporting purposes, 

 and to a certain exieut seem to hare Ignored appearance. 

 Now things an- So far cluiDfrcrl, by a vrider Icnowlcdgc of the 

 pointer haVing been i I '" ' i si breed- 

 ers seem to regard >; fprmerly. 

 It Kinmt not," howf 'vho bn d 

 pointers wPT-w i"i'"i'' ],.,.:.C..,.,. . . prodncing 

 a hfln.ifonir ,' .y any uieaiir, in.litferent 

 tothesyoii,. ' ■ ui.iny cenlloincn have 

 need gi-iiitt (_•>:.■. I ■ ny ■' ; I. -1,- di.igs by every mejiDS 

 in tlicir power. The iuaugmatioii of dog shosvs, iieverthe- 

 lesB, has done a great deal in the way of obtaiuini; unifomiily 

 of appearsnec iirthp pointer, though it mus^ freely he con- 

 fessed t.lial : ' i I "- is supported, and we may add 



that it i^ ill A - > I <y tlie VMrioua judge.9. 



With Til' 1 iiMiiie of tliis breed, it may, we 



think, befiiulj ;..„.„ ._,; ^ntate 1 that it is the ofrsprin2;of ■ proved i n practice. 

 the old Spaiilsii pointer referred 

 to in the preceding chapter, acid 

 the lighter variety of fo.xhonnd, 

 to which allusion hasalre.<»dy been 

 made in former pages. The in 

 trortnction of the latter blood was 

 lloqiiesMi.inably tho result of a 

 desire on tin- pHn of Uiy poiiile 's 

 early bi-or-ders lo inr-reasie the 

 pu' e and si aninn of tbe Spanish 

 pointer, for, as before observed, 

 his/orte was nofe, not pace. The 

 hounds selected for the pui-pose 

 of crossing with this dog were, 

 wc consider most probable, 

 chosen as iighl-formed as poss-i- 

 ble, and proiiably aoiiiR atleiition 

 wss paid to rtitir cilov a? V'lT-ed- 

 crs, no doiibl, prori-rrfd t.,i iii/t 

 their puppies v.-t-ll mmktd wiili 

 white, 88 such are more fiiBily 

 seen at work than liver or rlinl: 

 colored dogs. The precise jjci ioJ 

 at wli'ch ilii: jioioter was iniro- 

 duced ini'j this (iountiy is, of 

 course, ijii.c-rr ufiinabie, fis he is, 

 as he at priiEC'ut exists, a manu- 

 factured breed, and cont-pqupiitly 

 mfl.tle his appearance grnduully. 

 That the iiitroducliori Las lu-cn, 

 comparalivi-ly speni 

 date, is, liowever, :: 

 pablefarl, as nyi mc 

 of thepriioteriii the 

 on canitie subjects 

 Caius, for iustance, llmugh fully 

 recognizing the spaniel and the 

 setter, makes no allusion to the 

 pointer, and this he moat certainly 

 would have done if the breed 

 were in e.xisience here in his 

 time. He particularly alludes to 

 the Spanish origin d the .=4)aiiiel ; 

 and, as the earlier poiutera were 

 unquestionably imported from 

 that eounlry, he would have re.- 

 marked upon that fact at the 

 Ba.nie time beyond a doubt. 



Gervase ilarkham, too, givca 

 prominence lo the setting dog, 

 but ignores the pointer, and in 

 fact it is only in the writings pub 

 lished toward the commencement 

 of the present century that we 

 find allusion to the latter. This 

 ia no dou!)t due to the fact that 

 shoDting wiis only becoming a 

 popular recreation about this 

 period, and this if clearly proved 

 in the preceding chapter. Up to 

 this time the setter was the 

 sportsDian's dog, as his peculiar 

 mode iif w.irkin.'^ was found lo 

 be of mnj-e service when birds 

 had to be driven into nets that 

 were spread out tor their re- 

 ception. The general introduc- 

 tion, therefore, of firearms into field sports may, we think, 

 be ooiTf'^dy l;ii-:!n :is Mif fiual cause of the pointer, and, no 

 doubt, i,.ii lii.- tiisi ii]jpHaraijr'p the setter fell into temporary 

 disuse, a.s It piobaljly n.-i-"! -i.-.,. ),: nnr fathers for some con- 

 siderable pciiod tiio :' lOilitiea could be so easily 



moulded to suit Up .1 iomih introduced by the use 



of flretirms as futuif vT-iiii,: h-av 'i\-i\t\f(i. 



However, about the period referred to ample uifntion i.s 

 made of the improved pointer; and SydHDhaui Edwards, 

 -writing in 1880, speaks of him in the fyillowiii'j; words: — 



"The sporUsmaii has improved the lirccd by aclncting the 

 lightfat and Kaypsi iiidiyiiluals. and by judicioas crosses with 

 the foxlioni.d 10 proiairecuurat'c and' liyyiness. From the 

 great attention thus pabl has re=ulttd Ihe prescnl clej;ant dog, 

 of valuable and ."xfusive piopi-rtirs, dirTciinp; Timch from the 

 original parcn I. Imt wiili s.anc diudiniition of Iji.j instinciivc 

 powers. Ife may thus be described— light, .^(rong. well 

 formed, and very active ; about twenty-two inches high ; 

 head, small and straight : lips and ears, small, short and tliin ; 

 coat, short and smooth, commonly spotted or flecked upon a 

 whitr -r-"-^ ..,..- 



«XC! 



littlr 



come up; to run in upon the game, particubirly downwind, would seem that the large proportion of !— nrJ '^-.^d 



But if these fiults can he overcome in Irainiii^, if he can be which then existed in the pointer .. ' ry 



made staunch in standi^•,^ rirawina and backing, and to stop licadatronir in Ihe field, and completii ii r 



at the voice or token of I he hand, he is highly esteemed , and of the old Spanisli pointer, whose <■ n i i ;. ,i , ,y;ig 



those who .arrive at such perfection in ihia ooimtry bring one cause of his being so popidar with sportsmen. According 



amazing prices. . . . to the " Sportsman's Cabinet," it will be seen in the quotation 



" Tliere ia a circumstance worthy of notice in pointers, given below, that the pointer was supposed to have been im- 



that some of them have a deep fissure in the centre of the ported from Spain about the year 160't, but, at the samo time, 



nose, which completely divides the nostriU. Such are termed I it will be observed that no idea is given as regards the po.ssl- 



douhUi.V'>mtvl, and supposed to possess the power of scenting 

 better than others. . . . 



" The most judicious cross appears to have been witli the 

 foxhound, and by this has been acquired speed and courage, 

 power and perseverance, and its disads'antase, difficulty^ of 

 training them to be staunch. I believe the celebrated Colonel 

 Thornton first made this cross, and, from his producing ex- 

 cellent dogs, has been very generally followed." 



There frequently occur now in inodern litter.g of pointers, 

 puppies malformed by a "double nose," as described by Sy- 

 denham Edwards. We u.se the expression malformed ad- 

 visedly, as, in our opinion, such a development is not only 

 unsighly, but positively injurious to the animal's power of 

 scent. In certain quar"ter.s wc are aware of (tic existence of 

 a lingering superstition to the effeci, thai a "doutile-iiosed " 

 pointer has superior scenting powers, hut tor our own part 

 we cannot agree with the theory, and ha ye never seen if 



otb.; 



oat |.'al- -| 



airlier works 

 Dr. John 



DOGS iLSB GA.ilE, BY DBSPORTES CiBOrX 1700), SHOWING THB BARLT FOXHOPND AST) POINTBE CR088 t» FBANOB. 



ble period when the Foxbouud croiis was first instituted It 

 is, however, we should imagine, most probable that this was 

 not resorteri to \mtil the use of firearms in the field l.eeame a 

 custom, as when nets only were employed in the pnr.snit of 

 winged game it is probable that a slow hunting, kcen-.srenied 

 dog was inore valuable to the sportsman than a fast and liigh- 

 conraged one, who would naturally he more liable to flush 

 the birds. 



The ideas on the elementary education of the Pointer 

 which were held by sportsmen in the early years of this 

 century are thus expressed in the " Sportsman's Cabi- 

 net :"^ 



"The pointer, notwithstanding the beautiful uniformity of 

 his frame, the docility of his disposition, and his almost "un- 

 limited utility, has been less noticed by naturalists than any 

 r individuals of the species; hence it may be fairly iii- 

 ■led this particular breed was formerly unknown in Britain, 

 d that the stock was originally of foreign extraction. A 

 combination of circumst>inces 

 tends to justify the predoniinant 

 opinion that they were first in- 

 troduced into this ciiuiitiT from 

 Spain (very little more tli.an two 

 centuries since), and that the 

 heavy, awkward, slow and eom- 

 niferous appearance of the Span- 

 ish Pointer is nearly^ lost in what 

 may be candidly ccaisidered the 

 judicious crosses and improved 

 breed of our own. 



"It is no more than thirty or 

 forty years since the breed of 

 pointers was nearly* white, or 

 I, lost variegated with liver-col- 

 ored spots ; except the celebrated 

 stock of the then celebrated Duke, 

 of Kingston, whose breed of 

 blacks were considered superior 

 to all in the kingdom, and sold. 

 for immense 8ums7iftcrhiB death. 

 But so great has been the con- 

 stantly increasing attachment to 

 the sports of the field, particu- 

 larly of the gun, that they have 

 been since bred of every descrip- 

 tion, from a pure white and flea- 

 bitten blue or gray, to a complete 

 Hver c<3lor or perfect black. After 

 every experiment that can have 

 been possibly made by the best 

 judges and moat energetic ama- 

 teurs in respect to size, it seems 

 at length a decided opinion with 

 the majority, that when bred for 

 every species of game and every 

 diversity of country, both ex- 

 tremes are better avoided, and 

 the line of mediocrity more ad- 

 vantageously adhered* to; over- 

 grown, fat and heavy dogs very 

 .soon get weary in the hot and 

 early part of the season; the 

 smaller sort are likewise attend- 

 ed with inconvenience in hunt- 

 ing high turnips, heath, ling and 

 broom fields." . . . 



"The art of breaking Pointers 

 was also consideral a most diffl. 

 cult and mystej-ious concern, 

 many of those denominated dog- 

 breakers having neariy derived 

 their sole subsistence from such 

 employment : that charm, how- 

 ever, has been long since broken 

 and the simplicity of the proce.'ss 

 IS now so generally kno^vn among 

 the practitioners that a tolerably 

 well-bred Pomicr pnpp,, mai. 

 have the groimdwork of all his 

 future perfections theorerically 

 implanted in the parlnr or kitchen 

 he 



wholly white; tail, tWn and wiry, 

 the setter or foxhound, then a 



ty and courage, travels in a grand 

 manne!, niiaitiis his nioiijui ^vith great rapidity, and scents 

 with aeculene.ss. gallops wilh Ins lianueties rather under him, 

 his head and tail up ; of strength to endure any fatigue, and 

 an invincible spirit. But with these qualifications he has con- 

 comitant disadvantages; high spirit and eagerness for the 

 spoit render him inliactable and extremely ditlicull of educa- 

 tion; his impatience in company subjects him to a desire to be 

 foremost la the poiats, and not glya time for the sporteman to 



Apropos of the " amazing prices " which Sydenham 

 Edwards dilates upon, reference may be made to the preced- 

 ing chapter on setters, from which it will be seen that at the 

 sale of Daniel Lambert's dogs the pointers fetched lower 

 prices than the setters. On the other hand, in 1848, thirteen 

 pointers were sold by auction, and though only two of them 

 had been shot over, the large total of 3.56 guineas was se- 

 cured. The following is the catalogue : — 



1. Nelson, by Bounce out of Bloss 15 guineas. 



2. Nell, by Bounce out of Bloas „ 16 " 



3. Drab, by Bounce out of Dido 13 " 



4. Buzz, by Bounce out of Mab 6 " 



5. Rake, by Rake out of Die 16 " 



6. Ben, by Don out of bitch by Rake 2t " 



7. Belle, by Don out of bitch by Rake 16 " 



8. Czar, by Don out of Sir R.Wilmott's bitch. 17 " 



9. Crack, by Don out of Sir R.Wilmott's bitch. 17 " 



10. Swap, bv Duke out of Bloom 25 " 



n. Snake, by Duke out of Bloom - 24 " 



12. Rock, by Rap out of bitch by Lord Mex- 

 borough's Romp 46 " 



13. Bang, by Bounce out of Bess 46 " 



256 guineas. 



Lots 1 8 and 1 H were shot over in England and Scotland ; 

 the others were well broke. 



It may be remarked that Bloom, the dam of Swap and 

 Bnake, had previously been sold for 80 guineas. 



Subsequently to the appearance of Sydenham Edward's 

 work, all the writers on canine subjects make special refer- 

 ence to the pointer, and nearly all of them give special direc- 

 tions for his training. From the remark* wht<di Appear, it 



of the dwell 

 once makes h 

 eeld. The ir 

 this breed is 

 10 more than tt 

 upted 



1 the 



:eof 

 to 



I-. b'Or n.niithS 



'ii"ns. puppies 



eiii-ns, pigeons, 



.LTlit, before Ihe 

 liuecl maturity 



display itself in subjects i 



old; where, in still and 



maybe observed most earnestly stand 



and even sparrows upon the grouiirk h\ 



olfactory powers can be suppoeed to h ive'i 



to prompt a point by scent. 



"When a whelp of this deflcription has reached his sixth 

 or seventh month, the process may be proceeded upon in the 

 following way; and either a single dog, a bnace, or more 

 may be man.'sged with equal ease in aiiv convenient spot' 

 room or yard, at the same lime, with no other assistance 

 whatever than the .all ern.s I e expression of ^ To ho!' 'Have 

 a carel' and -Take heedl' cliaviug the small field whip in 

 hand to impress attention and enforce obedience) althoWh 

 the most attractive meat is tcssed before them in everv di- 

 rection. The commencemeiit of the cerenumy consfys in 

 throwing a piece of bread at s..me small dislance before the 

 dog, who, upon making his effort to oblaiu it, must be in- 

 stantly cheeked by a quick exclamation of ' Ifave a Care!' 

 and the assistant Icrms altenialejy repeated, to keep him in 

 B patient point of ppr.severance, till; having given ample 

 ■e to the injunction, and stood time auf- 

 10 his comprehension of the restraint he 

 lonunter, a vihrative, low-toued whistle, 

 mild ejaculation of • Eie on 1' will prove 

 ding, which the whole will quickly learn 

 1 he fonnd by practice that one or more 

 nicnl of seizing either the bread or the 

 ita/iily stopped and made to retiew their point 

 of either of tbe verbal cautious previously 



proof of his ol.iedie 



flcient to demonstr, 



must occn.sionally e 



accompanied with e 



the signal for proce. 



to obey ; and it wi 



may, at the very nv 



meat, be as ini 



by a TCpetitic 



observed. Some there are who consider it a qualiflcalion''in 



a Potater to bring the game to foot when killed, and thotc 



