492 



J^^OKEST AND STREAM. 



[J-ASTTABT 30, 1881. 



who wish it, will find it easy of attainment, by teaching 

 them to fetch and carry before they are at all Boensdinwd lo 

 the field; it is a mode of being employed Itiey are niiicli de- 

 lighted with, and never foriier, but is attended by the ehuuce 

 of one Inconvenience annexed to the experiment ; if they Ije- 

 come hard-mouthed, and take to breakmg boiU tlesh and 

 feather, it ia a fault, or ratber crime, wliich f;euerBllv be- 

 comes incorrigible, and is hardly ever oblileiated wiMioiit in- 

 cussaul trouble and much distressing severity. Tliirf ciicuru- 

 stauce, so naturally likely to occur, it ig niorc: nrcccssmv to 

 bring to memory, because punishment is at all iXaip^ unpleas- 

 ant to the humane and Uberal-mmded sportaiiiiui, who will 

 coincide with the writer in opinion, that prudent prevention 

 ia preferable to the uncertainty of cure ; and tliat a flight 

 and saui'tary corrcclion to-day, may someliones render niiri(;c- 

 easary the doubly and trebly enhanced deserts of to-nioi row." 



Tite aoove remarks are essentially practical, and show iliat 

 considerable at'ontion had been paid to the habits and break- 

 ingot the pointer. Ufa very different nature is Uie luiee- 

 dote told of the worthy piii.si, in the following extriict tiom 

 the " Sportsman's Kepositorj "—In fact, the stoiy hear.s wiii] 

 it the impres.-iiou that it was merely a playful Inveuiija of 

 the author of the work, to excite the feelings of those re-prin- 

 slble for the story of the staunchness of Jimo liiid Pluin, 

 when Mr. Gilpin was executing their likenessess; we there- 

 fore Hive tlic e.xtiact for what it is worth, merely observing 

 that Ibe story told of the price given for the pointer Dash, 

 and the cuuditioas under which he was disposed of are, we 

 believe, pt,'rl(Clly correctly relorred to, us they are. accepted 

 as i'aclH by other writers of that period, who iheraaelves ex- 

 piesH no iloiibi. <if tlieir vcrficity. The 8tauuehui.s4 of Pluto 

 and Juno, is of course, /.oa-xi/t:; bnt wo should venture to 

 suggeat that the balance of prvliabiUly liaa in favor of it being 

 Blightly exaggerated. However, it is valuable as showing 

 that, in the first place, breeders began to recogni/.e the fact 

 that too much toxhcund was undesirable in their pointers, us 

 it rendered them headstrong; and, in the second piacr, Uiat 

 the dogs had become more staunch, or auy foundation for the 

 Btory could not have existed. 



"For something very extraordinary in the sporting way we 

 must have lecourse to the practice of Colonel Thornton, 

 whose high and laudable ambition it has ever been, both to 

 deviate fumi the coiumon road and to excel ; and he has ua- 

 Coiibiedly so far succeeded as to raise a name which will go 

 down wlih «eto< to sporting posterity. We suppose that 

 the Colonel himself meditated and carried inro effect the 

 crosses neceatary to produce his famous pointer. Dash, which 

 is, as we have tiefore observed, in all probability three-parts 

 foxhound. D.ish, in his day, was held to be the eclipse of 

 pi^iniers, a churacler Brmclioued by his high ranging over the 

 uiuors, the vani e-xpediliun with which ha cleared hia.ground, 

 and the intuitive, heaven-born method, said to be almost in- 

 credible, iu which he hunted inclosures for birds, which was 

 by at once scenting and advancing upon them, without the 

 previous labor imposed upon other pointers, of q^uarteriug 

 his ground ; add to this, he was a most staunch and steady 

 backer or seconder of other dogs. Dash was sold Ity Colonel 

 Thornton to the iate Bir Kiohard Symons for one hundred 

 and sixty pounds' worth of champagne and burgundy, bought 

 at the French ambassador's sale, a hogshead of claret, an ele- 

 gant gun, and a pointer ; with the annexed stipulation that, if 

 any accident should befall the dog, which might render him 

 unfit for hunting, he was to be returned to the Colonel at the 

 price of fifty guineas. This latter agreement ao:ually took 

 place : Dash had the misfortune to break his leg, and was re- 

 turned to Colonel Thornton, who considered him in that state 

 a great acquisition as a stallion. 



"K.talt(idaH was the reputation of I>aah, it seems nearly 

 impossible that he could have exceeded in point, of steadi- 

 ness I be merit of a brace of other pointer^, the property also 

 of Col inel Thernton, Pluto and Juno. Pluto has also been 

 already cited as a famous deer hunter. It is recorded that 

 Ibis dog and bitch, ijeiug taken at a point, kept their point 

 upward of one hour and a quarter; namely, until the late 

 Celebrated Mr. Gilpin could take the sketch from which they 

 were painted for thtir proprietor, an elegant engraving of 

 which wu And in Mr. l.')anitrs ' Rural Sports.' 



" Many merry jokes have been passed in our hearing, by 

 sportsmen, on the above account, with the view of promoting 

 the cause of ridicule, comparing it with another still more 

 marvellous and well known, given on the authority of a grave 

 and most respectable member of the priesthood. For our 

 parts we really believe both the possibility and probability of 

 the slaunchness of Pluto and Juno as just related; and al- 

 though Gilpin cannot be referred to as have quitted — wo hope 

 for abetter— this painting and plastering world, there are yet 

 aurvivors to whose authority an appeal may be made. It re- 

 mains to back the above story with the weil-kmvwn one rbut 

 the repetition on this occasion will be i)ardoned) of the Kev. 

 TheophiluB Verily. On a certain Christmas Day this geuile- 

 man was riding his nag from his parish church, which was at 

 considerable distance from his dwelling-house, and his way 

 lay over the most private spot of a secluded and neglected 

 heath. In Ihe deepest recess of this wild he espied a iioiuter 

 by himself, standing at a covey of birds. He looked, ad- 

 mired, pondered on the wonderful and inscrutable instinct cl 

 the brute creation, blessed himself and passed on. The cares 

 and studies necessarily attendant upon his calling, however, 

 soon expelled every vestige of this occurrence from his mind, 

 until he was awakened to fresh admiration and benedicti m 

 by a renewed and stupendous view of the same objects. Ex- 

 acily on the above day twelve months,pa3sing the same way, his 

 second astonishment was far greater than the firtt ; for he saw, 

 upon the self-same spot, the dog pointina: at the birds iu 

 precisely the same altitude be had left both ijarlieH twelve 

 months before; with this difference, however, tlmt tiiey were 

 then living and breathing, one party treacherously clrcuoi- 

 venting, the other apprehending ; whereas now they were in a 

 State of skeleton, fit for a lecture in anatomy, and doubtless, 

 as the reverend gentleman supposes, the partridges were held 

 to thoir destiny by the well-proved and well-known power of 

 fascination emitted from the eyes of the dog. Now, we par- 

 ticularly request that no light-minded person mill attempt to 

 make a joke of thif, well convinced, as every rational man 

 ought to be, that there are wonders of which, never having 

 bad the experience, he cannot have any adequate concep- 

 tion." 



This extract is valuable as corroborative testimony th-it the 

 introtiuction of the foxhound cross was first due to the eottr- 

 prise and judgment of Colonel Thornton; as lovers of the 

 modern pointer will no doubt be glad to know to whom 

 they are indebted for the improvement in their favorite breed, 

 their later exerlions having unquestionably been rendered 

 mt re easy by ihe good he orginally wrought upon this variety 

 of dog. But, lookiDg back to the year fsl 1— that is, eleven 

 years after the publication of the account of the prii.ner by 

 Bydtubam Edwards in " Cynographia Britannica," we find 

 th« toUovriog deiKirlptioB of the pointer eiven in the " Slioot* 



er's Guide," by B. Thomas or rather, to give the author's 

 correct name, by Thomas B, Johnson. 



" The pointer g-nerally to be recommended is of the mid- 

 dle size, well made, active, light and strong. It will easily 

 bo pe^C^ived that a dog of this description will bear a vast 

 deal of hunting ; whereas a small "one, however good 

 he may be, is by uo means calculated for a piece of 

 of strong turnips or potatoes, strong and stiff stubbles, or 

 mountains where the heath is strong and long. On the con- 

 t'ary, it is generally supposed that a large dog is much sooner 

 tired by his own weight than one of the middle size, conse- 

 quently the latter are in t;cn(ral to be preferred, and indeed I 

 would by all means recommend thorn. But, at Ihe same time, 

 1 woulil not refuse a lajge dog for uo other na'on than hi.o 

 size, as, however large a dog may be, it often happens that he 

 has streuf;th according to bis bulk. . . . 



' With respect 1o color, much may ptrhapa depend upon 

 fancy — and no doubt there are very good dogs of all colors. 

 Hfiwever, those I would reconitnond are the liver or brown- 

 and-wUite. A white dog is to be preferred on account of his 

 go id temper, and being naturally less subject to disease than 

 other?, whieh arises from the predominancy of phlegm in his 

 coQSiitat.iou. He has an excellent nose, is a curious hunter, 

 i.s full of stratiigeins and cunning, and may be seen at a great 

 ('is''uee. PoioLera of a brown or liver color are generally 

 iiood ones, but they are certainly difflcult to be seen at a great 

 fii-;i.aDee, particularly on a mountain, which gives the sports- 

 man srnueiimes a vast deal of trouble. At the same time, a 

 brown dog will brin!,' you nearer the game, and is particu- 

 lariy useful when it will not lie well. Birds will suffer a 

 brown dog to appr osich Ihem much nearer than a while one, 

 which arises sokly from his color approximating more nearly 

 that of stubbles, etc., among which he hunts, and conse- 

 quently renders him a less distinguished object. 



"A dog of the lemon or red color is generally of a giddy 

 and impatient nature, as choler is found lo be the most pre- 

 dominant humor in him. In fact, in general, white and 

 brown, or these colors mixed, are fo be preferred. If a dog 

 has much white upon him it is an indication of good temper." 



The opinions of this writer certainly seem to be largely 

 upon ccnjecttire, for, as far as our experience goes, we >iave 

 no reason Vo agree with him that white, or nearly white dogs, 

 are by any mean^ better in constitution or temper than 

 pointers of any other shade. There is Ibis much, however, 

 to be said with reference to Thomas' theory, and in defence of 

 any ideas he has formed, that it must be b'lrne in mind that 

 there is every reason to believe that foxhound blood was very 

 largely contained in the veins of pointers about that period', 

 and consequently the lemon or red colored dogs, lo which he 

 alludes, may possibly have been more nearly allied to the 

 hound, therefore more headstrong than Ihe livers, which par- 

 took more of the nature of the steady-going Spaniard. His 

 ideas on the subject of color are certainly sound, as far as 

 they refer to the working of dogs in the held, for it is pal- 

 pable that a white dog can be;seen farjher off than a liver- 

 colored one ; and also that the latter is less likely to disturb 

 birds than a light-cilored one. His reasonings upon the 

 amount of phlegm which he asserts lo exist in the white dogs 

 are merely conjectures on his part, and given as they are, 

 unsupported by any practical reasons for the assertion, may 

 safely be set aside when the question of colors is to be dis- 

 cussed. No reference to such advantages possessed by one 

 color over another is made in " Kunnpredia," an excellent 

 work on breaking the pointer and the spaniel, which was 

 written by Willi.am Dobson, Ksq , of Eden Hall, Cumber- 

 land, in 1814, and this, we are of opinion, would surely have 

 been done if it were by i:.uy means a generally popular idea 

 at that period that a white dog was constitutionally superior 

 to a dark-colored one. 



The foxhound cross has been resorted to by Irish sportsmen 

 of the day for the purpi se of incressing stamina and giving 

 a wet-resisting coat suitable fo the moist climate of Ireland, 

 atid these results were well exemplified in specimci^s we saw 

 exhibited at a Dublin show, bred and shown by a thorough 

 sporismaa — an apprccialor of every branch, but whose 

 specialilies are huntins and shooting. 



[to Bit OONllNCED.j 



THE PITTSBURG BENCH SHOW. 



FKOM OtJK OWN BBPSBSB-NTATrVE. 



THE officers of the society are fo bo complimented for 

 the commendable spirit they have shown in undertak- 

 ing to give a really first-clasB exhibition, and they are to bo 

 congratulated that the show is in every way a success. It is 

 by far, as regards the qualify of the entries, the best that has 

 been ever given in this city, and it compares in this respect 

 with the best shows in the country. 



At first it was esiiumtcd that the entries would not exceed 

 oiio hundred and fifty in number, but the official catalogue 

 informs us, that, thanks to Mr. Lincoln, two hundred and 

 eighty two were booked. 



The city was alive at an early hour this morning with the 

 balking of dogs, the (rowing of co ks, the quacking of 

 ducks, the coMng of pigeons and the gabbling of geese. At 

 eight precisely the doors of the old City Hall were swung 

 open to the public, and the unearthly racket oveihead 

 announced that the show was being held on the second Moor 

 of the building. 



In a large well ventilated hall, fairly adapted for the pur- 

 pose, the dogs are benched. Three long double rows of pens, 

 extend the whole length of the room, and in these the sport- 

 ing and larger non-sporling dogs are stalled, while the .sniidl 

 non-sponing dogs are boxed in front of a stage Ihaf stretches 

 across the norih end of the hall. On each side of the dogs 

 the poultry exhibits are caged, but although lioth sides of the 

 hall have a number of large windows, the light early iu the 

 afternoon was insufficient whereby to see the animals, and the 

 gas bad to he lighted. The benching in all respects is similar 

 to that adopted at the New York .shows, and many of the 

 pens are tastefully decorated, prominently those of the 

 " Laveraek Kennel," of Messrs. Siiellenburg and McConnel, 

 of New Brighton, Pa., and ".-uierior Kennel," <jt Messrs. 

 Heoricks and Staylou, of -Adlet'heuy City, Pa. These have 

 large compartments, 80 that several doas can be taken in at 

 the same glance, i he sanitary ariangements were well cared 

 for and there was an absence of all doggy smell. 



The majority of the dogs were in admirable condition, and 

 as the judge was instructed iu the bench-show rules and regu- 

 lations to make allowance for dogs that had been worked this 

 season, a proportionate number of Field Trial dogs put iu an 

 appearance. 



Turning to the oataloguo w« find that the dasslfloation 1« 



somewhat faulty, the red Irish and red and white setters are 

 pooled under the head of ''Irish Setters;" thi-s should not 

 be, there should be two distinct classes. In Chss 31 ihiee 

 field spaniels got mixed up with the Irish water spuuiels and 

 were rulid out. Class 49 turned out to have uo legitimHio 

 entries, as its three entries belonged to the rough-coated cullie 

 class, no smooth coated dogs being present, the entries were 

 therefore judged with class 48, rough-coated collies. Classes 

 3.5, 36 and 37, beagles, contained both the bench or bow- 

 legged and the straight legged dogs, and there was a large 

 number of the former type of dogs preseni, which i< prceeut 

 a large class of the old stock of Maryland dogs, which has 

 been kept pure with gre>it care for many years; and as the two 

 types are so difibrent and wide apart Dr. Twaddell, b icked 

 by Dr. Maddux, of Baltimore, and Genl. IJocd, of Mary- 

 land, petitioned the executive committee to allow two typical 

 classes to be established— name y ; one headed under the 

 name Maryland, the bench-legged beagle, and one for the 

 sfraight legged beagle. The committee's cmsent was at once 

 obtaiueil, and the Pittshurg show of 1881 will huve the 

 honor of assisting in instituting a precedent that we trust to 

 see observed at all future shows. This, if done, will here- 

 after bring a large number of entries in both classes. It ia 

 full lime that harriers should no: be classtd with beagles, as 

 they were at last years' New York show, and now that our 

 game birds are rapidly disappearing in the East, there will be 

 sportsmen who will turn lo other field sportd lor their amuse- 

 ment. One of the mo.st popular of these will be hare shoot- 

 ing, and with well-bred beagles this sport cm be enjoyed 

 to ihc u most. To ol.iiaiu well bred dogs, distinct classes for 

 them must be opened at <iur shows, and it is the suBgostion of 

 Dr. Twaddell that it might be also well to open classes for 

 dogs under and over twelve inches height of shoulder. Of 

 this, however, more iu the future; we shall at once publish 

 pictures of dogs of each type, and as this distinction had 

 to be made sooner or later, we consider that there is no 

 better time than now for the discussion of the important 

 subject. 



\Ve have already stated that the premium list was a good 

 one, but we must not forget lo mention that the donations 

 from outside contributors were liberal. To dispose of two of 

 these prizes two special prize lists were opened that certainly 

 could have been arranged to better advantage. We refer to 

 specials A, " for the best setter dog or bitch of any strain," 

 and B, " for second best dog or bitch of any strain." The 

 special A, as it will be seen in the subjoined entry list, closed 

 with five entries, namely, with three English setters and two 

 red Irish. To ask any judge to select the best, where the 

 standards of the two types are so entirely different, is really 

 asking too much of any man. Special prize list U would in- 

 fer that none but second-rate dogs would be entered and the 

 lucky one therefore would go before the world as a winner iu 

 a seiMnd class. This, however, is not the case, as all the en- 

 tries are of flrat-class dogs. 



The judging began al 2 F. ii., both spordng and non-sport- 

 ing dogs being judged simultaneously. The former wert tak- 

 en lo a large room on the third dtior at the south end of the 

 building and the latter were reviewed on the stage. The at- 

 tendance was very large and much interest was taken up to 

 the end of the judging, at 6 o'clock. The show remained 

 open until 11 p. m. 



Jandaky 18. 



The judging was continued at half-past nine lids morning 

 and at the close of the day had been completed. The judging 

 was ended at 6 p. st. , and both Major J. M. Taylor, Lexing- 

 ton, Ky., the ynlne. of sporting classes, and Dr. L. Henry 

 Twaddell, of Phil.'ulelphia, deserve great credit for their care 

 and excellent decisions. Major Taylor gave every dog recog- 

 nition, and there was not one dog brought before uim ihut 

 was not handled by him and carefully looked over. Among 

 the exhililtors Mr. A. H. Moore, of Philadelphiu, curried (dT 

 the greatest number of prizes. He had twenty-five entries, ef 

 which fifteen were sporting and ten non-sporting dogs. Tins 

 tentleman won every special prize but one— six in all- Ilia 

 exhibit was one of the finest ever seen in this country, and 

 his kennelman, Benjamin Lewis, who used lo be in Llewel- 

 lin's kennels in England, certainly deserves credit tor the ex- 

 cellent bench show condition he had prepared the dogs. The 

 Baltimore Kennel also sent eight dogs, under charijo of their 

 efficient kennelman, A. J. Kelly. There slock was in fine or- 

 der. 



As the following list will show, there were very lew ah- 

 senlecs: The followinir does were not. pre.«ent : Nos. 8, 1(5, 

 26, 414. 50. 68, 94i, 117, 131, 134, 135, 175, 178, 187, 304, 

 218. 319, 2.54^. 



'We publisli below a fuU list of the awards, reserving any 

 detailed comments on the show until our issue of next week. 



[Special to FoKEST and Stebam. 1 



PrnsiiD-iaH, Jan. 19. 

 A committee meeting of the society will be held this even- 

 ing at 8 o'clock for the purpose of deciding upon a name for 

 the two new classes of beagles. It is quite probable that the 

 name Maryland will be changed to America, but as yet this 

 matter is undecided. 



AWARDS. 



Class IV— Imported English setter bitchep, v c b, Minerva. 



VIII — Champion Irish setter dogs. 1st, Berkeley. 



X- Champion Irish setter bitches. Isi, Loo II. 



Xt— Irish setter dogs. Ist, Biz; rod, Raleigh; v h c, 

 Flint ; h c. Conn ; c, Bob IL 



XU— Irish setter bitches. Ist, Gufsie ; Sd, Norah ; v h c, 

 Alibey W., Kathleen ; h c, Annabel Lee j c, Juno. 



XIII — Irish setter dog puppies. Ist, Plash; v ho, Ned; 

 h c, Kcd Ranger. 



XIV— Irish setter bitch puppies. 1st, Red Lion. 



XV — ChampiimGordiin setter dogs. Ist, Boh White. 



XVI— Champion Gordon setter bitches. Stella. 



XVII— Gordon setter dogs. 1st, Ooldsrailh Kemiel Club ; 

 2d. Stubble ; v h c, Cheek; h c, Grr'use Ii. 



XVUl— Ciordou setter bitches. 1st, Jessie; 2d. Nell; vh 

 C, Grand Duchess. 



XIX— Gordon setter dog puppies. Ist, Grouse II. 



XS— Gordon set'er bitch puppies, l.si, Uypsy 11. 



3CXIII — Champion pointer dogs, under o5 lbs. Ist. Rush. 



XXfV — Champion pointer bitches, under 50 Ibf. lat, 

 Lady Romp. 



XXV— Pointer dogs ovet 55 lbs. lat, Banjo ; 2d, Tom ; 

 h c. Twig. 



XXVI— Pointer bitches over 50 lbs. Ist, Nellie R. 



XXVII— Pointer dogs, under 55 lbs. 1st, Duke; 2d, 

 Dicit : h c, Fvover. 



XXVIH— Pointer bitches, under 50 lbs. 1st, Rue ; 2d, 

 Oleo ; V h c, Clymont ; h c. Queen. 



XXIX— Pointer dog puppies, Ist, Garflold; ▼ h c, Paw- 

 oett'g Duk« f h c, Lewi»' Duke. 



