490 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



For Forest and Stream and Rod and Gun. 

 COLORS OF SETTERS AND POINTERS. 



SETTERS and pointers may now be seen of nearly all the 

 colors possessed by any breeds of dogs, although the 

 colors of the latter are more restricted in variety than those 

 of the former. For instance, the pure red or white is not 

 uncommon among setters, bat among pointers the pure white 

 is rare and the red unknown. Black and liver color are, on 

 the contrary, common to botb, and also white, orange, lemon 

 and tan as concomitant colors. There is but one color that 

 is unknown to oil her of them, and that is the blue; for the 

 go-called " Blue Bettons " are not of a blue color, as might be 

 inferred from the name. I was once actually asked if I had 

 seen any of the "BiueBelton dogs," and " were they really 

 blue f" The nearest approach to this color that I have seen 

 was the coat of a setter bred by my sell ; that was of a fine 

 purple hue when I last saw it. Both of this dog's parents 

 were of a rich mahogany red, but at eight months of age the 

 pup had an encounter with a dye pot that was tilled with in- 

 digo blue color. The color was spilled, and after the dog 

 had rolled in it to his heart's content, the blue was so blended 

 with the natural red as to produce a purple. That was cer- 

 tainly a novel and striking color for a dog. We have all 

 heard much of- " blue blood," and the dog alluded to has much 

 of it in its veins, but who has seen a blue-coated dog ? Turn- 

 ing our attention to the subject of colors, let us first, consider 

 one that is alike common to the setter and pointer — the liver 

 color. This on a setter is apt to be regarded as an indication 

 that the dog thus marked is not a high-bred animal ; and if, 

 instead of a bright live color, it should be a dull brown, there 

 is a suspicion that the dog may not be even a thoroughbred 

 setter. A well-bred setter, of solid liver color, with a bright, 

 glossy coat, is certainly a handsome dog. But the dull dead 

 brown and white dogs that one so often sees take no rank for 

 beauty, and this is the least desirable marking of all. Liver 

 color is shown to good advantage by the smooth coat of a 

 pointer, for which it is a desirable standard color ; but it 

 ranks low as a color for the setter, although ranking highest 

 for its cousin, the retrieving spaniel. For either setter or 

 pointer the solid liver color is more pleasing to the eye, and 

 therefore usually more desirable than any admixture with 

 white, either in equal proportions or with the white predomi- 

 nating. 



Black, if it is a jet, glossy black, is a handsome color 

 shown to especial advantage when trimmed with the tan 

 markings characteristic of the Gordon setters. This color is 

 common to both setters and pointers; but solid black dogs of 

 either breed art not very frequently met with. The tan mark- 

 ings that usually accompany this color with setters are not 

 common with pointers, although I once owned a black and 

 white pointer that was marked with tan over the eyes. 

 Black is to be seen in its purity and mixed with other colors, 

 but any admixture of black with other colors than white or 

 tan indicates indiscriminate breeding in respect to color. The 

 legitimate markings with black are, for setters, as follows: 

 First in order of beauty, to my taste at! least, is the rich tan 

 color that should be upon the inner parts of the legs, lining 

 of the ears and a spot over e »ch eye ; then the black, tan and 

 white named in the order of prevalence, the white 

 forming a handsome marking, particularly when con- 

 fined to the feel and breast. A preponderance of white is 

 more often seen with the white and black ticked, or white, 

 black and tan ticked. Finally, there is the simple black and 

 white. Occasionally a setter is seen that is ticked nearly as 

 evenly as the Dalmatian, or "coach-dog." This is a marking 

 that 1 do not prefer, although associated with some of the 

 finest dogs that I have ever shot over. I refer to those that 

 are ticked all over, and not merely on the feet. 1 have seen a 

 rare mixture of black and white, that was so even in the coat 

 of a setter as to form an iron gray or black roan color. 



White, pure and undented, is always pleasing, and a well- 

 bred dog is usually tidy. Yet a very little soiling of a coat of 

 this color produces an unpleasant effect. A solid white color 

 is not 'so common among pointers as with setters, and is not 

 very common with either. White is seen in combination with 

 all the known colors of dogs, and is especially common as a 

 marking of the chest and feet. It is best known as a concomi- 

 tant color, comparatively few sportsmen prefering it as a pre- 

 dominant color. 



Lemon is a well-known color, but one tnat has never been 

 obtained as a pure, solid color. It ranks high as a marking 

 of white dogs of both the breeds under consideration. The 

 yellow, to which the term lemon is applied in designating the 

 colors of dogs, does not have the decided greenish tint of the 

 fruit itself, but it is a well defined color, quite distinct from 

 orange, the red that is a component of the latter color forming 

 the distinction. Lemon is a particularly hue marking for white 

 pointers, and as such is not outranked by any other, cither for 

 Beauty, or as an indication of high breeding. 



Red is a color that is in much favor, and it is to be seen in 

 a great variety of shades, from the d:ep blood-red that often 

 merges into black, to the very yellowish shade that might give 

 a mongrel the cognomen of "yaller dorg." In choosing a dog 

 of this color avoid extremes. If a dark" shade is preferred, let 

 there be no black hairs or black reflections in the coat. If a 

 light shade is preferred, let it be brilliant and uniform. It is 

 strictly a setter color. Occasionally a pointer may be seen 

 whose markings are reddish, and we have seen a pointer of a 

 reddish brindle that suggested the possibility of obtaining a 

 defined red color. 



Bed is regarded as typical of the Irish setter, and the deep 

 blood red may be justly so considered. Yet red is also a com- 

 mon color among English setters, which develop the beautiful 

 shade known as mahogany red, but seldom of a deeper shade. 

 I do not knoT that a solid red English setter has ever been 

 produced, although with some the red predominates over the 

 concomitant white._ As an instance of "red not being typical 

 of the Irish blood, 1 may mention the dog Guy, Owned by my 

 brother, and well-kuown locally as "the thousand dollar dog" 

 Thi3 high bred dog was out of the thorOughhred red and white 

 English setter Cora, whose portrait adorns the heading of 

 the Country. Guy has not a drop of Irish blood in his veins 

 £L,V S i a h , e . mt } ial mahogany red, that is shown to great 

 advantage by his thoroughly English silky coat. 

 *hti a$u S D £ £ S()liUrwl > he. has no olher body color except 

 tptn I ■ f ChtSt - 0a a™ounL of his color he is general y 

 taken for an Irish tetter, but such a silky coat and fine 

 leaner is not developed by that breed. This dog las been 

 *™ tly S A UC H eSSlU Ul lra ^tog bis characteristic t Ins 

 progeny A dog Horn one litter developed into a perfect 

 iac-stmde :f is sir- m form esta url marking ffi nlso a 

 gyp of another hlter out uf a different bitch. Ail fa i iter 

 by this Guy, out of my Cora II., wertj red some of them ^ 

 nearly of a sohd color, and in them is a h appv combinathmv! 

 the beautiful mahogany red, with the silk^coT^gemle 



disposition of the English breed. A solid red color is not 

 very common, even among thoroughbred Irish dogs. The 

 chest and feet are usually marked with white, which sets off 

 the red to advantage. 



A red setter should have dark eyes and a dark nose. In- 

 deed, this is highly desirable for a dog of any color, although 

 a light-colored nose is allowable for white dogs. Dark eyes 

 are universally desirable. However much beauty of coat 

 there might be it would be lost sight of when looking into a 

 pair of yellow eyes. We have seen a liver-colored pointer of 

 very fine points whose whole appearance was marred by 

 whitish-yellow eyes. A dog that would attract the attention 

 of any connoisseur, yet what a shock to a preconceived ad- 

 miration is experienced when these yellow orbs arc turned 

 full upon you. Whitish eyes are detestable in a dog of any 

 color. 



Without exhausting the subject let us now consider some 

 of the considerations that govern a sportsman in the choice of 

 color. Of course every one must be governed more or less by" 

 his own taste; yet if 'one has no decided preference for any 

 special color, let other causes than taste or fancy conduce to 

 his decision in choosing. 



In any event select a color that shows good breeding. In 

 individual instances color may be no indication of the quali- 

 ties, good or bad, of dogs ; yet, as a rule, it forms a very im- 

 portant element in deciding upon purity of breed, etc. This 

 is notably true of the Gordon and Irish setters. With many 

 sportsmen the choice of color depends in a great degree upon 

 its e-pecial adaptability to usefulness in the field; and if up 

 to the requirements there, no regard is paid to lack of beauty. 

 On this ground the choice differs so much that what one 

 would reject, might be the first choice, of another. 



A sportsman, whose attention was called to the beautiful 

 coat of a red setter, remarked, "Y"es, a fine coat, but of a 

 bad color." And this sportsman, desiring a dog solely for use 

 in old fields and wheat stubble, preferred a white dog, that 

 would afford such at contrast with the surroundings as would 

 readily catch the eye. Y r ct in broom grass the red color 

 would afford the better contrast, and for his own reason white 

 would be there "a bad color." Again, many sportsmen, 

 whose only sport over dogs is in cover, shooting woodcock 

 and ruffed grouse, prefer white dogs because more readily 

 seen. Others, who use their dogs more frequently for snipe 

 shooting, prefer them to be red, because not so reach ly notice- 

 able by the variety of game that is likely to be encountered. 

 A flock of plovers or ducks at which a shot is desired may be 

 seen approaching, and if at a signal the dogs drop, their color 

 being similar to the surroundings, renders them unobserved, 

 and the sportsman has a shot that would not have been ob- 

 tained had the dogs been white, black, or any color affording 

 a striking contrast in the landscape. The soiling of coat that 

 is inevitable, especially when snipe shooting, is much more 

 noticeable upon white dogs than upon red ones, and there- 

 fore proportionately offensive to the eyes. A black dog offers 

 sufficient contrast of color, if that is desired, for all sorts of 

 ground, whether it be for pinnated grouse ("chickens"), 

 ruffed grouse, partridges, snipe, or woodcock in birch covers. 

 In an alder cover a white dog would be most readily seen. I 

 think that the majority of sportsmen prefer for field pur- 

 poses the color that offers the greatest contrast to that of the 

 ground most shot over. This is owing in no small degree to 

 the fact that their dogs are not well broken, and out of 

 sight means beyond control. 



When a dog ranges a quarter of a mile away from its master, 

 and is purposely deaf to any call, it is, of course, very con- 

 venient to be able to see the dog at that distance. Rut were 

 I so eager to fill the bag as not to spare time to breaking my 

 dogs of faults, I would at least teach them one thing 

 thoroughly, to come to me at once when called, except when 

 standing game. The greatest sport for me is killing game 

 over well-broken dogs, and "the bag" is by no means of 

 first consideration. 



The dogs are always of first importance, and they furnish 

 by far the greater proportion of the enjoyment of a dav's 

 sport. The shot is only the climax of a' pleasure that is "to 

 be renewed again and again. " The bag," then, is to me no 

 measure of the amount of pleasure enjoyed. Evety true 

 sportsman knows how much more satisfaction is derived from 

 a single brilliant shot than from a dozeu others that may be 

 equally successful in contributing to the bag. 



I do not wish dogs to range so widely that I know not 

 where they may be. Of course, it is impossible to keep the 

 dogs constantly in view, especially in rank grass or in cover, 

 but in such cases they should be hunted closer than in more 

 open ground, and fheirwhereabouts should be at least approx- 

 imately kuown. For thick cover shooting I fasten a bell to 

 each dog (never desiring more than a brace in cover), and use 

 bells of different tones that serve to mark the individuality of 

 the bearers. Thus it matters not to me what colors are worn 

 by the dogs, for I can distinguish each one by sound at a 

 greater distance than would be possible by sight, even were 

 they of a solid white color. When the bells, or one of them, 

 cannot be heard, I call ; and if, on repeating Ihe call, there is 

 no response, I know that game has been found. Unlike many 

 sportsmen, I prefer, for many reasons that I will not enter 

 into here, always to flush the game myself and never compel 

 nor allow the dogs to do it. If, however. I use my dogs 

 solely for woodcock shooting I might do 'otherwise, and I 

 might do otherwise if I could keep such a team of dogs as to 

 have a separate brace for hunting each variety of game that 

 is shot over dogs. In such event I could have red setters and 

 hver-colored pointers for the marshes, white dogs for thick 

 cover, black ones for broom grass, etc. In this indulgence of 

 my preference for red setters, I make no sacrifice of useful- 

 ness, but, on the contrary, make a gain in that respect when 

 shooting on the marshes. My experience having been to find 

 other game almost invariably when snipe-shooting, I have 

 usually availed myself of such opportunities for a Variety of 

 shots and game. Yet I have known a gentleman who when 

 snipe- shooting, would shoot at no other game. He was ex- 

 cessively methodical, and when shooting snipe was 

 prepared for no other game. If a duck was flushed 

 within range he would not shoot, because his gun was 

 'loaded for snipe." Yet I have cut down many a duck with 

 No. 9 shot when snipe-shooting. * Many years ago, while 

 smpe-shooting over the setter Cora above' referred to, the dog 

 came to a stand on the bank of a ditch, and a Canada goose 

 rose and was handsomely cut down by my brother with No. 

 l). shot. 



Very many shots have I had that, I believe, would not have 

 been obtained if the dogs had been white ; and, while prefer- 

 ring red as a color for setters on account of its beauty I find 

 it to be unexcelled in usefulness for all sorts of shooting. In 

 the West and South I do not care to use setters or pointers 

 tor smpe-shooting on account of the superabundance of the 

 birds and their habits when found in such numbers, and on 

 account of the prevalence of venomous snakes in the far 



South. But in Canada, Nova Scotia and along the Atlantic 

 const as far as Florida, setters me most derivable, and for 

 many reason, above intimated, the red color is preferable. 

 For general shooting at grouse, partridges and woodcock, I 

 am well pleased with red, and consider it highly preferable 

 for snipe-shooting. Eveektt Smith, 



A PIG WITH RABIES. 



Juffebson, Ohio, Jan. 6, 187& 

 Editor Fokkst and Stream: 



Dear Sir—In your issue of Dec. Oth, cut from the San An»- 

 tonio Express, an account is given of the death of a boy from i 

 the bite of a fox, believed to have been a case of hydropho- 

 bia. In the absence of a clear diagnosis of the case your= 

 theory of tetanus looks plausible, to say the least of it, and± 

 may be accepted as the cause of death in this case. As to- 

 foxes having rabies our experience may not be devoid of in- 

 terest. A. D. 1884, much of northern Ohio was in its prime- 

 val state. We let, our stock run in the woods. To keep out- 

 hogs from straying we fed them a little and furnished them a 

 good bed under shelter near the house. In the fall of 1834 

 my neighbor was aroused in the night by a commotion among' 

 his hogs. With a lantern and club he went out and found a 

 gray fox fighting his pigs. A3 soon as the man approached, 

 the fox left the pigs, walked boldly up to the man, and was 

 lulled with the club. Hearing of the strange conduct of the 

 fox we proceeded to investigate : found one shoat (that 

 would weigh about 100 pounds) with a slight wound about an 

 inch and a half long, midway between the eyes and the end 

 of the nose. The wound looked more like a scratch than a 

 bite. We did not probe it, but apparently it was just deep 

 enough to draw blood. Notwithstanding the assurance that 

 "foxes never run mad," we suggested hydrophobia, and 

 counseled the confinement of the pig, which was followed. 

 In the course of two or three weeks the pig was taken sick, 

 refused food, frothed at the mouth, and went into spasms, 

 constantly snapping at surrounding objects, then falling to 

 the ground would lie in a general tremor. When this passed 

 off he would rise, feebly walk about until seized with another 

 spasm, when he would utter a whining squeal, indicative of 

 great distress, and pass through the different stages above de- 

 scribed. The spasms increased in frequency and severity 

 unt il the pig died. We watched the case with great interest, 

 and diagnosed a well marked and clearly defined case of hy- 

 drophobia, superinduced by the bite of a fox. Hence the in- 

 ference, if not the logical conclusion is, that that the particu- 

 lar fox was rabid, but whether spontaneous or by inoculation 

 we have no means of knowing. The idea that the bite of a 

 fox or any other animal could produce rabies when the ani- 

 mal was not rabid is too absurd to require serious notice. By 

 the laceration of veins it might produce tetanus, but could) 

 not produce rabies. But did tetanus kill the pig? This dis- 

 ease consists of violent tonic spasms of the voluntary muscles,, 

 which may affect the muscles of almost every portion of the 

 body, or, it maybe confined to the muscles of a single part, like 

 the lower jaw, when the affection receives the name of trismus, 

 or to the extensors of the back, causing recurvation, termed 

 opistMonos, or to the front part of the body, causing incur- 

 vation {emprosthobmOB), or the muscles of the side, causing 

 lateral curvature (pkarthonnos). In the case under consider- 

 ation none of the curvatures was present. His snapping 

 jaws prove there was no trismus. The only argument for 

 tetanus is the general tremor. What was it? It is claimed . 

 that spontaneous hydrophobia is confined to the canine race. 

 According to Linnajus, Keynard belongs to the same genus, 

 and we see no reason why he should be exempt. 



Yours, Septuage-nabian. 

 •_ .<»-. -i 



SCUTELLABIA AS A CURE FOB HVDEOPHOBIA. — The JS'eW 



York Sun this week makes mention of the possible advantage* 

 in using Scutellaria in cases where persons have been bitten by 

 mad dogs. The authority iff Mrs. Crooks is cited, whose sister 

 was bitten by a mad dog, and who was reputed to have suf- 

 fered no inconveniences after having had strong decoctions of 

 skullcap given to her. Of course there is no reason why 

 Scutellaria should not be tried, though we do not think it 

 would be of any practical use. Skullcap has long been known, 

 and was used twenty-five years ago as a supposed cure for 

 hydrophobia. The action of this plant is prophylactic, and it 

 is excellent as a nervine, but beyond this, as far as hydro- 

 phobia goes, its employment, we believe, is useless. It is 

 terrible to think that, as yet, there is no cure for hydrophobia. 

 When a person is bitten by a mad dog, cut out the part, then 

 wash with fuming nitric acid, and immunity from the disease 

 becomes quite possible. 



Htdbophobia in CoNiyiiCTjcrr.— We regret to announce the 

 death of Dr. L, L. Way, in Hartford, on the 35th, from 

 hydrophobia. In several' towns in the Stale the authorities 

 have ordered the muzzling of the dogs for periods varying from 

 sixty to ninety days. 



Pittsbtteg Dog Snow, Jan. 22. — The arrangements for the 

 dog show in the City Hall were fairlf good, and the animals 

 seemed well cared for. The attendance was much larger fcha D 

 the managers could have expected, at one day some 2,80C 

 peoplehaving visited the show. Your correspondent wandered 

 in amazement, among remarkable chickens, ducks, geese and 

 pigeons, and had the opportunity of eating some of the turkeys. 

 The dogs, however, mainly interested your representative. It 

 is not, of course, to be expected that the display would equal 

 in number such high collections as have been made in New 

 York, Boston, Baltimore or Philadelphia, still in the ninety * 

 odd dogs exhibited there were some fairly choice animals. 

 Blue-blood is getting to exercise its powers in the City of 

 Smoke, and you may look soon to see as fine a class of animals 

 in Western Pennsylvania as in any other part of the country. 

 There is a good admixture of Eng isbmen in the working 

 population of Pittsburg, and many of them have brought from 

 the old country their love for dogs. 



The following were the prizes, the Sportsman's Association 



