512 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



IJcxr 27, 1883. 



out find ng anything when Charley said, "Look out!" and as 

 I looked at Don, there were surely strong indications that 

 there was something in the wind ; and in less time than it 

 takes to write it, he had settled down and was making one 

 of his grandest points. I called up Daisv. and when she saw 

 Don, she straightened out and backed him finely. After al- 

 lowing thein plenty of time, Charley stepped in 'and flushed 

 the bird, which proved to be the old male. About five rods 

 from where we put up t e male, wo flushed the female from 

 her nest. There were five eggs in it. We did not disturb the 

 nest; just took a look at it and then left, and did not follow 

 up the female bird. While on our way out Charley said, 

 '•Look at Daisy. Why, sho is on a point." I walked up to 

 her, but before I got very near, the bird got up wild. Daisv 

 never moved. I was pleased when she backed Don, but 

 when she made this, her first point, and done it so nicely, I 

 was overjoyed, and manv of the readers of the Forest "\'nd 

 STREAM, who have raised and trained their own puppies, ap- 

 preciate just the anxiety at this first point, and what a pleas- 

 ure there is in seeing it. 



In ten days from this time we again drove to the swamp, 

 hunted it all over and didn't find a bird. As a last resort I 

 thought we would take a look at the old bird and her nest. 

 The do ?s were near enough to give us warning had there 

 been anv bird there. I walked up to the nest and there was 

 every indication that it had been deserted. Two eggs gone 

 entirely, one broken in the nest and not a bird to be found in 

 the entire swamp, and we drove home feeling quite the re- 

 verse of what we had on our previous visit. 



On the S'lthu't., I visited one of our very best hatching 

 grounds and found it almost entirel v under water. From the 

 reports of early arrivals and large numbers of them this 

 spring I expected that we would have a goodly number here, 

 but the prospect thus far is very poor, that is, for birds raised 

 here. We always get our share in the October flight. I hope 

 that there is not another piece of la.nd four miles square in 

 this State that can report the loss of four hundred and twen- 

 ty-eight game birds in this manner. G. H. 



Hudson, New York, June 1882. 



A STANDARD FOR THE GORDON. 



Baltimore, Md. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I wish to lay before the breeders of this grand field dog, the 

 Gordon setter, a standard by which I think they should be 

 judged at future shows, as my experience in hunting these 

 dogs for many years has proved to me conclusively that the 

 present standard by which they are judged is an abortion. 

 Stonehenge evidently selected the largest dogs ever seen in 

 the Gordon setter family, and while they may have looked 

 well upon the bench, they are of very little service in the 

 field, either in America or Europe, for I have always seen 

 them succumb, after a day or two's work, to those of lighter 

 frames, the latter-made dog lasting for as manv weeks, and 

 enduring just as much hardship as dogs of any other strain. 

 The Gordon setter of former days was evidently of a light 

 racy frame; was a merry worker and good stayer, which we 

 find to be the case to-day. Stonehenge in making his stand- 

 ard from the large, heavy dog has been mainly responsible 

 for the present misconception about him, and we at present 

 are suffering from that error. The original Gordon setter was 

 anything but heavy or clumsy. 



I agitated this change of standard several years ago, and 

 was in hopes some person would get up a new one; after 

 having waited in vain, I now take upon mvself the task, and 

 will request the breeders of these field beauties, if this stand- 

 ard meets with their approval, that they indorse the same 

 through the Forest and Stream, and at the same time re- 

 quest the oflicers of the different shows to adopt it. If the 

 breeders of the black and tan setters wish to have a separate 

 class for their dogs, they have the same right as the Laveraok 

 or Llewellin setter, but by no means should a breeder of 

 Gordon setters allow the two classes to be mixed as they are 

 now at our bench sh-ws; allow no dogs to'winin the Gordon 

 setter class unless they can show by pedigree on side of sire and 

 dam that they Trace back to Gordon setter dogs of undoubted 

 puritv. Now, the following is what I suggest as a scale of 

 po.nts by which these dogs should be judged: 



oi-,,n Value. 



Skull , m 



Nose. \q 



Ears, lips and eyes . " '" 4 



l\eck " 6 



Shoulders and chest 15 



Back, quarters and si i ties " 15 



Legs, elbows and houks ' 11 



Feet q 



Stern ...'. 4 



Flag ; \ 



Symmetry and qualitv ' "" "4 



Texture of coat and feather 4 



Color '.'..".'.'.'.','.'.'.'.'. 4 



Total ~^ 



The skull shoidd be very nearly like the English setter, with 

 the exception that the Gordon setter's head should be a shade 

 heavier and wioer ; the heavy heads they have now must be got- 

 ten rid of. .the nose should be moderate! v long and wide no 

 fullness allowed under their eyes; from corner of eye to end of 

 nose should be from four to four and one-half inches- there 

 should be a slight depression between the eyes: the nostrils 

 should be a shade wider than in the English setter, and a shade 

 larger in the openings; the nose should be moist and cool, and 

 the end of the nose should be of a good black color. The jaws 

 should be pet fectly even in length; a "snipe nose" or '-pig jaw" 

 is a decided blemish. With regard to ears they shoidd be a trifle 

 longer than the English setter, but in other respects thev must 

 resemble them, and must be thin in leather; thev shoidd be set 

 low, and should he closely to the cheeks without showing any 

 of the inside, they shoidd be well covered with hair with asiittfe 

 wave as possible. The lips should be like the English setter, and 

 must not be so full and pendulous as the present type. ' The 

 eyes must be full of animation, of medium size, and of a rich 

 color, between a brown and a gold, or like the ovary of the 

 Italian bee. The neck must be like the English setter, it must 

 not be throaty, but must be clean and racy; it should show 

 well back into the shoulders. The chest, and herein lies one 

 of the great faults of many of our present show Gordon set- 

 ters, must be got ten rid of at once; I mean his wide bull-dog 

 chest, and heavily loaded fore shoulder. On the contrary 

 he should have a narrow, deep chest, a nice racy front. What 

 would one think of seeing a thoioughbred racer coming 

 on the track with a Percheron horse's chest? Many of 

 our present Gordon setters look to me just as ridiculous 

 as the racer would look thus bred. He must have well 

 sprung ribs behind the shouldeis, a straight back, and 

 good depth of back ribs. The shoulders' should have 

 plenty of liberty, with sloping deep shoulder blades, the 

 elbows well let down and a moderately arched loin. Be- 

 ware of stooping hindquarters, thev show weakness and 

 want of pace, 'ihe hindquarters should be well guaided- 

 they must be as strong or stronger than the ft ont. The tail 

 should be well put on. and can- ed in very nearly a straight 

 fine, and be string-like at the end; a crooked tail at 

 the ei d, or better known as a "tea-pot" tail is a decided 

 blemish, and though many Gordon settela are seen with it it 

 must be gotten rid of. The thighs must be long from hip 'to 

 hock; the hocks must be straight, and the stifles model ately 

 well bent, and set wide apart to allow'the hind legs to be well 

 brought foi ward, which will allow ease in his movements. 

 See that the loins are not slack, for if they at e, endurance hi 

 the setter is lost. The elbows and toes should be set straight, 

 for otherwise you will confi ue the dog in his movements iby 

 their close attachments to the ribs. The feet shoidd be weft 

 looked aftm-, for without good feet any setter is useless 





Many differ as to how the foot should be formed. My 



E reference is always for a "cat-foot;" it looks better, i's 

 andled by its possessor with more ease and grace, and when 

 well filled in with hair between the pads you will not require 

 a stronger or stouter foot, nor one with more endurance than 

 such a foot possesses, either to hunt on the hills or prairies. 

 Any foot, either cat or hare shaped, bare of hair between the 

 toes, is almost useless in the dog possessing it. 



Symmetry and quality in character the Gordon setter 

 should display an amount of, or, in other words, the general 

 outline must be good and at a glance taking to the eve of a 

 sportsman. The coat should be soft, flat and close, A number 

 of Gordon setters have wavy or curly coats: the curly coat is 

 an abomination and should be bred out; the wavy coat should 

 be treated in the same manner, but it is the lesser evil of the 

 two. The coat should be straight and flat, and should not be 

 as long as the English setter's. " The back and ribs should be 

 well coated with softer, flatter and straighter hair than the 

 present Gordon setter; it should be very glossy looking, and 

 hi color be of a rich plum black. The Cordon "setter should 

 only show setter coat on his profile, legs and tail; the latter 

 should be shorter than the Enghsh setter's and of grace- 

 ful form, being bare of hair two inches from root of tail, with 

 flag flat and scanty, tapering to nothing at the end. 



The tan markings should bo of deep, sienna color, and 

 should show on lips, cheeks, throat, spot over eyes, under side 

 of car, but not to show except faintly in Upper corner edges 

 nearly at skull, to show nearly to elbows, hind legs up to 

 stifles, and on the under side of flag but not running into its 

 long hah. A Gordon setter with a white frill or a white toe 

 or two should not be cast aside as has too often been done in 

 the past, but always aim to breed them with as little white 

 as possible. 



The Gordon setter should not weigh less than fifty nor more 

 than fifty-five pounds, and should not stand at shoulder 

 higher than twenty-four or twenty-four and a half inches. 

 This will give a nice sized dog; he will look well, wdl not look 

 by any means squatty, but stand well up, with nice straight 

 legs and they must not be too short nor too long. 



If the above is followed you will see Gordon setters worth 

 looking at on the bench, and a pride and glory to their 

 masters in the field. Harry Malcolm. 



A PENNSYLVANIA WOODCOCK SHOOT. 



S the woodcock season opened very wet, and as birds 

 XX were scattered in grain and grass fields, we postponed 

 our trip until the 11th inst., when, at 2 P. M., Mr, A. Flanni- 

 gan, Chas. Savage and myself, with our dogs, started for 

 "the black swamp," one of the best woodcock grounds in this 

 section. Arriving there at 5 A. M, we entered the woods, 

 giving our dogs the command to hi on; and nobly did they 

 quarter and work for two hours in vain, as the birds had 

 either been bagged or were out in the fields. We naturally 

 felt somewhat discouraged, until Mr. Flannigan's Dick, a 

 liver-colored setter, seven years old, made a point, backed up 

 by my liver and white pointer Rag. The bird got up in good 

 style and in an instant three shots were fired, scoring our first 

 bird. That encouraged our dogs so that it was a sight to see 

 them work. In a short time Rag made his second point, and 

 I my first miss, when Mr. F. brought it down, making his 

 first score. Mr. F. taking to his left flushed and brought 

 down his second bird. After hunting very close and sending 

 Rag in a thicket he flushed one. and owing to a house we 

 were compelled to let it fly. Following it up Mr. S. flushed 

 it, I making my first score. 



Then giving our dogs a rest and eating a lunch we retraced 

 our steps and having gone but a short distance. Dick made a 

 noble stand and Mr. S. scored his first bird for our team, and 

 Mr. F. and myself taking off to our left entering a small woods. 

 Rag jumped the fence, and as he lit stood firm. I flushed it 

 and scored my second bird, it flying over 100 yards before it fell. 

 On we went, when Rag flushed, and number three for Mr. F. 

 The woods being so thick one was flushed twice, and the. third 

 time Mr. F. brought it down, making his score four. Another 

 getting up near our feet Mr. F. scored another. This shot is 

 indeed worth mention, it being a snap shot and the thicket so 

 thick that one would think it impossible for a sparrow to 

 enter, let alone a woodcock. Within fifty yards of our team 

 Rag made a point and flushed, when Mr. F. scored number 

 six, dropping it within two feet of my feet. 



After nding about twenty-five miles we entered the thick- 

 est swamp I ever attempted to enter. Sending our dogs in. 

 two flushed at once and followed by another. So following 

 the first two up, Rag made a double point, and I my third 

 bird, with the other taken to our right, when Rag added an- 

 other point and Mr. F. scored his seventh bird. Mr. F. put 

 one up and I scored my fourth bird. 



Then retracing our steps, Dick pointed, and Mr. F. scored 

 his eighth bird. Two men and dogs never hunted harder 

 than we to score fifteen. But in vain. On retracing our steps 

 toward the wagon my attention was drawn to a lofty tree 

 by blue jays. Thinking something wrong, I drew closer, 

 when I spied two large eyes looking at me. Not knowing 

 what kind of an animal might be perched there awaiting its 

 prey, I soon sent a load of No. 9 shot at it. when an owl five 

 feet two inches made its appearance; and by the other barrel 

 I brought it down, when at once it showed fight. With con- 

 siderable trouble, I now have it on exhibition at my store, 

 where it attracts considerable attention. 



As you see by Mr. F's score, he is an expert, as with eight 

 shots he brought eight birds down, and seeing fourteen birds, 

 we bagged fourteen. G. W. F. 



Danville, Pa., July 16, 1883. 



CHOREA. 



[From our issue of Oct. 23, 1879. J 



This terrible sequel to distemper is but too common, al- 

 though it does not necessarily immediately follow an attack, 

 or at least become immediately apparent. It may be de- 

 veloped only after the. first violent exercise to which the ani- 

 mal is subjected. We deem the matter so important that, 

 instead of answering the following query in the usual way, 

 v,-e give it space here: 



"I have a three-year-old black and tan hound, which I use 

 for deer. During the past summer he lost a toe from his right 

 foot, but it inconvenienced him hardly any. Supposing that 

 same was well I let him have a run* last Friday. The day 

 was quite warm, and he had some four and a half hours' run 

 bet. re i got the deer. On looking at his foot 1 found that the 

 skin on his toe was partly gone, and a peculiar twitching in 

 the foot, leg and shoulder, and same continues yet. When 

 standing the twitching is less, or scarcely noticeable; when 

 lying down it can be plainly seen ten feet away. These 

 twitches or movements are easiest seen from the center of 

 breast to shoulder in front; the cord or muscles of the leas 

 move somewhat, and holding the foot in my hand it seems 

 as if he was trying to twitch or pull the same a 

 fever or swelling, and he seems in perfect health. What is it, 

 and caused by what— nervous irritation or from strain or be- 

 coming too tired in running?" 



The trouble is chorea, and is duo to nervous irritation, 

 i his form of disease often follows distemper, and when re- 

 covery follows, the twitching will only occur after too much 

 exertion. It is impossible to say without seeing tho dog, 

 whether the injury to the foot caused in any way the chorea, 

 but think not. It is pc ssible that the twitching may have ex- 

 isted unnoticed for some time, and the four and a half hours 

 been the cause of the attack which was noticed. This would 

 be the more probable if the dog ever had distemper even in the 

 lightest manner- The treatment consists in giving 1-38 grain 

 strychnia three times a day, giving less if this causes the dog 

 to • stiffen out" any— i. e., have a kind of tonic spasm— in- 



creasing gradually until 1-10 grain can be taken, the idea 

 being to keep just short of the dose which causes this spasm 

 or stiffening of the muscles. Cod liver oil shoidd be given if 

 needed, as shown by emaciation. 



A friend has at present a setter which twitched most of the 

 time, just as described by the above correspondent, i, e„ 

 '■from center of breast to shoulder in front." This yielded to 

 strychnia given continually as described, so that' now the 

 twitching is only seen after a hard run and swim, or when 

 the nervous system is exhausted. We can recall several such 

 cases. Good living and a dry kennel are necessary adjuncts 

 to a cure. If the wound of the foot was the cause, or thought 

 to be, it would be as well to clean it wed by keeping a warm 

 flaxseed meal poultice on the wound for a day or two, having 

 previously washed the foot and removed any thorn, bit of 

 gravel or any extraneous substance. Then dress with simple 

 cerat, and if it does not heal readily it may be powered with 

 pulverized red cinchona bark {Bub. cort.j. or it may require 

 to be touched with stick nitrate of silver. 



THE COLOR OF BULLDOGS. 



Editor Forest ami Stream: 



"V. H. C." in your issueof June 20 complains that the -judge 

 at the late New York Bench Show gave a vhc. to "ofle bi in- 

 die bitch," a figure of merit that he begrudges on account of 

 the color, and states that "Btonehenge says a bull-terrier 

 must be pure white, and that it is useless to show one of any 

 other color ."Referring to my own copy of Stonehenge (Am. 

 ed p. 1701 1 do not find the above, but instead the following! 

 •The color most admired is white, either pure or patched 

 with black, blue, red, fawn or brindle. Sometimes black aud 

 tan, or self-colored red.' 1 



Now, I would respectfully ask, why is white to be pre- 

 ferred to other colors* Are the colorless dogs better ratters 

 fighters, scare-tramps or Watch-dogs than brmoJes? Arc they 

 of better form or better disposition : What qualities do they 

 possess that make them more desirable than the off-co'.or 

 dogs? Is white, commonly reckoned as the "emblem of in- 

 nocence," more in harmony with the known characteristics of 

 the dog than brindle ? Let "V. H. C." answer these questions 

 and give good and substantial reasons why white bull-terriers 

 are to be preferred to colored ones. 



The writer of tills first made the aequaiiitenec o' the brindle 

 bitch in question at the New York show of II 81 fell in love 

 with her at first sight, and tried to buy her b it couldn't. 

 He renewed the acquaintance at the show of 1SS2, and be- 

 spoke one of her progeny; A month ago he obtained posses- 

 sion of the bitch herself, and in nowise repents his bargain 

 and only regrets his inability thus far to find a solid brindle 

 dog of equal form and merit from which to breed. In certain 

 breeds color is unquestionably an element of the first impor- 

 tance as indicating purity of blood, e. g., the waten-spaniel 

 the Newfoundland and the Irish setter, but in ntheis it seems 

 to me to be merely a question of individual taste. 



Brindle. 



ENGLISH SHOWS AND CLUBS. 



VVTE give below another instalment of "Splint's" comments 

 y > upon some of the Enghsh shows and clubs for which 



we are indebted to the ,Vu, k A", 1 



IV. — MORE ABl.tir DOG OXTHBSl 



I do not know whether I am aoing right or even commit- 

 ting a breach of confidence in reproducing the following letter 

 received by me this morning. Unpleasant in a manner 

 though it wdl appear to some parties, its publication may be 

 of use: J 



"Dear Mr. ,— I believe you are the writer of a series 



of letters on dog clubs, which are appearing in the Stock 

 Keeper. I was at the Fox-terrier Show last Wednesday 

 held at Blackpool by the Fylde Fox-terrier Club, and was go 

 struck with the number of prizes awarded to Officials con- 

 nected therewith, or to those who gave special prizes, that I 

 went carefully over the prize list, with the following astoond- 

 ing result. In eleven classes for smooth-coated fox-terriers, 

 .£51 Ss. was offered in prizes. Of tins amount no less than 

 #38 p-s. was awarded to officials of the show, subscribers of 

 special cups, or to animals which one way or another, some 

 of the committee had an interest in. The wire-haired classes 

 I do not liclude, tor none, of the promoters of the show had 

 entries therein; nor have I included the extra prizes, which 

 I believe, all went to interested parties. 1 believe, that this 

 is the sort of thing you object to in clubs. Pray five us your 



opinion thereon. Believe me, dear Mr. , 



"Yours sincerely, 



Now, here is a text given me which, no doubt, the writer 

 of the letter considers an excellent one. Unfortunately he 

 f ails to enter deeply enough into the matter, and neglects to 

 give the number of entries made by "interested parties" in 

 proportion to the number made by the general public. 

 Neither does he supply any information as to the quality of 

 dogs shown by the two sides, and so nothing reliable is 

 afforded whereby the rights or wrongs of tie- i-aso -an be 

 gauged. But it is just one of those occurrences which strikes 

 the public, aud, without much consideration, leaves bhe in 

 pression that the majority of the prizes were awarded to 

 members of the club, because they are members, and not 

 because the dogs they showed were better than tho.30 ex- 

 hibited by others. "Suspicion," it is said, "haunts the gudty 

 mind," but without saying that the mind of the public is a 

 guilty one, there is no doubt it is a most suspicious one. As 

 Mr. Montagu Wootten, one of your correspondents, hinted 

 last week, the promoters of a "show or club must support 

 themselves, and how else can they do this without making 

 entries at then- own exhibitionif They, as a rule, too, are 

 possessed of more, than moderate stock, and what is there 

 more natural and hkely than that they should win a share of 

 the prizes? "More than a fair share," some one iterates, but 

 perhaps he may be an unsuccessful exhibitor, whose opinion 

 must, as a rule", be taken cum qrdltO sol-is. 



I consider that public judging and the publication of the 

 judges' names before the causing of entries should almost 

 totally do away with this grumbling after the show is over. 

 A man knows who is to judge, he makes his entry, and he has. 

 but himself to blame if the judgment displeases him. Let 

 him have confidence in the gentleman who is to award the 

 prizes before he supports his appointment by entering under 

 him. Confidence in hts skill as in his integrity, in the one as 

 much, as the other— in both. It is an Englishman's privdege 

 to grumble may lie. right enough, but 1 maintain it is not an 

 e xh ibitor's when he has an opportunity of knowing as much 

 as he does nowadays under the regime- of public judging. But 

 revenans A nos moutsms. On the first blush of theng 

 the Blackpool Show given in my friend's letter it is not diffi- 

 cult to derive an unfavorable impression, but unless further 

 statistics than those already supplied are forthcoming, my 

 opinion must be given in favor of the Fylde Fox-terrier Club. 

 To avoid such appearances as this award of prizes presents 

 should be the aim of clubs. How to arrive at this is the 

 question. The Kennel Club might contrive a show, and a 

 successful one, at which its members, osr at least those who 

 had a voice in the election of judges. should not compete. 

 Other clubs perhaps cotdd not. The late exhibition at 

 Blackpool -would doubtless have been shorn of one-third 

 of its entries had not its committee competed And such 

 is the case at minor local shows. Of coiuse all acknowl- 

 edge that it would be. much better were piomoters to refrain 

 from exhibiting at their own shows, but how this can he done 

 without serious monetary loss and detriment to the quality of 

 the exhibition in many cases, I cannot tell. An instance of 

 this was, I presume, Blackpool, and so one gradually drifts 

 around until we return to the starting-point. These minor 

 clubs can be little more than semi-private societies, formed 



