Mat 26, 1893,] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



803 



the graphic style in which his field trial experience was de- 

 picted. Such reminiscences are always pleasant and afford 

 a subject upon which one can dilate ad gustum. His attend- 

 ance at the Southern trials enabled him to form an intelli- 

 gent opinion of the manner in which affairs were conducted 

 at those trials; but it is ver / bad form to cite instances oc- 

 curring at the Southern fipld trials in support of the "spot- 

 ting system," or as an argument to disprove "A. Scrub's" 

 assertions, when sportsmen, at all interested in such mat- 

 ters, knrw that the "spotting system" was not used in ren- 

 dering decisions at tUe Southern field trials. As to the 

 gentlemen he met there, or that can be found in attendance 

 at any meeting of like character, their honesty or capabili- 

 ties are not under discussion, and never have been so far as 

 the writer is concerned. 



The very worst feature about, the "spotting system" is the 

 prevalent disposition on the part of its supporters to hold 

 aloft the character oi club members and judges to shield 

 the system from adverse criticism; in fact anything said not 

 in full accord with the "spotting system" is generally con- 

 strued into a direct insult to gentlemen who kindly act as 

 judges under the system. When it is well known that 

 judges are compelled to discharge an important duty, with 

 no guide but their personal opinion, aud that opinions are 

 as liable to differ among judges as among any other class 

 of individuals, it is remarkable that those so deeply inter- 

 ested in "the advancement of the bird dog" have not agreed 

 upon a universal standard of field excellence to insure uni- 

 formity and equity in rendering decisions. Without an ac- 

 cepted standard of excellence it is nonsensical to expect 

 unity of action in any undertaking resembling a competi- 

 tive test of merit. 



No, Mr. "Tarquin," it is not a question of honesty or 

 capability; and the general morality of mankind is alto- 

 gether foreign to the subject under discussion. "A. Scrub" 

 advocates explicit rules, unmistakable definitions of all tech- 

 nical terms used to express the qualitiies of a "high class" 

 dog, and a competitive test of those qualities, with no do- 

 nations whatever; every competitor should win what he gets 

 in actual contest, and if beaten or dropped out, it should be 

 for cause and by an established system of some kind, agreed 

 upon and understood by participants. "Spotting" by a 

 system is somewhat more in accord with the principles 

 which should govern competitors, than to award honors 

 and prizes at discretion in the absence of an established 

 staudard. 



If one judge, acting at discretion, cannot conscientiously 

 place a dog which runs like a wolf, he should not be. abused 

 for enforcing his opinion in rendering decisions. The winter 

 indorses his action. Another judge may possess a warm 

 spot in his bosom for a general rustler and the matter of 

 finding birds for the gun is of minor importance; jumping 

 into and flushing a bevy of birds may be considered as an 

 indication of great dash and energy: chasing about, like an 

 escaped lunatic, may be mistaken for a "desire to find 

 birds," and be accredited as "bird sense," whether the de- 

 sire is real or artificial. Chasing rabbits is considered as an 

 unpardonable crime by one judge and another may be im- 

 pressed with an idea that a dog is a "plug," if he fails to 

 make an occasional rabbit "hump himself." 



The terms "pointing" and "backing" are variously inter- 



Ereted. A dog may lie on his belly, or take in the situation 

 y assuming any comfortable position, while in the presence 

 of birds; most any attitude can be designated as pointing, at 

 discretion. Then again, there is an impression which seems 

 to prevail that "pointing" can be represented only by assum- 

 ing an erect, rigid, stylish and unmistakable attitude, in ac- 

 cordance with "A. Scrub's" definition of the term. As all 

 terms relating to the bird dog are undefined, the definitions 

 depend upon the fancies of the individual acting as judge. 



"Tarquin" mentions the names of a number of prominent 

 sportsmen who officiate as judges of dogs, on the bench and 

 in the field, and I venture to say that they entertain different 

 opinions concerning both bench and field qualities; their 

 character, which is unquestioned, to the contrary notwith- 

 standing. It has been tbe writer's good fortune to have run 

 dogs, in hundreds of heats, under many of the m st proini- 

 uent judges of tbe country, and also to have enjoyed many 

 days sport afield with them, affording ample opportunity to 

 become; qualified to express an opinion concerning their 

 several standards of excellence. With due respect for the 

 gentlemen in every particular, it would be a false assertion 

 to say they are all unified in matters pertaining to tbe dog. 

 However, the gentlemen referred to are fair-minded, and 

 they, with others, could very readily agree upon a standard 

 so specific that the many unsettled differences which now 

 exist would cease to affect the management of field trials. 



The many qualities to be considered in a competition of 

 so much consequence to sportsmen as field trials are should 

 be positively defined, which would at once and forever set- 

 tle the important question. The matter of training should 

 receive especial attention, without which a dog is utterly 

 worthless for any purpose. We have books and books on 

 the subject of dog training, making it an easy matter to 

 determine the extent of training necessary to properly 

 exhibit field qualities without jeopardizing the chances of 

 a competitor. Many a good, honest dog has beeu ruined by 

 working him in company with a brainless, untrained brute 

 for a season, and the best dog living will be seriously 

 affected by being placed in such company. It is impossible 

 to exhibit the field qualities of a well-trained dog in com- 

 pany with an unbroken mate, and a few such raw dogs will 

 change the result of a field trial, whether conducted under 

 the "spotting system" or otherwise. 



Dogs that are worked by lung power, and must be urged 

 onward by constant blasts of a whistle (to which no atten- 

 tion is paid by them), to the annoyance and confusion of 

 their competing mate, may be of use in advancing the dog; 

 but in accordance with accepted theories of breeding, they 

 should never be elevated to the important position occupied 

 in the canine world by field trial winners. Many dogs show 

 up wonderfully well in so-called natural qualities, until an 

 attempt is made to control them, when their great brilliancy 

 is transformed into contemptible sullenness. 



The much mooted question of retrieving at field trials has 

 brought, forth various opinions. The importance of the 

 accomplishment in field work is nothing compared with the 

 disposition necessary in a perfect retriever. A disposition 

 that is not controllable is a feature that should be avoided 

 in breeding; and a brainless, timid or sulky dog that can- 

 not be taught retrieving without detriment to other 

 qualities, is not calculated for breeding purposes, and 

 should not be foisted on to the public as such; the same 

 miserable trait is as liable to be exhibited upon any occasion 

 u-ben crossed, checked in unsteadiness, etc., as in retrieving. 

 In closing, I beg to inform "Tarquin" that, regardless of 

 success or failure at public field trials in the past or future, 

 the importance of specific and uniform rules and the adop- 

 tion of a universal standard of field excellence will at all 

 times be advocated by A. Scrub. 



The question as to whether Princes Florence is a breeder 

 has been satisfactorily proved, though the'.esult has not, we 

 regret to say, been very encouraging to Mr. Reick. Princess 

 Florence whelped three more than ordinarily large pupslast 

 Thursday to his dog Befuge II. One pup died iu whelping 

 ftttd the*other soon after, the remaining one it. still alive. 

 The bitch has plenty of milk, is in the best of health, and 

 is as lively as a cricket. Naturally her owner feels disap- 

 pointed, as the pups were beautifully marked, and pups out 

 of the queen of St. Bernards are worth something these 

 days. Princess is still young yet and may have many more 

 litters, with which her owner will, we hope, be more suc- 

 cessful. 



POINTS AND FLUSHES. 



Chicago, May 21.— The breeding of setters and pointers 

 with a view to their improvement in form ar.d working 

 powers engages the attention and best efforts of a large 

 number of "sportsmen in this country, and it is a fact, judg- 

 ing from their writings and methods of breeding, that their 

 theories are practically the same. The most important 

 consideration appears to be to have the greatest number of 

 winning ancestors in the pedigrees, the only consideration 

 being that the ancestors are winners, the full value thereof 

 being acquired in a catchy pedigree which will suit the 

 market promptly, breeders knowing from long experience 

 that such pedigrees sell their stock quickly and well. 



Many breeders point with pride to the fact that the pedi- 

 gree of some dog or dogs traces back to thisame dog or dam 

 through perhaps a half dozen different lines of blood in the 

 ancestors. They do not specify wherein such breeding has 

 any advantages; but it sounds nice to report the name of 

 some famous winner a number of times in a pedigree, his 

 good qualities inferentially being distributed throughout 

 the ancestry and fixed wherever his blood occurs. This 

 naturally results in the selection of dogs for breeding pur- 

 poses which are winners and whose parents were winners, 

 the only consideration being that they were winners, the 

 purpose being to build up a good selling pedigree, the qual- 

 ity of the produce being of secondary consideration. 



That most men who imitate this method truly believe in 

 its sounduess, there is no doubt. Everything in the doggy 

 world tends to prove the correctness of it, under the estab- 

 lished order of things. At every turn one meets with evi- 

 dence of the firm establishment, of the popular ideas of 

 breeding. The names of a few dogs constantly recur in pedi- 

 grees, and if there be a strange name in them, though the 

 dog possessing it may be of the same race and the purest 

 blood, such would be called "outcross" by men who pose as 

 authorities. There is more humbug about the pedigree 

 theories of breeding, as practiced in this country, than in all 

 other doggy matters combined. 



A dog, simply because he orshe is a winner (and that is all 

 which is usually considered), may not be all desirable as a 

 sire or dam. He or she may be deficient in intelligence, or 

 hard-headed, or lacking in endurance, or rattle-headed, or 

 highly nervous, etc. How many breeders know anything 

 whatever of the winners they breed to, aside from the one 

 fact that they have made winnings? Many times owners 

 send their bitches a thousand miles, perhaps, to be warded 

 by dogs they never saw, their data being a pedigree table 

 and the dog's record. They cannot possibly know anything 

 of the dog's temper, intelligence, energy, disposition, manner 

 of work, endurance, physical formation, etc., all necessary 

 to know if one breeds dogs intelligently. 



That inbreeding has injured the setters of this country 

 I firmly believe, and this with all deference to the eminent 

 authorities who differ from me. The injury is shown in 

 many cases both physically and mentally, mostly the latter. 

 This is shown by the large number of dogs which are highly 

 nervous, or rattle-headed, ones which work with no plan or 

 judgment, although they may keep very busy in their aim- 

 less fashion. Such dogs are difficult to train and never 

 improve beyond a certain point, as they are not intelligent 

 enough to manage their work. They have no plans of their 

 own and have to^be directed constantly. 



It may be said in reply that the dogs at field trials show 

 good capabilities and are intelligent. Such dogs, it should 

 be remembered, are the. picked lot of all the dogs bred, and 

 many of these are not intelligent. The exhibition of what 

 is called bird sense is becoming rarer every year. The cool 

 judgment, the skillful management in being in the right 

 place and working all details to the advantage of the gun, 

 the knowledge and memory shown in working out the 

 grounds intelligently in searching for birds are hot seen in 

 the dogs of to-day as in those of ten years ago. 



Inbreeding no doubt, up to a certain point, will establish 

 more uniformity of type, although it can be carried to ex- 

 tremes, resulting in weediness or weak constitutions. It 

 does not follow, however, that all cases of inbreeding will 

 produce uniformity of type. Because certain lines of blood 

 result in such unif ormity, it does not follow that some other 

 lines will do so. On the other hand, some families which 

 are not inbred, have great, uniformity. It is a notorious fact 

 that the English setters of to-day are a most unsorty lot, 

 varying greatly in form, size, color and coats. This "is ap- 

 parent at any bench show. 



There is another feature about breeding which is mislead- 

 ing and tends to obstruct, the best development of the breed. 

 This is making an invidious distinction between the inbred 

 dogs of fashionable pedigrees and all others. The distinc- 

 tion is made between "hot blood" and "cold blood," and 

 "blue blood" and "native" or otherwise, which is simply 

 nonsensical. The Llewellin, which is the favorite strain in 

 this country, is simply a family of English setters, the ori- 

 gin of which was not as good as that of many families then 

 in existence. The blood of Duke and Rboebe, botl short iu 

 pedigree, was crossed on Laverack blood, and Laverack's 

 test of a dog's merits was in actual work, that being what 

 he considered the most important data in breeding. Laver- 

 ack's pedigrees are open to a great deal of suspicion, and if 

 they are correct, they are certainly most marvelous. At 

 all events, they have been the subject of much controversy 

 and contain inconsistencieswhich have never been explained. 

 This is not brought forward to cast any reflection on the 

 merit of the dogs, for Laverack's system of breeding or no 

 system produced good dogs. It is mentioned to show that 

 the jargon about hot and cold blood, etc , is absurd. As 

 applied to horses, such terms have a meaning, but dog 

 breeding, particularly in this country, is a thing of yester- 

 day comDared to horse breeding. 



These remarks are not to be understood as implying that 

 there are no good well bred dogs. There are such. The 

 motive is to call attention to the prevailing bad theories of 

 breeding. 



The proof reader is the one who, according to time- 

 honored usage, is blamed for any errors which appear in 

 print. Sometimes, however, he is not to blame, and he 

 then justly resents any charge of error. Some writers have 

 atrociously bad hand writing, to which class I belong. 

 These sad thoughts came up as I read in "Points and 

 Flushes" last week the following: "For a concise, and 

 farcical," etc. For "farcical" read "forcible." For "clean- 

 ness," in the same paragraph, read "clearness." I meant 

 to express my admiration of the article in question, "Field 

 Trials and Field Trial Judges," but the word "farcical" 

 came near spoiling the statement of it. 



* * 



The question as to whether dogs are guided in their acts 

 through life by instinct or reason is not settled beyond dis- 

 pute, although it seems absurd to attribute acts which are 

 the result of kuowledge andexperience to instinct. This the 

 more so as many accomplishments are tbe result of experi- 

 ence in every day or of teaching. Acts which are exercised 

 in the present with discrimination and a purpose, showing 

 memory and perception, are not instinctive. As bearing on 

 this point, a description of some of the acts of a Skye terrier 

 owned by a friend of mine, who told me the circumstances, 

 will be pertinent. The dog's favorite seat was the sill of 

 the. front window, where he had a good view of the 

 street and could watch the ever-changing scenes. On one 

 of the recent rainy days he took his daily seat, but the mois- 

 ture ou tbe window entirely obstructed his view, depriving 

 him of his expected pleasure. He rubbed the window pane 

 with his ear, afterward licking off the superfluous moisture 

 from the pane, thus accomplishing his purpose to view the 



sights. When laughed at he cuts eccentric antics and barks 

 violently, presumably protesting against being the subject 

 of levity. He was once caught by the dog catchers, there 

 being some legal requirement overlooked which justified 

 them in his capture. He remembered them ever afterward. 

 On their appearance in his street he would instantly scam- 

 per home. If the door was not open he would run on down 

 the first alley and hide until all danger was past. 



At the June meeting of the board of the Western Michi- 

 gan Kennel Club, running rules will be adopted to govern 

 the field trials which will be held next fall. 



Mr. W. W. Titus is now settled at Coal Grove, Ohio, and 

 will hereafter have charge of the Coal Grove Kennels at 

 that place. B. Waters. 



RETRIEVING AT FIELD TRIALS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In respect to the now greatly agitated question, "Should 

 retrieving be recognized as a feature, of value in a setter's or 

 pointer's work while competing for honors at a field trial?" 

 my reply to your question is, most emphatically it should 

 not. Field trials as I understand them are for the develop- 

 ment of the ideal field dog, the high class dog, that we all 

 so much admire and envy, and which to own is a source of 

 great pleasure, as well as the minor (?) consideration of his 

 being a paying piece of property if judiciously handled. It 

 is, as a matter of course, a subject of the greatest import- 

 ance to the whole sporting fraternity, that the dogs with 

 the highest public honors should be dogs with the most in- 

 disputable natural qualities; qualities, too, that are most 

 certainly to be expected to be handed down from sire and 

 dam to their progeny, from the fact that the dogs that are 

 credited with such rare capabilities will be much sought 

 after iu the stud and will be the direct means of improving, 

 or the reverse, the next immediate generations of field dogs. 

 It will, therefore, at once be apparent to all careful and 

 progressive sportsmen how much harm or how much good 

 may arise from even one poor decision of a judge at a public 

 field trial. 



I hardly think that the greatest upholder of retrieving 

 will claim for it to be a natural quality, outside from 

 the fact that it is impossible at a trial, for many reasons, 

 to give practical retrieving tests, owing to lack of time, 

 scarcity of birds, and the impossibility of making surround- 

 ings the same to each and all contestants. 



When the fact is ascertained that a dog is a good retriever, 

 nothing of more importance has been discovered than that 

 he has been properly and thoroughly trained by his handler 

 and that the latter understands that portion of his business, 

 as proved in the one instance of the dog he is handling. 

 What should we think of a man that was afraid to breed 

 his bitch to Antonio because his trainer had not considered 

 it essential to his dog's chances of winning to put retrieving 

 on him? Yet we should all expect to get puppies of true 

 speed, style and desirable qualities from this dog, if mated 

 with bitches of correct breeding and individual merit. 



Again none of us would breed to a dog that was a good 

 retriever with expectations of getting pups that would be 

 retrievers of more than average merit, from the fact that 

 the sire was above mediocrity in this respect; hence, I for 

 one, see no importance in attaching value to a quality that 

 is wholly an acquired accomplishment. The way that re- 

 trieving has been insisted (?) on in public competition is a 

 most ridiculous burlesque on "ordinary shooting," and the 

 sooner such absolute fiascos are eliminated from field trial 

 competitions the better. Many of us can pictxire the miser- 

 able shooting that is done, when a bird that if killed will be 

 certain to fall in a most undesirable place for a good retrieve. 

 Again, the next bird that is pointed will fall on bare ground 

 in plain view of the dog, he is then ordered to fetch, which 

 he does in good form. Does the fact that a dog will pick up 

 a bird that he has seen fall, demonstrate, that he is a good 

 retriever? I, for one, think not. 



Again, cut out retrieving from the scale af points and it 

 gives an opportunity to an owner to run a good Derby entry 

 in the All-Age Stake. We all know that a pup that can 

 now win a Derby is likely to prove a hard nut to crack in 

 the All- Age Stake. Consequently the entries will be 

 greater, which in turn means that the purses will propor- 

 tionately increase. Again, is it fair to allow the shallow 

 course that has been adopted for the past two years, for a 

 dog to win that will not retrieve, when the scale of points 

 allows ten out of a possible hundred for this one feature? 

 A great many men fail to realize how it has beeu possible 

 for a dog to win with such an enormous handicap, high 

 class indeed, though he may have been, and I think rather 

 than let such probabilities occur again it would be fairer 

 for all interested to toe the mark on the same footing, and 

 what it is not possible to test correctly had far better not be 

 tested at all. H. S. Bevan. 



Lamak, Miss., April 88". 



THE BEAGLE STANDARD. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Yon ask mv views in regard to raising the standard of the 

 beagle from 15 to 16in. If it would benefit the beagle any by 

 such a change, I would be heartily in favor of raising it. 

 But for what the beagle is intended in our country, where 

 no dog is supposed to (or at least seldom does) run down 

 and catci an old hare or any other kind of game, I cannot, 

 for myself, see why a loin, dog is not, as good as a 16 or 24in. 

 dog. "For New England rabbit hunting, with the way we 

 have to hunt them here, I think a loin, dog is about the 

 right size; not under 14in. Although I have seen and owned 

 some very good dogs, both over 15 and under 14in., and t o- 

 day own as good a show dog as I have got or ever owned, bar- 

 ring height, standing a trifle over loin., I do not think it 

 advisable to change the standard for the sake of one or two 

 dogs, that I or any one else may own, in order to show them 

 up and make great stock dogs of them. 



Breed still larger and in a few years some one else will 

 want a new standard to benefit some other oversized cog, 

 and so on from 15in. up, until the beagle will be about the 

 same as a good-sized foxhound. F. Kimba ll. 



Bhookton, Mass. 



[A letter from Mr. Phoebus on this subject will appear 

 next week.] 



FLAPS FROM THE BEAVER'S TAIL. 



Toronto, Can.— The field spaniel Rideau Rab, one of Bob 

 Obo's get, and a frequent winner on both sides of the line, 

 is another victim of the "poison fiend." He was owned by 

 Mr. C. E. Fenton, of Essex Center, 



The bench show committee of the Industrial Exhibition 

 met on Thursday, the following members being present: 

 Messrs. Postlethwaite (chairman), Donovan, Juna, Mitch- 

 ener, and Stone (superintendent). The American Collie 

 Club will offer a 620 silver medal for best American-bred 

 collie under 2yrs. exhibited by a member of the Collie Club. 

 Also a bronz; medal for the best collie in novice class. In 

 addition to these and others, the association will offer $10 

 cash for the best collie in the show. The Spaniel Club will 

 offer specials, value $20, and probably a cup. It is alto- 

 gether likely the Pet Dog Club will also support the show 

 and an endeavor will be made to bring the classification up 

 to suit the members. A challenge class of §5 and silver 

 medal for poodles was added to the list. H. B. Donovax. 



