490 
FOREST AND STREAM, 
[Jmm 19, 1897. 
y Mmnet 
FI XTU RES. 
FIELD TRIALS. 
Sept. 1.— Contiuental Field Trials Club's chicken trials, Morris, Man 
Sept. 6. -Manitoba Field Trials Club, Morris, Man. 
Oct. 25.— Brunswick Fur Club's ninth annual trials. 
Nov. 1.— Dixie Bed Fox Club's third annual meet, Waverly, Miss. 
Nov. 2. — Monongahela Valley Game and Fish Protective Associ- 
ation's trials, Greene county. Pa. 
Nov. 8.— Union Field Trials Club's trials, Carlisle, Ind. 
Nov. 15.— E P. T. Club's trials, Newton, N. C. 
Nov. 16.— International Field Trials Club's eighth annual] trials 
Chatham, Ont. 
Nov. 22.— U. S. F. T. Club's autumn trials. 
1898. 
Jan. 10.— IT. S. F. T Club's winter trials. West Point, Miss. 
Jan. 17.— Continental F. T. Club's trials, New Albany, Miss. 
THE ETHAN ALLIN SETTER. 
Hampton, Conn. — Mitor Forest and Stream: In respect 
to the question as to the origin, type and field qualities of 
the Ethan AUin setters, I will endeavor to give the pedigrees 
of these dogs as far as their breeding is known, and while 
these pedigrees are not complete, they will give a fair idea 
from what blood they were produced. Personally I did not 
know Mr. Allin, for it was not until after his death that I 
became directly interested in this strain of dogs, although 
they were the first bird dogs I ever saw afield or shot a gun 
over. I first bought puppies of this strain from different 
parties which proved to be good field dogs, especially so on 
ruffed grouse, and as this is our principal game bird, grouse 
dogs were in greater demand than quail dogs; so I took the 
idea that I would secure a bitch of this strain, and see if I 
could not breed back and reproduee stock that would be 
equal to those that I had previously seen and handled. Brood 
bitches of this strain were hard to secure whose breeding 
could be established, although dogs that were called "Ethan 
AUins" could be found everywhere. I finally found one. 
Trap III., owned by W. W. Jewett of this place, and she 
was bred to several dogs of this strain, whose pedigrees I 
traced up and found correct, but the result was far from 
satisfactory. The pups from these litters were invariably of 
high strung, nervous dispositions, gunshy and timid. When 
this bitch was bred out to some good English setter dog, I 
secured some nice field dogs. It seems to me that the rea- 
son is plain when we look at the pedigree of this bitch, and 
see how her ancestors had been bred in for three or four gen- 
erations. This same inbreeding is, to my mind, the reason 
that this strain of dogs has run out so quickly; for it is a fact 
that while there are some dogs of this strain still living that 
are fine field dogs, there are but few wbose pedigree can be 
traced back. Most of the Ethan Allins of to-day are dogs 
known to be at least half English setter blood. Failing to 
bring these dogs back to the standard that I had been accus- 
tomed to, 1 gave them up, and to-day ha.ve not a drop of 
Ethan Allin blood in my kennels. I inclose the pedigree of 
Trap III. for three generations, or back to Trap I., and a 
pedigree of this bitch as far back as Mr. Allin knew it. 
It will be seen that the sire and dam of Trap III. were 
brother and sister, but this was not Mr. Allin's breeding, as 
I believe that Trap III. was bred by A. B. Boswell, of 
Danielsonville, Conn. Mr. Boswell owned her sire and dam, 
- Ned and Trap II, they being bred by Mi-. Allin. 
The bitch Trap I. was considered "by Mr. Allin as one of 
the finest he ever bred, being an orange and white in color 
and a fine looking bitch. She was also an excellent field 
performer. She was sired by his dog Fag, a slate-blue, 
white and tan dog, out of his noted bitch Fan. You will 
note that the pedigree of Fan is not given, but he says that 
she "was imported in utero by Capt. Winslow." 
Who Capt. Winslow is or was I do not know, but Fan 
was an orange and white English setter, and was owned and 
trained by Edward Botham, of this town, who afttrward 
sold her to Gilbert Burnham, from whom Mr. Allin bought 
her. Fan was a great field bitch, and Mr. Botham bred 
from her before he sold her, and from this stock he produced 
some excellent field dogs. He bred her to an Irish setter 
dog owned by Edgar Newton, and produced a fine litter, 
chief among them being a dog known as One-Eyed Dan, a 
dog that enjoyed the distinction of being the finest quail 
dog in this section. From him was bred some good ones, 
one in particular, owned and trained by Henry T. Mosley, 
of Hampton, an orange and white dog that was one of the 
best all-round field dogs for our New England shooting I 
ever saw; the last I knew of this dog be was sold and weat 
to some place in York State. 
From this bitch Fan, Mr. Allin secured his finest stock, 
and it was from her progeny that the Ethan Allin setter 
gained such wide notoriety. She was also a fine-formed 
bitch, and won the second prize at the Springfield, Mass., 
bench show in 1874. Her daughter Cosy, whose name you 
will note in the inclosed pedigree, is the bitch Mr. Allin 
used to show at the bench shows on point, and was quite a 
drawing card al that time. By taking this pedigree which I 
inclose, and going back eight or nine generations and follow- 
ing it down, you will get a pretty good idea of the crosses 
that were made to establish this strain. There is the blood 
of the Irish setter and the English traced back to the im- 
ported stock; also a strain from the old Pete Tomlinson 
stock, of New Haven, Conn. — dogs that were considered the 
equal of any a quarter of a century ago, and I believe they 
were justly entitled to that credit, tor I have dogs now that 
descended from this same strain that were bred by E . K. 
Sperry, of New Haven, and they are the best dogs, take 
them as they run through whole litters, of any strain of dogs 
I have ever handled. After studying this pedigree one must 
come to the conclusion that Mr. Allin bred to the best field 
dogs he could find without regard to breed or pedigree, con- 
sidering field merit as paramount to all other considerations. 
As far as my experience goes I could hardly say that they 
were an established type, for we see dogs of all colors, lemon 
and white predominating, yet there were certain character- 
istics that were usually noticeable, particularly the n rrow, 
pointed muzzle, "snipe nose" we call it here, and the major- 
ity of those that I have broken were of short, compact 
bodies, straight, flat coats, and rather straight on their hind- 
legs, In disposition they were mild and gentle. 
In the field their style of work was entirely different from 
our modern English setter, lacking the speed and lofty car- 
riage that is so much admired to-aay ; but,they could main- 
tain a fair rate of speed, and after a few days' work would 
settle down into a steady, easy lope, and go from morning 
until night six days in the week, working just as cheerfully 
the last day as the first. They possessed wonderfully keen 
noses, stanch as rocks, and many^times were^cautious almost 
The following is the padigree of the Ethan Allin orange and white setter bitch Trap I. ■ 
f Small wood's 
'Eldridge's J dog. 
Piince ,, , ,. 1 Dr Mason's 
Fag. 
TRAPL. 
Fan (imported 
by Winslow; 
ped. unknown. 
fWhitwell'sGinx. 
Bradford's Cush. 
Dcxter's Chance. • 
(. bitch. 
Mason's jDanWeb- 
hitoh i ater's imp. 
j Bachel. 
i Logo's dog. 
.Hammond's Fan-< Dr. Sturges's 
( imp. bitch. 
( Spinner's 
TBowditch'sSpry. •< Bump. 
Allin's Ohunn....-! ( Allin's Grim. 
[Allin's Fan, 
"Whitwell's I Flagg's Jerry 
Tige j Carrow's Pat 
( Packer's Phtt 
Allin's Tip. . . Eosevelt's 
( Bet. 
f Skinner's Bump. 
Cosey,. 
Gen. Eley's Dash - 
Fan (imported) 
Greene's Eoz - 
AIlin'aTlp. 
Weed's 
Chance, 
Carrow's Pat 
fFrom red 
I Irish par- 
Rosevelt's J ents, imp, 
Fred | by Com. 
Tatenall, 
l U. 8. N. 
Allin's Sal, 
Eley's Squint.,.,- 
. Allin's Lass, 
Red Iristi bitch, 
Scott Rodman 
strain.., 
f Whitwell's 
Higginson's J T'&S- 
I Carrow's (Roz. 
I Tottie •jTip.. 
fRelford bitch 
J owned in 
■ j B i n g bam- 
L ton, N. Y. 
r Whitwell's j Jr',!-^^'^"IfT 
I m,-o.„ ■< (Insh setter), 
I ^ Carrow'sPet, 
.AUin's Grim, i 
I ( Packer's Phil 
LAlUn's Tip.. .-{ Eosevelt's 
I Bet. 
to a fault. Working usually with their noses close to the 
ground, picking up the faintest scent, working it out in the 
same manner that a bloodhound would, they were, at picking 
up an old cold trail and following it out, the superior of any 
race of severs that ever came under my observation. Their 
style of working would not have gained for them any notice 
at a field trial, but here in New England, where most of our 
shooting is done in the cover, and where the ground is for a 
greater part of the season carpeted with several inches of dry 
leaves where scent does not hold and where birds are com- 
paratively scarce, their keen noses and great ability for work- 
ing out those old "trails," which the average high-headed, 
dashing Eaglish setter would not notice, it won for them a 
warm place in the hearts of that class of sportsmen that 
cared little for style or lofty pedigree, but wanted a dog that 
could be relied upon for a p'easant day afield. 
1 have personally run an Ethan Allin and a Lewellyn or 
Lavarack together at brace work, and many is the time that 
1 have known the Ethan Allin to take up one of those old 
trails and follow it for a hundred yards before the English 
setter would seem to realize that a bird had been there. I 
say a "trail," for that seems to me to be the only expression 
that will cover it. While our English setter, with his head 
high up and sometimes several yards from the course, 
actually pursued by the bird "roads" his birds, the Ethan 
Allin followed the foot scent with nose near the ground, so 
I make the distinction and call it "trailing." 
Grouse, or partridge, was their favorite bird, and with 
stanchness and caution they would steal upon an old wary 
grouse with their cat lilie step that seldom alarmed the bird, 
and was pretty sure to give the sportsman a shot. When 
they took up an old trail the only thing to do was to let 
them alone to work out their own salvation, and if that bird 
stayed cm the ground they would nail him sooner or later. 
For my own shooting I like a rather fast dog, yet I took 
great pleasure in shooting over these dogs, and it is with re- 
gret that I note that the Etan AWin of my early experience is 
so nearly extinct. 
The orange and white American setter bitch Trap III , 
whelped in June, 1887, and owned by W. W, Jewitt, 
Hampton, Conn., is as follows; 
Dots. 
[■Ginx,,-| 
Chance. 
Fan. 
•1 
rSad,,,- 
lchnm.]|PS^' 
fNed,..,. 
TraplII. 
( Quirk. 
Trusty. J f* Bitch imported by 
fva-n J Capt. Wmslow, an 
itan...-^ English Laverack 
'Fag, 
L Trap I. 
-1 
bred in England. 
*Fan.. 
.Cosy...-{ 
|^Dash..-{ Squirt, red Irish bitch. 
[*Fan, 
.Trap II. I 
Sad, 
Trap I. 
Lester A. Pealk 
SCHOOLING THE DOG.-IV. 
Some of the authorities on the subject of training main- 
tain that the puppy's education should begin when he is very 
young. In theory, it is very plausible. The teacher thus 
takes the puppy when its mind is unformed, and then stuffs 
it with knowledge before anything else has an opportunity 
to be implanted in it. Thus the puppy is trained from youth 
in the proper manner, free from the objectionable traits 
which are supposed to be acquired if he is given too much 
liberty or if his schooling begins when he has reached matur- 
ity. Furthermore, his mind then being more receptive and 
his character being in the formative stage, he grows into his 
education as it were. 
This is all very pretty in theory. In practice, it is all very 
wrong. What is called the training of the d'og — that is, his 
training as it refers to working to the gun for his master's 
pleasure or profit — is really but a small fragment of the dog's 
education. He in the main acquires his own education, par- 
tially from his own observation and partially from the 
schooling which he derives from everyday association with 
man. In such matters as prove profitable and therefore pleas- 
urable to him, he quickly learns from his own observation 
which methods prove most successiul, and those he adopts. 
He quite as readily learns what acts produce pain, and those 
he avoids. For instance, if he is whipped for invading the 
pantry or chasing chickens, he associates the acts with pain 
and avoids them. He quickly learns to detect the signs 
which indicate punishment; thus the change in his master's 
voice caused by irritation, or the change from the same cause 
In his facial expression, is detected instantly if it has pre- 
viously been associated with punishment, and the pain he 
suffers through fear and disapproval deters him from com- 
milting the objectionable acts. 
In the household, unconsciously, the dog is receiving his 
schooling constantly, and in time he learns to fit into the 
domestic life of the family, unobtrusively, accurately and 
intelligently. He understands what is permitted to him 
and what is not, and as there is but very little allotted to 
him, he recognizes it and keeps within the limits. He sleeps 
where he can be the most comfortable and yet the least in 
the way; he waits wistfully and deferentially for his meals; 
he trots quietly about, giving every one the right of way; in 
short, he learns to be a part of the domestic life of a family 
without any particular individual distinctiveness of his own. 
He learns that strangers are distinct from the family and 
toward them he feels secure in showing hostility. 
If he be a country dog, he learns to hunt woodchucks or 
rabbits; at first he may consider chickens, sheep, etc, as 
being lawful prey, but being punished for chasing them, and 
thus, from associating pain with their pursuit, he confines 
his pursuit to such animals as prove profitable and pleasur- 
able. 
To develop his mental and physical capabilities he must 
have experience in a natural way. When the puppy is play- 
ing with other puppies or with children, such is not idle 
effort, or positive liarm as some men seem to think it. On 
the contrary, it is the best of schooling. It is a wholesome 
development by nature's own method. The puppy at play 
is acquiring a training of all his senses, besides acquiring a 
knowledge of outside matters. His energies are aroused. 
He becomes self-reliant, active and skillful. The training at 
play is the school which fits the puppy for serious work. It 
is tberefore better to leave him largely to his own freedom 
and resources within proper limits till he is eight or ten or 
twelve months old, accordingly as he is mentally and physic- 
ally developed. He then learns ways and means of his own, 
becomes waywise and secures a general fund of valuable 
knowledge. " Of course, he can be broken of any bad habits, 
such as chasing sheep or killing chickens; but the special 
education should be left entirely in abeyance. However, 
the trainer should permit the puppy to associate with him as 
much as possible, so that the puppy will recognize him as 
his master, become fond of him, and develop naturally from 
the opportunities afforded when accompanying the trainer 
in his walks through the fields and roads. At the same time 
the trainer learns the peculiarities and capabilities of the 
puppy, and can then accurately determine the best method 
to apply in his training. 
As to the training itself, it may be divided into two parts, 
the yard training and field training. 
The yard training consists in teaching the dog such com- 
mands as are useful in managing him to the purposes of the 
gun, such as dropping to order, or to shot or signal of the 
hand; coming in or going out to order, retrieving and the 
commands associated with it, and the obedience which cdmes 
from discipline, all of which will be fully treated in due 
place. 
The field training consists in giving the dog opportunity to 
apply his instinctive desires to hunt birds, and then so check- 
ing or preserving them in their application as to be of service 
to the shooter's requirements. 
It is commonly supposed that the trainer teaches the dog 
to hunt birds He does not do so. Domesticated dogs, 
wild dogs and other carnivora learn to hunt without any 
teaching. The true trainer is he who can take advantage of 
the dog's efforts, force him to abandon such methods as are 
detrimental to the interests of the gun, confine him to such 
methods as he excels in and which are the most useful to the 
shooter, and encourage him to work as a team with, his 
trainer; that is, to adjust his effort so as to play to the gun's 
interest. In this, too, strictly speaking, there is nothing 
taught. The dog learns it himself from experience, and 
that, too, without any trainer. For instance, greyhounds 
learn to run cunning, one hound adjusting his efforts intelli- 
gently to the efforts of the other, and using entirely different 
methods from what one hound uses when in pursuit alone. 
The field training of a dog is largely a system of suppres- 
sion. He is punished for doing undesirable acts, and such, 
desirable ones as he has are preserved. If he is deficient in 
any natural qualities, the trainer cannot remedy the de- 
fect. 
The commonest error is that the amateur in Ms effort to 
suppress some undesirable trait may suppress several desir- 
able ones, or all, for that matter, as when the trainer en- 
deavors to break the dog of chasing rabbits or birds or 
breaking shot, and he does it so thoroughly that he breaks 
