7S 
FOREST AND STREAM. 
the two thickets, in which the fox alternately souglit.safety. 
When he was closely pressed in his efforts to run a stretch, 
he would return to one or other of these thickets, and stealthily 
creep out The chase was continued for ten minutes, with 
repeated doublings, in a circumference of half a mile when 
the fox at last made a desperate effort to run a stretch. He 
took the public road, in full view of the pack, and he d on 
well for some distance. The pack had however, taken 
the heels and bottom of the fox, and lie fell a sacrifice to his 
own self-reliance upon both. Our fair companions unluckily 
followed my suggestion at this juncture, and remained on the 
opposite side of the swamp, taking position to witness the 
fox repeats his runs across the open field to the other thicket. 
They were, however, soon up, and with checks reddened by 
the sport and tongues loosened by its excitement, they, in 
huntsman-like style, each described the chase, and related 
every personal incident. While thus merrily recounting them, 
one of the party rode up to us and informed us that five dogs 
had gone down the road after another fox. We soon dis- 
covered that the peerless Vanity was of the number of five 
of our best runners. We would have gone in search of them 
but for our convictions that as it was a gray the sport had 
ended. Our conjectures were right, for they soon caught 
up with us, giving evidence of a successful result, which we 
afterward learned was the case. ... , . „ 
I presume that Col. Skinner examined the keunel of Gen. 
W H Jackson, at Bellemead, Tcnn., when there last fall. If 
so he had a good opportunity of seeing in it several Byron 
hounds, sent to the General from this section. Velocipede, 
Gen Starke sent him; and I, Leader, full brother of the peer- 
less Vanity. Though fine and well trained fox hounds, they 
were not the speediest of our packs. T. G. S. 
Gaston, N. V. 
— — • 
RED AS A USEFUL COLOR FOR 
SETTERS. 
T HE courteous criticism by Mr. Justus von Lengerke, of my 
letter to the Fobest and Stream, on the “Colors of 
Setters and Pointers,” leads me to express my views a little 
more fully in regard to the reasons why red is a practically 
useful color for setters, and in some instances highly preferable 
to any other. In considering the manner in which color con 
tributes to or militates against the usefulness of dogs in the 
field, it appears evident that no one color is superior to all the 
others in all respects. One's taste for any particular color is 
very apt to be influenced by the attachment he has or may 
have had for a dog of that color. I own to an especial pen- 
chant for orange and white, the colors of old “ Cora," a setter 
that has been my companion and helpmate in many a day’s 
sport during the last dozen years. 
And when shooting over a thoroughbred Gordon setter I 
have thought that no colors could be more beautiful than the 
rich black trimmed with tan, with the chest white. In fact, 
having bad so much sport shooting over dogs of various colors, 
1 like them all. 
Leaving aside the matter of taste, let us confine our- 
selves to the subject of usefulness. As a general rule, 
it may be true that “ no good dog is of a bad color,” but there 
are many exceptions to this rule. As, for instance, white 
would be a bad color for a duck retriever, no matter how good 
the dog might be in other respects. 
Red has been disparaged as less useful than other colors, 
because not so showy in the field, and little has been said as a 
refutation of the charge, although the high favor in which the 
color is held is a silent one. All those owmug dogs of this 
color have probably learned by experience that they are not 
sacrificing any of their sport by the gratification of their taste 
in this respeet. The special instances of this color lackmg 
some of the advantages of others are more than counterbal- 
anced by the many instances where it excels in usefulness by 
contributing more to the day’s sport, if the dogs are used as 
the majority of setters in this country are for all sorts of \vork 
incidental to shooting different varieties of game. I appreci- 
ate the advantages of a solid white color in cover ; yet, when 
cock-shooliDg here in Maine, I would put a bell on a dog of 
anv color for the covers are, as a rule, very dense, and even a 
white dog could not be seen far awuy. For snipe shooting, 
white would be for me the worst color, for the very reason 
that it is so showy, and could indeed be seen a half mile away 
in a snipe meadow, not only by the sportsman, but by all the 
birds in the vicinity, whether snipe, ducks, plovers, curlews, 
hawks or herons. , , 
Mr Von LeDgerke says that fer a snipe dog he prefers one 
that “is not afraid to range off half a mile under certain cir- 
cumstances.” and asks “ How would you see a dog at such a 
distance on meadows, full with yellowish brown reeds, etc. ?’’ 
I trust that I never shall see a dog of mine hunting “ such a 
distance ” from me when on the meadows. Most dogs are not 
afraid to range off a great deal further than their masters de- 
sire Under ordinary conditions, two hundred yards each side 
of iny route is as far as I should wish the dogs to rnuge; 
and if this extent of ground is hunted over at all thoroughly, I 
can leisurely keep up with the fastest of them. In open shoot- 
ing, I seldom have any difficulty in Bering a dog of any color 
as far away as I care to have him hunt, and yet 1 do not think 
that my method of working dogs in the open could be called 
“ close hunting.” „ . 
There are exceptional occasions for allowing a dog to range 
beyond the limits specified, particularly when “ chickeD ” 
ehootiDg, but I should never wish the limit extended to a half 
mile most especially when following the dogs afoot on a 
snipe meadow. Now, let U9 see in what way the red dog may 
be preferable when snipe shooting. 
For this purpose I consider the color an eminently practical 
one for the same reason dial Mr. Von Lengerke considers it the 
■worst of alL And that is, bccailfce less showy. 1 buve no 
difficulty in seeing dogs of this color, although I might were 
they a half mile away ; but I never intentionally allow them 
to range off so far when on the meadows. Easily seen by the 
sportsman at any reasonable distance, instead of being a 
showilv contrasting color, it is one that, in a measure, ussuni- 
lates with that ol the surrounding landscape aud gives lestw 
alarm to any observant game. Aud even when noticed by 
game, a red dog seems to give less alarm than one of any other 
color, which I believe to lie in a great measure owing to its 
resemblance to the colors of wild animals, and notably the red- 
foxes. 
A red dog seems a positive attraction to waterfowl, and, 
impelled by curiosity or some peculiar fascination, they will 
swim toward the dog, if no man or other suspicious object is 
to be seen. In some localities I have found sportsmen who 
would not care to kill plovers or any such inferior game when 
snipe-sliooting, nor even exert themselves for a shot at ducks. 
But from Maine to Maryland, along the coast, game is no- 
where to he found in' such great abundance ns to cause a 
sportsman, when snipe-shooting, to be indifferent to the op- 
portunity for a shot at ducks, “bay snipe,” plovers, etc., 
whereby be may add much to the sport and lmg of the day. 
This fact, is especially appreciated by those *vho shoot over 
the much frequented grounds near any city, where a thorough 
knowledge of the locality, good dogs and straight powder are 
needed to insure good sport. At such places the birds are 
generally too much hunted to become fat and lazy, and to ob- 
tain much shooting one must needs devote attention to every 
sort of game met with. As an illustration, I will give the re- 
sult of a day’s shooting over a brace of red setters on 6uch 
grounds. , 
The birds were wild, nod all killed were at loDg range. 
The few snipe found were on closely cut marsh, where the 
cover was sparse and they would hardly lie to the dogs. 
Well, besides the eight snipe bagged, there were twelve 
“ grass-birds” (pectoral sandpipers), which were flushed and 
shot singly, affording quite as difficult shots as the snipe, and 
they are nearly equal to the latter delicious birds when served 
at the table. Several marsh. hawks, so destructive to our 
game birds, were liunliDg over the same grounds, and seeing 
one skimming over the marsh toward me, I dropped the dops 
by signal and concealed myself in a ditch. The hawk did 
not notice the dogs until passing close over one of them, 
when it rose abruptly in the air, hut kept ou its course, and 
immediately after fell to my shot. After this I had a shot at 
some ducks, whose presence was betrayed to me by one of the 
dogs. 1 was walking parallel to a stream and a huudred yards 
from it, when one of the dogs came to a full stop on its bank. 
The attitude and waving stern told me that something of es- 
pecial interest had been fouud. I immediately dropped the 
other dn", and walking to the stream, flushed five dusky 
ducks, near enough to drop one with No. 9 shot, the dog 
having been standing in full view of them while I was ap- 
proaching. I do not doubt that the first, sight of a dog of 
another color, even at a greater distance, would have instantly 
put the ducks to flight. Then there were bagged seven eora 
rails, three bitterns and a woodcock. 
The soras do not appear to be much alarmed by a dog of 
any color, nor even by man. In fact, one of these rails was 
taken alive and is n<»w living in an aviary. I hail just killed 
a brace of snipe, and made one of the dogs remain where he 
dropped to allow the other, a youDg bitch, to retrieve the 
birds, this beiDg her first season in I he field. One bird was 
brought in, aud while searching where the other fell, she 
seemed greatly excited over what I supposed to be the crippled 
snipe running. Encouraging her to fetch, she soon brought 
to me a live sora, held tenderly by the wing, and entirely un- 
injured. Had I hunted with white dogs on that day I believe 
that I should not have obtained more than one-fourth the 
number of shots that I did. The cock was shot in an alder 
cover thick enough to render even a white dog invisible at 
twenty yards distance, and it mattered little then what 
color the dogs were. In such a place I depend more 
upon my ears than my eyes to inform me of the presence 
of the soughl-for grime. Tins day was one of many spent on 
similar grounds, where the sport to be obtained does not de- 
pend entirely, although it may chiefly, upon such game as the 
dogs will point. Even when going to the shores or marshes, 
especially for “ bay-SDipe " or plover shooting, I like to be 
accompanied by one of my dogs, which often proves very 
useful in retrieving birds from the water or inaccessible 
places, if in no other way. 
let many a sportsman will not take his dog on such an ex- 
cursion, lest the game be frightened by the conspicuous color 
of the animal. On many occasions, besides, when shooting 
over dogs, have 1 had occasion to be glad that I had a red one 
to take with me as a useful companion, when a black or 
while one would have been left at home. Of course, setters 
are not generally considered as retrievers, although in thi9 
country retrieving is considered an indispensable part of their 
education ; and when collecting I have u6ed one of my setters 
to retrieve all sorts of birds, from ducks and gulls to the puf- 
fins and little “sea-pigeons” or black guillemots, although 1 
would not make a practice of seuding a setter from Burf- 
beateu ledges iHto icy northern waters. And the same dog 
will retrieve a warbler from a swamp or a partridge from a 
briar-grown dit h equally well. . All the arguments in advo- 
cacy of the idea that retrieving injures a dog’s nose, I regard 
as purely theoretical. Of course, this last-mentioned instance 
of the advantage of having a dog of a color that is not too 
showy is a special case, for few sportsmen devote any time to 
the study of ornithology, and few ornithologists use dogs 
when collecting, and I stale it merely as an additional practi- 
cal purpose for which the red color is preferable to me. At 
one time my constant companion in field and forest was a 
pointer whose predominant color wus white, but I find that 
all birds 6eem less alarmed by a red dog than by one that is 
mostly while, whether game birds or other sorts. 
In speaking of shootiDg in cover, Mr. Von Lengerke says 
that a white dog “ would need no bell to tell his where- 
abouts.” This would depend upon the nature of the cover, 
the good and bad qualities of the dog, and his training. The 
remark would apply to an open cover and a well-broken dog 
that could always he kept under control and made to hunt as 
closely as desired. It is only for special work, such as shoot- 
ing in cover, that I should ever consider white a color desir- 
able for its usefulness. And the advantages of the color in 
one respect are greatly overbalanced by its disadvantages in 
various respects. While the white may be useful in color, I 
believe the red is more so for all sorts of shooting, and prefer- 
able to all others on the marshes. Perhaps I ought to white- 
wash this statement, or the dogs, for those sportsmen whose 
power of vision is imperfect. As I keep dogs for use and not 
for ornament, I would never suffer any sacrifice of field quali- 
ties in breeding for any desired color, Dor is this necessary in 
obtaining that meet desirable combination— usefulness and 
beauty. At least I have not found it so. An animal whose 
beauty is owing to high breeding, and by beauty I mean not 
only color, but also form, texture of coat, etc , will, if well- 
bred, prove to be the one that will afford the most pleasure 
to its master. Everett Smith. 
Allin seriously mean to say that lie lias a setter, the nutural 
color of whose coat is actually blue? Everett Smith. 
Color of Doo and Size of Gun.— Backed by thirty 
years’ experience with dog and gun, I offer my opinion on two 
points discussed in your journal. The color of setters and 
pointers is very much more than a matter of taste. I have 
too often been afflicted by walking around a field, searching 
for a lost dog of one of those dingy colors, standing motion- 
less and invisible on his point alongside of some bunch of 
weeds the same color as himself, not to look at the matter of 
color from a utilitarian point of view. A black dog is the 
easiest of all to see ; a clean black and white next. An entire 
white at a distance, in some light, is difficult to see when mo- 
tionless. Those grizzled fellows called ‘ beltous are the 
W On the question of the best size and weight of a gun for 
general shooting, there appears to me to he no great difference 
between 10 and 12 -bores. Either, to be most effective, should 
shoot, with safety and without recoil, 4.4 drs. of powder ; and 
it will be difficult to make it do this lighter than 8 lbs. Some 
years ago I had a gun made by Clarke & Sneider, of Balti- 
more, for general utility, and which I believe to be unsur- 
passed for such shooting. I gave the following order : Bar- 
rels of very best English twist (ihe best material ever yet 
used) - gauge, 10 bore ; length of barrels. 80 inches; weight, 8$ 
pounds Here is the kind of shooting I sometimes get: A 
day in December Inst— First shot, a mallard, killed dead 60 
yds ■ second, a ruffed grouse with each barrel at 46 and 0(1 
yds’.- third, a wild turkey at 70 yds.; fourth, a blue wing at, 
from 95 to 100 yds. (and killed dead). Charge, 44 drs. pow 
der H oz. No. 4 shot Then changing to 3 drs. of powder 
and U oz. No. 6 shot, killed eight quail, anti ou my return, a 
ruffed grouse; missed four shots. I think a 61b. 10-bore 
can't be made to do that sort of work. M. G. E. 
Blacksburg, Va., Feb. 22, 1878. 
Discussions as to colors of dogs, wc think, depend very 
much on the idiosyncracics of people’s tastes. Color in a dog 
may, however, mean a good deal as to breed. Still the ques- 
tion of colors can never be decided. We do not suppose that 
a black dog or a white one would suit all the eyes of sports- 
men any more than would a red one. It is strange to know 
how many people are affected with what is called Daltonism. 
To certain eyes a red dog is not red, and even some people, 
as may be seen in this journal, never have seen a cerulean 
colored dog, otherwise called a Blue Belton. 
Eight Lonely Little Dogs.— One might try long and not 
write a more pathetic paragraph than the one which appeared 
in last week’s Sun, which was ns follows : “There was a little 
strip of a mourning band over the cage of the eight perform- 
ing dogs in the Museum at 23 Bowery. A card said that the 
dogs would not perform because their mistress, Mme. Benja- 
min, is dead. The dogs whined and were restless. Mme. 
Benjamin was once a celebrated danseuse. While perform- 
ing, her dress took fire, and she was disfigured for life. Being 
unable to obtain employment, she, with wonderful patience, 
trained her dogs. Mme. Benjamin was buried by the em- 
ployees in the Museum.” 
«—•—-» 
A Punotual Dog.— There is a dog in this city which ap- 
pears to be gifted with sufficient intelligence or reasoning 
power to enable him to tell the time of day and night, but 
how he does it is something that is past finding out. The dog 
is the property of a suloon keeper on one of our principal 
streets, and is a very common looking animal, being a pretty 
fair specimen of the typical "yaller dog.” He loafs about 
the saloon from the time his muster goes on watch (5 p. m.) 
until 8 o'clock, when he invariably pushes open the door and 
goes home. This 1 have seen him do a number of times, yet 
I have never thought to notice whether he looks at the clock 
or not. What is remarkable about it is the fact that lie never 
misses going precisely at 8 o’clock— not two minutes before 
or after the band touches the exact spot. This he floes regu- 
larly, night after night, and it matters not what may be en- 
gaging his attention at the time, this “yaller dog" is never 
seduced into staying beyond his regular time. Persons who 
frequeDt the saloon positively assert that the dog does look at 
the clock, aud that liis departure is governed entirely by the 
position of the hands of that instrument. 
Perhaps some one who has studied the natures of these 
intelligent brutes will rise and explain by what probable 
method that dog learns wheu the hour of eight bus urrived. 
1 might add that the clock does not strike. Amigo. 
Sacramento , Cal . , Feb 9. 
Passengers and Doos fob Boston by the Fall River 
Line.— For the benefit of those of your readers who may wish 
to attend the coming Bench Show in Boston this month, I beg 
to say that this line will sell tickets to Boston and return at $5 
for the round trip. No charge will be made for dogs to be 
exhibited. Geo. L. Connor, Gen. I’ussenger Agent. 
— — 
Blue Setters. — Mr. Ethan Allin takes me to task for stat- 
ing that blue is a color unknown to either setters or pointers, 
except in name, and asserts, if I understand him aright, that 
he can show me “a blue, white ami tan setter," which is ‘ not 
a black roan, but indigo blue.” If any of this dog’s progeny 
are of a lighter shade I should like to obtain a brace that are 
sky-blue. I am perfectly familiar with the bluish reflections 
to be seen on the black coat of a Gordon setter, but docs Mr. 
Fine Doos fob Boston.— Mr. P. U. Morris will exhibit at 
the Boston Bench Show the flower of his kennel. Lark, the 
champion ; the field trial Czar, by Champion Lester, out of 
Champion Petro ; Sultana, by Champion Lester, out of th 
pure Laverack Peeress, and Ida, by Champion Rob Roy, out 
of Mr. Whittman’s Mell. 
Baltimore Bench Snow.— Premium list of the Bench 
Show to be held at the Masonic Temple, April 23, 24, 25, 26, 
under the auspices of the Baltimore Kennel Club : 
Division I— Spouting Dogs, Champion Class. 
Class 1— English Setters— Imported and Native — For the best 
dog. 460 ; for best bitch, $50. 
Class 2— Irish Sellers— Imported and Native— For best dog, 
$50; for best bitch, $60. 
Class 3— Gordon Setters— Imported and Native— For host dog, 
$50; for best bitch, $50. 
Class 4— Pointers— Imported and Native— For best dog, $50 ; 
for best bitch, $50. 
OPEN CLASSES. 
No dog or bitch iB qualified to compete in olasos 6, 0, 7, 8, 9, 10 
and 11 that has ever won a first prize at Ohiougo, Baltimore, New 
York, St Louis or Boston Shows. 
Class 5— English Setters— Importod, or their progeny— For best 
dog, $30 ; for second best dog, $20 ; for best bltob, $30 ; for 
