The Popular English Setter 
M IDST the sanctity and quietude of a little 
village churchyard close to Whitchurch, 
Shropshire, England, lie the bones of a 
sportsman who lived to a great age and passed 
away during the last fourth quarter of the last 
century. Those remains are of Edward Laverack, 
of Broughall Cottage, Whitchurch, and he 
it was who gave us very many beautiful 
English setters, and they stay the handsomest 
dogs of the'ir kind. Surely there is noth¬ 
ing better looking on God’s good earth in the 
eyes of the dog lover than an English setter, in 
the height of condition, with his white, silvered 
and silk-shining coat now in all of its abundance; 
with the feathers profuse on his legs and flag and 
reaching down from his deep chest and under 
ribs. Look for a moment at the cut of his clas¬ 
sic head—-the length and breadth of his skull, 
and the length and depth of his fore-face—his 
pendulous lips, his kind eyes, and the deep set- 
on of his well feathered ears. Go back over his 
body and there you will find strength. The ribs 
are strong and deep—the ribs of the old frigate 
kind, that mean the encasement of something that 
shall demonstrate heart and constitution. Per¬ 
ceive his hams—his hind quarters, his well bent 
stifle joints, his great bone, his feathered feet. 
And don’t forget his stern, that of the three- 
quarter length kind, with the feather gradually 
becoming longer as it leaves the rump to again 
ease off to a fine point at the end of the sting. 
Cover this imaginary dog over with long, straight 
and silky hair (excepting of course, on the head), 
fleck or tick him all over with blue or lemon 
and you have one of the most beautiful beasts 
of animal creation. And not only is he delightful 
to look upon, but he is day in and day out the 
most useful dog of what we require when we 
go afield with the shotgun. 
Setters are nothing more or less than im¬ 
proved spaniels, and they were first taught to 
set game birds so that they could be encom¬ 
passed in the net. When the dogs set or pointed 
the birds, chiefly partridges of the English or 
French kinds, on the stubbles, the net was drawn 
and as the birds rose the instrument was flopped 
down on top of them. 
Let us go to the immortal Somervfle for in¬ 
spiration on this point. Here is his beautiful 
apostrophe to the setter: 
When Autumn smiles, all beauteous in decay, 
And paints each chequer’d grove with various hues, 
My setter ranges in the new shorn fields, 
His nose in air erect; from ridge to ridge, 
Panting, he bounds, his quarter’d ground divides 
In equal intervals, nor careless leaves 
One inch untry’d. At length the tainted gales 
His nostrils wide inhale; quick joy elates 
His beating heart, which, aw’d by discipline 
Severe, he dares not own, but cautious creeps, 
Low-cowering, step by step, at last attains 
His proper distance; there he stops at once, 
And points with his instructive nose upon 
The trembling prey. In wings of wind upborne, 
The floating net unfolding lies; then drops, 
And the poor fluttering captives rise in vain. 
The Most Beautiful of Bird Dogs 
By Freeman Lloyd. 
Here we will see the use of the setter before 
the days of the little leaden .pellets which we 
now know as shot and when men had to depend 
on their dogs, nets and hawks for a bird dinner. 
It has before been written that the setter is 
nothing more or less than an improved land span¬ 
iel, and as Somervile plainly points out, the set¬ 
ting spaniel had been taught to drop and set 
when he came close to game; he had been “aw’d 
by discipline severe.” Breeding from dogs which 
through the generations had been taught to set, 
brought about a race of setting dogs, and such 
are those we own to-day. 
It has been claimed that the nose of the setter 
is better than that of the pointer. There can, 
however, be no strict ruling on this matter. 
There are dogs of both varieties that excel, while 
others are indifferent. The setter, however, is 
considered to be able to withstand more varia¬ 
tions of climate, while on the other hand, there 
are some who object to them because of their 
coats becoming so twisted up with burrs in 
rough countries. It is claimed that the feathered 
foot of the setter is of great assistance to him in 
rough cover. Setters, like all the spaniels, are good 
water dogs, and they are very quickly taught to 
Photograph by F. Colbourne Clarke. 
Mr. and Mrs. Edward B. Chase and Prize English Setters Champion Lansdowne Ruler and 
Champion Lansdowne Lena. 
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