Daily Yellowstone journal., 1891-01-18

meant % be shot over have los no means
been neglected by the English breeders
and by the im~portations from the other
side. Since the bench shows In the various
parts Of the country made dog breeding a
fashionable pursuit our old fashioned sport
ing dogs have been improved by a mixture
with the very best strains Of British blood.
Has il improved them, some will ask. /
have recently gone into this question very
deeply. and | am compelled % believe that
the setter and pointer have both been very
much improved. both In beauty Of coufor-
nation and ability 90 work in the field. by
the effort 80 breed these dog, To a. nearly
A. possible the standards which guide the
judges at the beuch show, in awarding
prizes. And what h. more 90 the purpose,
the bench show winners hlveaS a rule been
the most consistent performers bro the field
trial-. The limit 81 this article d0e- not
permit me- Co 90 more thau state these gen
eral conclusions.
The pointer j. probably 81 Spanish ORR
gin. aud b. M called from the position be
takes when be Discovers the game b. seek
Darwin -ly- that this arrested position h.
probably one % jhe halt any animal makes
before a final spring upon lt, prey How
ever thi, may h., through many genera
tion, 81 careful training the pointer, when
he has learned the 4, B, G Of his business,
would do anything rather than spring
upon his prey. An English painter who
was sketshing a pair ut pointer >ays that
upon one occasion he knew them % stand
at a point ~ rigid a. statues for An O
and a half Certainly they must have
heen mors capital models than painters
often have the luck 10 find.
The points desirable in this dog are "a
moderately large head. wide rather han
long. with a Wild forehead and an intelli-
gent eye Of melium size" The muzzle
should BE- broad and hews manifest but not
pendant The head should H. well set on
the neck, and the neck should b. long.
conveN la is upper outline, without any
dewlap or ruff. The body should he Of
good length, hips wide. loiu strong and
rather arched mis-. The tail should be
strong at it, base and become rapidly fine.
This fine pointed tail h Of much impOr-
lance in Judging the pointer. When IL h
otherwise IL shows conclusiyely that the
pointer has been crossed with some other
dog. The Shoulder are Of much impor-
tance, aud should h. strong. - hat the
dog can last through a log day Of work.
Plenty OF zone should n found In the leg.
which should he well clOtbed with muscle
and tendon, and he should have a round,
strong loot, pruNiucl Win a hAru sole.
Stonehenge thinks that the pointer hOuld
be principally white, and they usually are
40, with yellow, black, liver or lemon col
ored spots bout the head. But the oolor
does not make a. much difference "a the
intelligence, patience and endurance Of the
dog In tine hunting field.
The pointer, however. Is not only useful
as a sporting dog. he j. a most companion
able fellow. and capable Of a deal Of afec-
ton and fidelity. This may also D. said
Of the setter. which j. only less popular
thar the pointer A. a field dog. The dog
show magnates recognize three CLASSES Of
setters-the English, the Irish and the
Gordon. The setter h. one Of the spaniel
family, one Of Frederick Cuvier's subdi-
visions Of the canine family. This dog
takes bis name, too, from the attitude he
assume when the game Is found, and Oar
win thinks that the crouching position is
but preliminary to the spring upOn bis
prey. Other English writers say that this
crouchilg position was taught TO the set
ter before the improvement in fowling
pieces uade wing shooting possible by the
men who caught birds ia nets. The dog
would find the covey and would crouch on
the ground, 80 that the men with the net
could throw il over and thus snare the
birds. Il has nOw become instinct with
this bre~sd 81 dogs. and puppies do il before
taking the first Lesson.