The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1891-02-26

meant to be shot over have by no means
been neglected by the English breeders
and by the importations from the other
side Since the bench shows in the various
parts Of the country made dog breeding q
fashionable pursuit our old fashioned sport
ing dogs have been improved by mixture
with the very best strains OF British blood.
Has it improved them, some will ask. l
have recently gone into this question very
deeply, and am compelled to believe that
the setter and pointer have both been very
much improved, both in beauty of confor-
nation and ability to work in the field, by
the effort to breed these dogs to as nearly
as possible the standards which guide the
judges at the bench shows in awarding
prizes. And what is more to the purpose,
the bench show winners haveas rule been
the most consistent performers in the field
trials. The limit Of this article does not
permit NE to do more than state these gen
eral conclusions.
The pointer is probably of Spanish ori-
gin, and is so called from the position he
takes when he discovers the game he seeks.
Darwin says that this arrested position IS
probably one to the halt any animal makes
before a final spring upon its prey. How
ever this may be, through many genera
tions OF careful training the pointer, when
he has learned the A, B, G of his business,
would do anything rather than spring
upon his prey. An English painter who
was sketchiny pair of pointers says that
upon one occasion he knew them TO stand
at point as rigid as statues for an hour
and half. Certainly they must have
been more capital models than painters
often have the luck to find.
The points desirable in this dog are "a
moderately large head, wide rather than
long, with wide forehead and an intelli-
gent eye of medium size" The muZzle
should be broad and iews manifest but not
pendant. The head should be well set on
the neck, and the neck should be long,
convex in its upper outline, without any
dewlap or ruff. The body should be Of
good length, hips wide, loin strong and
rather arched ribs. The tail should be
strong at it's base and become rapidly fine.
This fine pointed tail is of much impor-
tance in Judging the pointer. When it is
otherwise it shows conclusively that the
pointer has been crossed with some other
dog. The shc ulders are of much impor-
tance, and should be strong, so that the
dog can last through log day of work
Plenty of bone should be found in the leg,
which should be we'll clothed with muscle
and tendon, and he should have a round,
strong foot, provided with a hard SOLE
Stonehenge thinks that the pointer should
be principally white, and they usually are
so, with yellow, black, liver or lemon col
ored spots about the head. But the color
does not make as much difference as the
intelligence, patience and endurance of the
dog in the hunting field.
The pointer, however. is not only useful
as sportinI, dog, he is q most companion
able fellow, and capable of deal of affec-
ton and fidelity. This may also be said
of the setter, which is only less popular
than the pointer as q field dog. The dog
show magnates recognize three classes of
setters-the English, the Irish and the
Gordon. The setter is one of the spaniel
family, one of Frederick Cuvier's subdi-
visions of the canine family. This dog
takes his name, too, from the attitude he
assumes when the game is found. and Oar
win thinks that the crouching position is
but preliminary to the spring upon his
prey. Other English writers say that this
crouchiag position was taught to the set
ter before the improvement in fowiing
pieces made wing shooting possible by the
men who caught birds in nets. The dog
would nd the covey and would crouch on
! the ground, so that the men with the net
could throw it over and thus snare the
birds. It has now become instinct with
this breed OF dogs and puppies do it before
taking the first Lesson