Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-12-17

IouHUeT Oh the StTdlus dft0OuSn the dUti-
Lewellin men dispute Mr.. Burgess claims
to having named them. maintaining that
the idea was Suggested to him by Teas
dale Buckell, an English friend of Mr..
Llewellin. MIR. Llewellin was an English
gentleman of high position and large
estate who for years had made a close
study of blood lines and breeding of
settlers. About 1S1O-we think-he Sc
cured the Laverack bitches Countess and
Nellie and bred them to the Duke-Rhoebe
and subsequent Laverack crosses have
descended the greatest strain Of shoot
ing dogs in the world. Mr.. Edward
Laverack antedated Mr.. Llewellin as a
honor of being the pioneer Of setter
breeding, in SO far as recorded history
goes, unless the Rev. A. Harrison be
given this honor. In 1927 Mr.. Laverack
purchased from Mr.. Harrison two noted
dogs, Ponto and Old Moll.
They were the fountain stock Of all
recorded English settlers. and every Law
crack and Lewellin setter must go back
to them. Mr.. Harrison had bred the
dogs from which Ponto and Old Moll de-
scended since 1890. and all Laverack
trace back to them on all sides, showing
how close the inbreeding has been. How
ever, there are very few pure Laveracks
in existence. The claim has been made,
disputed, that Commodore De Piriac, i'm
ported and owned by Norman R Mac
Gregor Of Bryn Mawr. Pa, is the only
pure Laverack dog in America: Mr..
of A. Grassal in France, and it is also
said that these kennels have the only
pure Laveracks in Europe, there being
none in England tracing back-without
writer has an extended pedigree of Com
modore De Piriac, presented to him Dy
Mr. MacGregor, which takes him back
without a missing generation to Ponto
and Old Moll.
to the propriety of the name "Llewellin
setter" but Of the superiority in this
country of the strain thus named and OF
their superlative merits as field trial
dogs there Is little room for discussion.
for it is a matter of records which speak
for themselves. In the thirty or more
years since the first stud book was estao-
lished there has not been great sire OF
winning settlers which was not known
as a straight Lewellin." There have
been great winners among English" set
tiers, but they have been invariably Off
springs Of Llewellin sires. Yet of these
winning English" settlers not one has
become a great producer of winners. But
how is it with the Liewellins which have
proven great field trial winners? 1t Is
doubtful If there was ever one which
given proper opportunities that did not
breed on" And today, no matter how
good an English setter bitch a man may
have, and the better she Is the more Ger
tain 1t is. her owner will send her to the
court of the reigning king of the Level
Inns. One writer has we'll said that un-
less your dog strains straight back to old
Count Noble on the male side you need
uninitiated it may be explained that
Grand Junction, Tenn. has been the
scene Of many Of the greatest field trials
ever run.
In the first paragraph Of this article the
writer has on request Of several Star
readers confined himself to statement
of facts. In the second he has expressed
facts. II advocates Of the English setter
strain desire to controvert them. portion
OF the limited space allowed Field ana
Kennel will be cheerfully given them,
but they must bear on American Llewel-
lin history. To open up the English side
of the controversy would require pages
In place Of the column allowed Sunday.
In every report Of the Analostan Gun
Club shoots. held every Saturday In this
city. the name Of George w. Peck is
found very near the top score. Mr.. Peek
is also a crack field shot. We WONDER
how many people connect the personality
of this modest. retiring gentleman with
that Wonderful creation "Pecks Bad
Boy" whose mischievous FRANKS were the
delight Of old and young alike score
of wears ago. For MI. Peck Is a junior
and his father George w. Peck. former
MAYOR of Milwaukee and Governor OF
Wisconsin is said to have drawn his in
SEPARATION for those inimitable stories from
the boyish pranks of this original Peck's
bad boy, and those who see father ana
son together on the governors occasion
al visits to Washington say that time
has not withered their love Of fun.
It is becoming more difficult every year
for sportsmen Of moderate means to find
any shooting. The writer knows OF an
instance where a local sportsman wrote
to three different parties in widely sepa-
rate sections of Virginia to secure ac-
Communications for a shooting trip and
received limitations in each instance that
landowners objected strongly to having
strangers shoot over their lands. But
fortunately there were others-and he
found an ideal place in the end.
A good story is told on Lockhart. the
we'll known handler, in the Sportsman's
Review. He was handling Molink in the
Continental All-age stake in his heat
against Upton Helen. handled by Bah
utes. when Lockhart. riding through
bushes. called point. A dog was seen in
the open some distance on on a beautiful
point When the judges came up Lock
hart dismounted and waited for their
1t, Iockhart walked up nearer the dog.
He stopped suddenly and with a look OF
disgust on his face. said. ''Oh, hell, that's
AI