The English Setter.—The elegant family known by the above title, are divided into three branches, called respectively English, Gordon and Irish; each have their body of supporters, and many very beautiful specimens of them all are to be seen at our best shows. Perhaps Birmingham lays itself out most for the sporting dog classes, but now, when there are so many large exhibitions held in various parts of the United Kingdom, the same dogs are more often seen at the various places. The following descriptions of each of the three branches of the family, are taken from notes communicated by a well known gentleman in the doggy world, to a work on dogs published some seventy-five years since. "The head of the English Setter should not be so heavy as the Pointer's, nor so wide across the ears. There should be at least four inches from the inner corner of the eye to the point of the nose. In many first class dogs, there is half an inch more. The nasal bone should be rather depressed in the centre and slightly raised at the nostrils. The nose and nostrils large, the nose dark liver coloured or black, moist and shining. The jaws should be level and the teeth exactly level in front, as nothing detracts more from appearance than the 'snipe nose.' There should not be that fullness of lip, allowable in the Pointer, but, at the angles of the mouth, the lips should be rather pendulous. The ears, which are usually about six inches in length, should be set low on the head, larger where they are attached, than at the tips, which should be round, not pointed. They should never be pricked, or carried forward, even when the dog points. The eyes should be large and sparkling, not protruding, as in the King Charles Spaniel, but well set and full of intelligence. The neck, long, thin, slightly arched at crest, and clean cut where it joins the head, this last a most important point. The shoulders should be well set back, the blades long, the muscles well-developed throughout. Ribs not so widely sprung as the Pointer's. The back ribs deep and fairly near to the hip bone. The chest deep and moderately wide. The loins broad and arched slightly and the hips wide. The hind quarters square, strongly made and the stifles well bent. Cat-like feet are preferable to the 'hare' or 'spoon' foot. The round foot, with toes well arched, distributes the power of the toes more evenly, and is best suited for every description of shooting ground, in fact, the Foxhound foot, and leg with it. The feet should be straight, neither turned in or out. The toes should be well furnished with hair, which, in the best breeds, forms a tuft between the toes and protects the sole, being replenished as fast as it wears away. The pasterns should be nearly upright and large, knees large, forelegs upright, and in a standing position, the legs should be like good forelegs in a Horse, the feet slightly in advance of straight, the hocks strong, set a little in, if any deviation from a straight line. The stern of a Setter, like that of a Spaniel, should be carried as much as possible in a line with the backbone. The undulating sweep upwards, if exaggerated, would become a serious fault. A Setter's stern cannot well be too straight, and it should never be too long or it cannot be carried handsomely. The stern looks better when the 'feather' commences near the root of the tail and goes off gradually to nothing at the tip. A tail blunt, or clubbed, is very objectionable. The coat should be of the finest silky texture, moderately waved, but devoid of curl. There may be an inclination in the coat to part down the back. Colours in order of merit: 1. Blue mottle, or Belton greys, which stand work and are better than; 2. Orange and white and lemon and white; 3. black and white; 4. pure white; 5. pure black; 6. fawn or yellow; 7. liver colour or liver and white, which last too often indicates a cross with the Pointer or Water Spaniel.
GORDON-SETTER. CH. "MARQUIS". T. JACOBS. OWNER.
"The Gordon Setter.—The points of excellence in the Gordon, closely resemble those of the English Setter, but, I may observe, that the great features of true Gordon blood are, that they can go much longer without water than the generality of Setters, and that they show more variety in their attitude on 'the point.' The length of their shoulders, their large bone, and their development of muscle, enable them to race, and to keep it up. The colour of the Gordon is a great point. The black should be raven black, with a blue, or plum bloom, on the bright lights. The tan a rich red, of burnt sienna, colour. It should be, by no means, yellow or tabby, or mixed with black or fawn, but rich, deep, a sort of bright new mahogany. The cheeks, lips, throat, feet, back of the forelegs to the elbow, front of the hind legs up to the hips, belly, inside of thighs, vent, underside of flag, inside of ears, should all be brilliant red, and there should be a large brilliant spot of tan over each eye. There is no objection to a white short frill, although the absence of all white is a good thing. White toes behind, are less objectionable than white toes in front, and several of the very best Gordons have even had a white foot, or feet, but this is not to be desired if it can be avoided. The origin of the breed is not well known. The late Duke of Gordon, at any rate, brought it up to its present excellence. There is a suspicion it came originally from Ireland, and the fact that nearly all the best Gordon bitches have had in every litter, one or more deep red, or orange, whelps, leads one to believe there has been an Irish cross. The Gordon Setter's stern is shorter than that of the English Setter, but 'sting like.' Failing this, breeders find they have that greatest trouble to the Gordon breeder, the 'teapot tail,' or a long stern with a curl at the end, badly carried in action. He is a long, low, Setter, his gallop noiseless, and he is remarkably quick in his turn, from the power of his shoulders and loins, length of his neck and general muscular development, a trifle heavier in his head, shorter in his stern, rather deeper in his 'brisket,' more bony and muscular than the English Setter, with a remarkably gay temperament. 'Always busy,' he is quite the beau ideal of a sportsman's favourite, but he has his failings. He is more frequently 'gunshy,' more often the victim of distemper, than the English, and, occasionally, so headstrong as to be totally irreclaimable, these may be the faults of education, and generally are so, but undeniably they are more often the results of inbreeding or injudicious crossing.
IRISH-SETTER. CH. "GARRYOWEN". J. J. GILTRAP, OWNER.
"The Irish Setter.—The head of the Irish Setter should be long, narrow, yet wide in the forehead, arched or peaked cranium behind. A short, bullet head, a wide flat one, or one running to a point at the snout, are very common, and very bad. The lips should be deep or moderately so. The ears should be long, reaching at the end of the hair, to the nose, pendulous and as if lying in a fold, set well back and low on the head; they should never be set high, short in length, or half diamond shaped, their feather should be moderate. The eyes of rich hazel or rich brown, well set, full, kind, sensible and loving, the iris mahogany colour, should never be gooseberry, black, or prominent and staring. The nose mahogany, dark flesh, or blackish mahogany, never black or pink. Even dark flesh is not so much admired, though it may be with a good clear hazel eye. The whiskers should be red. The forelegs straight, moderately feathered, the feet close and small, not round like a hounds, or splayed. The hams straight, flat and muscular, and feathered well with buff coloured hair, the hind quarters, altogether square and active in make. The chest should be wide when the dog is sitting on his haunches, and the head held back and full; too wide a chest is apt to give a waddling and slow gait. The chest ribs cannot be too deep. The loins, for speed, should be long, moderately wide, and the belly well tucked up. The tail should be well covered with coarse hair, curling along the tops, and hanging moderately, though bushy, from beneath; carried on a horizontal line with the back, not cocked or curled. In the field, or excitement, carried low, stiff and beating the hind legs. The coat should be rather coarse, smooth or wavy, not curly, hair of moderate length, on the upper parts of the body, the root half tawny, the tip half deep sienna, a sort of blood red, but never showing black on the ears, back, head, or tail. The legs and under parts deep or pale tawny. White should not appear anywhere except in the centre of the forehead and the centre of the breast."
It maybe interesting to some of my readers (amongst whom I hope will be included fanciers of every breed, as well as some who have been hitherto fanciers of no breed at all), if I set out here the show points of Setters, taking them in their usual order, as "English," "Gordon," and "Irish."