The Turnspit. "The Turnspit," says Captain Brown, "derived its name from the service in which it was engaged before the invention of machinery to do the same work, and, what is remarkable, now that the office is extinct, so also has nearly become the species which used to perform it." "I have now in my kitchen," said the Duke de Laincourt, to M. Descartes, "two turnspits which take their turns regularly every other day in the wheel: one of them, not liking his employment, hid himself on the day he should have wrought, when his companion was forced to mount the wheel in his stead; but crying and wagging his tail, he intimated that those in attendance should first follow him. He immediately conducted them to a garret, where he dislodged the idle dog, and killed him immediately." Another instance is recorded by Captain Brown as follows: "When the cook had prepared the meat for roasting, he found that the dog which should have wrought the spit had disappeared. He attempted to employ another, but it bit his leg and fled. Soon after, however, the refractory dog entered the kitchen driving before him the truant turnspit, which immediately of its own accord went into the wheel." It is easy to see from these stories that the occupation was not a popular one and it is well that it is no longer a necessary one.
The Pointer. The pointer (Canis avicularis) as resembling the race of hounds, more than any other of the shooting or gun dogs is placed next to them in the classification of Colonel Smith, who says: "In their present qualities of standing fixed and pointing to game, we see the result of a long course of severe training; and it is a curious fact, that by a succession of generations having been constantly educated to this purpose, it has become almost innate, and young dogs of the true breed point with scarcely any instruction: this habit is so firm in some that the late Mr. Gilpin is reported to have painted a brace of pointers while in the act, and that they stood an hour and a quarter without moving." A smooth dog, resembling the fox-hound in his markings, though sometimes entirely black, the pointer is used by sportsmen to point them to the spot where the game is to be found. "It ranges the fields," says Mr. Wood, "until it scents the hare or partridge lying close on the ground. It then remains still as if carved in stone, every limb fixed, and the tail pointing straight behind it. In this attitude it remains until the gun is discharged, reloaded, and the sportsman has reached the place where the bird sprang."
The Pointer as a Sportsman. The pointer is a keen sportsman and will "point" without tiring while worthily supported by the gun, but many stories are told of his disgust at a bad shot and his refusal to "point" for unskilful sportsmen. The following amusing story is told by Captain Brown and is quoted as follows by Mr. Jesse: "A gentleman, on his requesting the loan of a pointer-dog from a friend, was informed by him that the dog would behave very well so long as he could kill his birds; but if he frequently missed them, it would run home and leave him. The dog was sent, and the following day was fixed for trial; but, unfortunately, his new master was a remarkably bad shot. Bird after bird rose and was fired at, but still pursued its flight untouched, till, at last, the pointer became careless, and often missed his game. As if seemingly willing, however, to give one chance more, he made a dead stop at a fern-bush, with his nose pointed downward, the fore-foot bent, and his tail straight and steady. In this position he remained firm till the sportsman was close to him, with both barrels cocked, then moving steadily forward for a few paces, he at last stood still near a bunch of heather, the tail expressing the anxiety of the mind by moving regularly backwards and forwards. At last out sprang a fine old blackcock. Bang, bang, went both barrels, but the bird escaped unhurt. The patience of the dog was now quite exhausted; and, instead of dropping to charge, he turned boldly round, placed his tail between his legs, gave one howl, long and loud, and set off as fast as he could to his own home." The pointer has been known to lie down without bidding beside game which has been dropped from a bag, after a long day's shooting, and watch it faithfully until relieved on the following day, when the missing birds were searched for and found.
The Setter. The Setter (Canis Index) divides with the pointer the duty of attending the sportsman on his shooting expeditions. According to Captain Brown he was "originally derived from a cross between the Spanish pointer and the large water spaniel and was justly celebrated for his fine scent." Many crossings have considerably varied the breed, of which the Irish is now considered purer than the English and Scotch breeds. "In figure," says Colonel Smith, "they participate of the pointer and the Spaniel, though larger than the latter. In England they are white, or white with black or brown marks." They are intelligent, affectionate and docile, and often show great sagacity outside the domain of sport.
The Scent of the Setter. Col. Hutchinson says, "I was partridge-shooting the season before last with an intimate friend. The air was soft, and there was a good breeze. We came upon a large turnip-field, deeply trenched on account of its damp situation. A white setter, that habitually carried a lofty head, drew for awhile, and then came to a point. We got up to her. She led us across some ridges, when her companion, a jealous dog (a pointer), which had at first backed correctly, most improperly pushed on in front, but, not being able to acknowledge the scent, went off, clearly imagining the bitch was in error. She, however, held on, and in beautiful style brought us up direct to a covey. My friend and I agreed that she must have been but little, if at all, less than one hundred yards off when she first winded the birds; and it was clear to us that they could not have been running, for the breeze came directly across the furrows, and she had led us in the wind's eye. We thought the point the more remarkable, as it is generally supposed that the strong smell of turnips diminishes a dog's power of scenting birds."
The Setter's Sagacity. Mr. Huet tells the following story of the sagacity of the setter. "The gamekeeper had, on one of the short days of December, shot at and wounded a deer. Hoping to run him down before night, he instantly put the dog upon the track, which followed it at full speed, and soon was out of sight. At length it grew dark, and the gamekeeper returned home, thinking he should find the setter arrived there before him; but he was disappointed, and became apprehensive that his dog might have lost himself, or fallen a prey to some ravenous animal. The next morning, however, we were all greatly rejoiced to see him come running into the yard, whence he directly hastened to the door of my apartment, and, on being admitted, ran, with gestures expressive of solicitude and eagerness, to a corner of the room where guns were placed. We understood the hint, and, taking the guns, followed him. He led us not by the road which he himself had taken out of the wood, but by beaten paths half round it, and then by several wood-cutters' tracks in different directions, to a thicket, where, following him a few paces, we found the deer which he had killed. The dog seems to have rightly judged that we should have been obliged to make our way with much difficulty through almost the whole length of the wood, in order to come to the deer in a straight direction, and he therefore led us a circuitous but open and convenient road. Between the legs of the deer, which he had guarded during the night against the beasts of prey that might otherwise have seized upon it, he had scratched a hole in the snow, and filled it with dry leaves for his bed. The extraordinary sagacity which he had displayed upon this occasion rendered him doubly valuable to us, and it therefore caused us very serious regret when, in the ensuing summer, the poor animal went mad, possibly in consequence of his exposure to the severe frost of that night, and it became necessary for the gamekeeper to shoot him, which he could not do without shedding tears. He said he would willingly have given his best cow to save him; and I confess myself that I would not have hesitated to part with my best horse upon the same terms."
The Spaniel. There are many varieties of the Spaniel of which the Water Spaniel, the King Charles Spaniel, the Blenheim and the Maltese Spaniels are the best known. The Water Spaniels figure on some of the later monuments of Rome and so prove their antiquity. Colonel Smith describes the Spaniel as a small setter, with silky hair and fine long villous ears; black, brown pied, liver coloured, white and black-and-white, the water spaniel differing from the other species chiefly in his readiness to hunt and swim in the water and the hair being somewhat harder to the touch. The spaniel has a great affection for his master and is never tired of testifying his appreciation of his kindness. Colonel Smith mentions a dog allied to the spaniel race, who at the time of his writing (April 1840) had been lying on the grave of his mistress for three days, refusing all food, and was on that day being forcibly removed. Spaniels are often very intelligent, displaying the same sagacity as other and larger dogs and in the same way. Mr. Jesse mentions a King Charles spaniel who was locked by his master in a room in Vere St. Clare Market, one afternoon about half past five, while he went with his family to Drury Lane theatre. About eight o'clock in the evening the dog escaped his confinement and found his way to the theatre where he discovered his master in the midst of the pit, though it was crowded at the time. The Blenheim spaniel is similar to the King Charles breed, though somewhat different in its markings, fuller about the muzzle and shorter in the back. Blenheims have been known to show great intelligence and affection. A story is told of one who upon being attacked by two cats, obtained the assistance of a third cat, waylaid his enemies one at a time and, with the assistance of his friend, taught them better manners. The Maltese dog is another favourite species, much admired and petted by ladies.
The Sagacity of the Water Spaniel. Captain Brown gives the following from a letter written by a gentleman at Dijon in France, to his friend in London, dated August 15, 1764:
"Since my arrival here a man has been broken on the wheel, with no other proof to condemn him than that of a water-spaniel. The circumstances attending it being so very singular and striking, I beg leave to communicate them to you. A farmer, who had been to receive a sum of money, was waylaid, robbed, and murdered, by two villains. The farmer's dog returned with all speed to the house of the person who had paid the money, and expressed such amazing anxiety that he would follow him, pulling him several times by the sleeve and skirt of the coat, that, at length, the gentleman yielded to his importunity. The dog led him to the field, a little from the roadside, where the body lay. From thence the gentleman went to a public-house, in order to alarm the country. The moment he entered, (as the two villains were there drinking), the dog seized the murderer by the throat, and the other made his escape. This man lay in prison three months, during which time they visited him once a-week with the spaniel, and though they made him change his clothes with other prisoners, and always stand in the midst of a crowd, yet did the animal always find him out, and fly at him. On the day of trial, when the prisoner was at the bar, the dog was let loose in the court-house, and in the midst of some hundreds he found him out (though dressed entirely in new clothes), and would have torn him to pieces had he been allowed; in consequence of which he was condemned, and at the place of execution he confessed the fact."
The Terrier. There are many varieties of terrier including numerous celebrated breeds. The English, Scotch, Skye, Bull and Fox terriers being the best known. Innumerable stories of the intelligence and sagacity of the various breeds might be told if space permitted, but it must suffice to say that for sportsmanlike qualities, for general intelligence and sagacity, and for affection for his master, the terrier of whatever breed will hold his own against any other dog. Dogs are said to have natural antipathies, and that of the Bull-dog for the bull is an obvious illustration. An equal antipathy is shown by the English terrier for the rat and by the Fox-terrier for the cat, though the latter is perhaps as much a matter of education as of nature. Terriers are, however, among the best known of dogs and therefore need the less description.