respectively first and third in the Field Derby in 1885, and she herself had won at Stratford-on-Avon the year before. To Naso of Upton she bred Shandygaff and others. Some other crosses did not appear to "nick" so well, and since then she has failed to breed. It is a great pity that this same strain had not been kept in more than one kennel. It would have allowed some in-breeding. and I am afraid that, in the long run, it may be lost.

The dog Mike, from 1874 to 1876, won nine prizes at field trials, six of them firsts, the remaining three he divided with other dogs. During the same period he was successful on the show bench, commencing with a second at the Alexandra Palace in 1875, and a first at the Crystal Palace next year. Mike died in 1884, leaving behind him a reputation as one of the hardiest and best pointers that ever ran, and I am not aware that any other pointer has approached his record, both in the field and on the bench.

Somewhat at random, I have mentioned these names in order to show that the pointer, in all its excellence, is a common commodity, although a valuable one with us. His pedigree is rigorously kept in the stud books, and his performances in the spring are studiously repeated in the columns of the Field, and to give the names of all the best dogs

that have appeared during the past twenty years would be but repetition, and a difficult thing to accomplish satisfactorily. Prince Solms, at Braunfels, in Prussia, has, at one time or another, had English pointers equal to the best that have remained in this country, and the writer will never forget the excellent work his brace, Naso of Kippen and Jilt of Braunfels, did on the dry fallow field near Shrewsbury in 1885, at a time when every one had come to the conclusion that there was no scent.

Since the establishment of the Pointer Club, in 1887, a special Field Trial Meeting has been held by its managers, and at the same time special prizes have been offered by the Club for competition at the principal shows. This support, has, without doubt, proved of considerable advantage to the pointer, and, for the present, there is little likelihood of its popularity waning.

As a sporting dog, the pointer can work as hard and as long as a setter; on account of his smooth. coat, he does this in hot weather better than any other dog, and is not so soon knocked up, through want of water, as the setter is. There is no reason to compare the varied excellencies of the two varieties, for here it may be said "Jack is as good as his master." One day, one may do the best work; another day, the others may excel; both are

sufficiently perfect in their way for modern requirements, and there is, in reality, no ostensible reason for the preference of the one over the other, excepting, as I have stated, where a scarcity of water is concerned. In fact, they are equal; with similar surroundings and in similar health there is nothing to choose between the two, nor is there in staunchness. It has been said that the setter is less steady, more difficult to command, and not so easy to break as the pointer. Such is not so.

There are strains of both that are equally wild and headstrong, and, as a matter of fact, such, when once brought under command, produce the most successsful dogs as field trial winners; and, when birds are scarce, and the extent of land to be worked over very extensive, they are the best dogs in the field for practical work. In a wet stormy country, where the climate is cold and chilly, the going rough and covert thick, the ordinary pointer may be at a discount, and he has been found to be so in some parts of Scotland, the Highlands and elsewhere; but, excepting where the circumstances and surroundings are exceptional, our modern pointer will do all that is required of him; work a long day, and come up the following one ready to do another, and to assist his master to fill the game bag.

I consider the usual light colour of the pointer is to

the advantage of the shooter, who can much more easily distinguish his dog against the dark outline of heather and bracken, when being used on the moors, and the idea that the birds better see a white coloured dog, and therefore do not lie so well to him, is altogether fallacious. All who have shot over the wide expanses of Scottish moors or Irish mountains with wide ranging dogs doing the work, will agree with me that the dark colour of many of the setters requires so much strain on the eyes to discern them at even comparatively short distances, as to decidedly interfere with the average of the shooter.

Before entering at length into his description it may be as well to state that the classes at the more important shows are arranged to meet his different sizes, for the pointer varies in this respect more than any other sporting dog. Such classification is usually for "large-sized" dogs 55lb. weight and over, and bitches 50lb. weight and over; the "small size" including dogs under 55lb. weight, and bitches under 50lb. in weight.

The pointer is an elegantly shaped dog, smooth in coat, which, though close and weather-resisting, ought not to be hard and coarse. In some strains there is a tendency to be rather coarse in the stern, which in reality is no detriment, though smooth and fine caudal appendages are fashionable. The latter

is so much the case, that it is not unusual to find it trimmed by singeing or other means, until it resembles that of a bull terrier. Not long ago one of the prize pointers at Birmingham was so very much "done" that disqualification ought to have resulted. The stern is nicely set on from the back, carried straight out, with a downward tendency rather than otherwise. A hound carried stern is a great detriment. In work it is dashed from side to side until the animal obtains "a point" when all the muscles are rigid.

The head should be fairly long and broad at the skull, and at the muzzle without any undue tapering; where the latter occurs a snipy appearance is given that is not at all correct. The development at the occiput should be nicely defined, but not too much so; there may be more stop than in the setter, and the head is generally rather shorter and broader than in the latter variety. Ears soft and hanging gracefully; although set on moderately low, not so low as in the hound, nor should they fold, rather lying close to the cheeks. The nose broad, nostrils wide, and such as will give the impression of being particularly useful in finding game by scent. In lemon and white, orange and white, and in light coloured specimens generally, the nose should be of a so-called "flesh colour"; in dark coloured specimens black noses are desirable. However, a dark brown or a