This breed has long been known to sportsmen throughout Great Britain as a good one, especially in point of stamina, and a class was set apart for it at Birmingham in 1860, a year before the black and tans were similarly favoured, though, I think, hardly from so flattering a cause, and most probably from the circumstance that Mr. Jones, of Oscott, who was then a prominent member of the committee, possessed two specimens of the breed, which he had recently obtained from Ireland; but, to his disgust, Major Irving, who judged the class, awarded the first prize to Mr. R. F. Onslow, of Herefordshire; Mr. Jones getting a second only with his Carlo, with which dog, however, under the same jndge, he beat a better class in 1861, including Mr. Watts' Ranger, a slashing one in appearance, but, unfortunately with a pedigree which was disputed. In 1863 Major Hutchinson brought out Bob, whose pedigree exhibits a strain of the celebrated La Touche breed, and with him he carried off the chief prizes at Birmingham, Cremorne, and Islington in 1864, leading to his selection for the illustration of the article on the Irish Setter in 1865. He, was, however, not a typical specimen, being too heavy both in frame and head, and obviously overtopped, although otherwise useful, and, I have reason to believe, thoroughly good in the field.

In 1867 Capt. Allaway exhibited his beautiful brace, Shot and Grouse, which were generally accepted as showing all the peculiarities of the breed, and were of such a fine formation, that Shot, considered by me inferior in shape to his brother, obtained the silver cup for the best setter in the show, after a warm dispute between the two judges, Messrs. Lang and Walker, in which the former, an excellent and experienced judge, stuck to the Irishman throughout, while the latter was as strongly in favour of Fred II., a well-known Laverack, and I as referee was called on to decide between them. Capt. Allaway maintained his position till 1871, when Capt. Cooper brought out his Ranger, a son of Hutchinson's Bob, and also straining back on the dam's side to the La Touche kennel. At length, in 1873, Dr. Stone came out with his Dash, who was admitted to be almost perfect in shape, and of the true type. He took every prize until age compelled his retirement in favour of Mr. Hilliard's Palmerston, who may now be considered the best public representative of the breed.

Dash is of Dr. Stone's own strain, which he has kept to himself for twenty-five years, in colour blood-red, showing white on his head and toes, and also on his neck, with great quality, and a faultless frame.

There is no reason to suppose that any improvement had taken place in this breed in its native country until very recently, when the institution of local shows seems to have stimulated Irish breeders to fresh exertions; but in the exhibits which have been made on this side the Channel the chain of progress has been unbroken from Carlo to Dash and Palmerston. In the field trials, the Rev. J. C. Macdona has raised its character by producing his Plunket at Shrewsbury in 1870, after which he was sold to Mr. Purcell Llewellyn, and took prizes at Vaynol, Southampton, and Shrewsbury. This dog was very small and bitch-like in appearance, and rather light in colour, but his pace was very great, though not perhaps quite equal to that of the Laverack Countess, while his style of going and his attitude on the point were far superior to hers. He was bred by the Hon. D. Plunket, and combines the blood of that gentleman's kennel with the La Touche and Hutchinson strains. Mr. Purcell Llewellyn purchased him in the height of his successes, and bred several average dogs from him out of Kate (of the Knight of.

Kerry's strain), including Kimo, Bate, and Kitty; while another litter, out of Bucknell's Min, contained Marvel, May, and Knowing, less successful than the former, both on the bench and in the field. With the solitary exception of Plunket and his daughter Music, who was at Vaynol in 1872, however, no Irish setter has shown anything like high form in the field trials, Mr. Purcell Llewellyn's Samson, who is above the average, being crossed with the Laverack Prince through his dam, Carrie, though both are entered in the Stud Book as Irish setters.

After a great deal of discussion, a separate class has been made in Dublin and elsewhere for "reds" and "white and reds," it being shown that there are two distinct strains of the Irish setter, of these colours respectively. The white and reds stand no chance in the open classes, and yet it was considered hard to debar them from all prizes, especially as by some good judges they are thought to possess better noses than the reds. According to my judgment the rich red, or blood-red colour as it is described, is made a little too much of, and I should strongly object to the passing over of excellence in shape because the colour is too pale; a marked instance of which happened at the Brighton show of 1876. Here one of the grandest bitches I ever saw in shape, size, and quality, who had won several prizes in Ireland, and moreover of excellent blood, succumbed to a very moderate animal, simply because her coat was too pale in colour, though very little, if any, paler than that of the above-mentioned excellent dog Plunket. If this class had been judged by points, the bitch in question would have distanced her competitors, because she would have been credited with a full allowance for all other qualities, and could only have had ten points altogether knocked off for the negative value of colour.

The old breeds of this dog most celebrated are the O'Connor (generally known as La Touche), Lord Dillon's, Lord Clancarty's, Lord Lismore's, Lord de Fresne's (usually called the French Park), the Mount Hedges, Lord Rossmore's, and the Marquis of Waterford's. In modern days Dr. Stone, Major Hutchinson, Capt. Cooper, Capt. French, Mr. H. B. Knox, Hon. D. Plunket, Capt. W. Allaway, Mr. Hilliard, Mr. Iapscombe, Mr. C. Brien, and Miss Warburton have been most successful on the show bench, but, with the exception of Plunket, none of them have proved the excellence of their strains at any field trials.