appears more beautiful." This custom of tail docking has continued to this day, we practising it, because the spaniel in working covert is less likely to injure his tail by lashing it backwards and forwards and tearing it amongst the tangled briers and the thick undergrowth.

But even prior to such early times, we have mention made of the spaniel as of use in hawking, and "hys crafte was also for the perdrich or partridge, and the quaile; and, when taught to couche he is very serviceable to the fowlers who take those birds with nets." In a fourteenth century MS. there is a picture of ladies hawking, they being attended by two dogs with long ears, no doubt intended to represent the spaniel of that period.

The spaniel in his two varieties, the land and water spaniel, was the sporting dog in these early days, and in "The Master of the Game," written early in the fifteenth century, we are told that this dog "hath many good customs and evil; he should have a large head and body, be of fair hue, white or tawny, and not too rough; but his tail should be rough and feathered."

The Prince to whom we are indebted for this early treatise further says, the breed came from Spain, although it was to be had in other countries,

and those that were used for hawking were baffers," i.e., they gave tongue.

From these two breeds of spaniels, I believe, have sprung all the varieties known at the present time, not excluding the toy spaniels. Writers on canine matters so recently as within the present century, have told us that the Blenheim spaniel was at that time used for covert shooting, and was useful in such a capacity. Now it is purely and simply a lap or toy dog, and the most perfect specimens that are seen on the show benches would likely enough come off but second best in a tussle with a good wild rabbit.

The extraordinary sagacity and affectionate disposition of the spaniel have repeatedly formed a theme for those who delight to dwell on anecdotes relating to dogs. Unfortunately, in most instances, the variety of spaniel is not mentioned, so one is at a loss to know whether to give the credit of such extraordinary intelligence to the little creature that has been the pampered favourite of monarchs and ladies since the days of the Stuarts, or to that equally valuable animal that assists the sportsman to fill his bag with either feathered or ground game, or both.

But, as already hinted, the show era has wrought an extraordinary change in the character and appearance of our spaniels, and in vain we look for the old

curly-coated water variety that our grandfathers valued so highly, or for the equally useful and smaller dog, some twenty pounds weight or so, that would with equal facility "fetch" a stick that had been thrown into the water, or retrieve a rabbit with a hind leg broken that in vain struggled to reach the sanctuary of its burrow.

With, perhaps, few exceptions, the chief being the Clumber and Irish variety, our show spaniel of to-day is not a sportsman's dog-a fancy creature merely, whose coat requires as much grooming as that of a Yorkshire terrier, and the slightest waviness thereon would be as fatal to its chances of success before some judges as if it had but one eye, and unable to see with that one. Crooked forelegs, malformed elbows and shoulders, are often allowed to pass muster in the show ring, but a curly or wavy coat seldom.

Personally I should disqualify dogs with crooked, disproportioned fore legs, however long they might be in body, however "near the ground" (meaning, however short the legs), and however straight the coat. These abnormally formed dogs—“long and low" their owners love to call them-have completely usurped the position that the old fashioned field spaniel formerly occupied, and the modern edition is neither so handsome nor so useful as the original

one. The coats of the new may be straighter, shinier, and more glossy, but in most cases the spaniel character has disappeared, and nothing so good occupies its position. I know the owners of these show dogs will still sell such specimens for a hundred pounds each or more, and will not agree with these remarks, but they are true nevertheless.

Some of the breeders with whom I have had acquaintance have considered it an advantage to be able to produce at least three so-called varieties. from the same crosses. A black spaniel may be a brother to a Sussex or liver coloured specimen in the adjoining class; and further away it might be possible to find a liver and white, or blue and white, or black and tan, brother or sister to the others taking leading honours in a third class. Happily, in a few instances, one or two old varieties of field spaniel have been kept fairly pure, notably the Clumber and the Sussex, of which more anon. Still, even the best strains of the Sussex are often enough supplanted by dogs with "black blood" running in their veins, because they happen to be half an inch longer in the body and have longer ears, the latter actually detrimental in his proper vocation of life that Nature brought him into the world to perform.

The early grouping of the spaniels at our shows

was not satisfactory, and at the initial Birmingham exhibitions but four classes were provided, two for Clumbers and two for " any other variety." About 1862 an improvement was wrought, Irish water spaniels were specially provided for, and later the classes were divided, not by colour or variety, but according to weight. Thus dogs exceeding 25lb. weight competed separately, so did dogs below that standard, and the bitches were restricted to over and under 20lb.

Now matters are different, colour is taken into consideration, and type and variety to a limited extent. In the best arranged schedules individual classes are provided for Clumbers (2), Irish Water Spaniels (2), Sussex or liver coloured (2), black (2), any other colour (1), and for cockers (2). In addition challenge classes may be made as is deemed desirable. The cockers are usually restricted to 25lb. in weight, which is five pounds too heavy.

The old fashioned English water spaniel appears to have altogether disappeared, and now this curlycoated brown and white, retriever-like, but smaller, dog is not to be found, and remains only in the pictures engraved by Bewick and drawn by Reinagle and others. The "Sportsman's Cabinet " has a nice picture of this dog, and even so recent a writer as