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specimens of the breed. Originally spaniels came from Spain (from whence they derived their name), and the royal Edmund de Langley, in his Maister of Game, written early in the fifteenth century, mentions them at some length, and thus indisputably endows them with a history of at least six hundred years in our country. According to this authority, they were "clepid houndis for ye hauke," and flourished in other lands besides Spain, "a fair hound, having many good customs and evil, with a great head and a great body, and a fair hue, white or tawny; not too jough (wavy), but his tail should be rough; loving his master well, and following him without losing, though he be in a great press of men; and their right craft the hunting of the partridge and the quail." Also they were great "baffers," or barkers.

Dame Juliana Berners and Dr. Caius both mention the breed; the latter describes them as "the most part of their skynnes white, and if they are marked with any spottes, they are commonly red." Many other old writers have discoursed about the breed, from Nicholas Cox and Gervase Markham to Oliver Goldsmith, who, in his History of Animals, writes: "There are two varieties of land spaniel-namely, the slater, used in hawking to spring game, and the setter, that crouches down when it scents birds till the net be drawn over them."

The development of the spaniel on the lines which have come to be considered perfect in these days does not date back far. Take up any book published fifty or sixty years ago, and you will find the spaniel depicted decidedly a leggy beast, often with exaggerated ears on a snipey-muzzled head. Reinagle only leaves us illustrations of a springer and a water spaniel; they are both very much alike in shape and formation, and

without calling them cobby and leggy, they are certainly the opposite of "long and low," which is the accepted creed of the modern spaniel fancier. Elsewhere I have come across illustrations of ancient types that were distinctly houndy in the leg-of the sort that ought to be able to gallop in the flesh. To-day, of all the illustrations I am able to give, many of really peerless show-bench champions, only the Norfolk and the Welsh bear an affinity to the spaniel of Reinagle's time. Can it be that they are outcaste for this deviation from accepted modern development? Does their retention of harmonious canine symmetry disqualify them for consideration in a world where abnormal length and abnormal lowness combine to create a creature which to some eyes seems absurd ? These are questions I

would rather ask than answer; and as to how they came to be suggested I refer my readers to the illustrations of the two breeds named, and of Reinagle's types. For the rest, could De Langley or Dame Juliana Berners or Dr. Caius revisit this sphere, and turn over the spaniel illustrations in this volume, I can imagine them knitting their brows, and wondering what sort of an animal each and every is with the exception of the Norfolk and the Welshman. All of which, I doubt not, is foul heresy; and so to my allotted task.

Before proceeding to deal with the various classes of spaniels I must allot a paragraph to the Spaniel Club, which has done and is doing so much for the breed, and a good portion of the paragraph to the courteous and spaniel-learned Honorary Secretary, Mr. John S. Cowell. To this gentleman I am not only indebted for some very valuable contributions on several of the spaniel varieties, but for much advice as to where to seek for information, and the best subjects to select for illustration as truly typical of their respective breeds.

Mainly through Mr. Cowell's instrumentality,—in some cases through his personal exertion,-I have been able to secure a gallery of spaniel illustrations which I do not think has been excelled in any other book on the dog. And it is a particularly pleasing duty for me to express the great obligations I labour under towards him for many of the details which have gone to make up this section of my book. The Spaniel Club is, perhaps, the best of all the specialist clubs; its publications are certainly a model; the booklet descriptive of the Standards of Points of the varieties of spaniels contains a mine of information in a most convenient form, and the Annual Report cannot fail to be of interest to those in the fancy. The club consists of over a hundred members; the Duke of Portland, K.G., is President, and there is a committee of twenty, a full honorary official staff, with bankers, solicitors, and honorary veterinary surgeons. In fact, here you may see the specialist club in its fullest development. The year 1903 has seen the foundation of a special club medal, on which are reproduced the heads of five of the most typical dogs in the various breeds—namely, an Irish water spaniel, Clumber, Sussex, black field, and cocker spaniels; for this medal a special die has been made, so that winners of these valuable rewards are ensured an artistic and pleasing memento of their fancy. The 1903 report calls attention to an "inadequacy of classification," and foreshadows certain changes, and I have reason to suppose that one of these will be the removal of the Norfolk spaniel from the category in which it stands at present.

THE CLUMBER SPANIEL

The Clumber spaniel takes its name from Clumber, the seat of the Duke of Newcastle; as an English

breed it dates back about a hundred and fifty years, the first dogs of the strain, according to Daniel, having been given to the Duke of the day by the Duc de Noailles, whereby they presumably came from France. They proved themselves such admirable sporting dogs that the breed was carefully fostered, and much valued by subsequent inheritors of the kennel, and one picture depicts them as details in a portrait of the fourth Duke in 1807, when they were called by a contemporary writer "springers or cock-flushers." Their type has changed less than any other modern spaniel, according to Mr. Rawdon Lee, which he accounts for by their being a comparatively modern introduction. The distinctive colour of this breed is white with lemon markings on the ears, and it should be of low, heavy, massive build, and carry a thoughtful expression on its face. As I have a great many contributions on this breed, I will leave them to speak for themselves.

HER GRACE THE DUCHESS OF NEWCASTLE.-It is a pretty sight to see the Clumbers act as beaters drawing the coverts, but in these days of big shoots they are too slow for real, hard work, and are more suited for a small sporting day with three or four guns, who take pleasure in seeing the dogs work. Clumbers are, I fear, on the downward path; fresh blood with any merit is hard to find; in-breeding has resulted in losing the real spaniel head and expression, and also the beautiful lemon marking, so seldom seen now. I do not think that there is any living dog that really stands away from other good specimens, and there is room for some really good new ones to come out.

MR. JOHN S. COWELL.-We have no Clumbers worthy of the name to-day, when we remember Ch. John O' Gaunt, Tower, the beautiful Fairy III., and others of their high standard. We are losing, if we have not already lost, the principal characteristics and cardinal points of a Clumber,-the massive head, lemon markings, the true vine-leaf shaped ears, also size and bone. Perhaps the most conspicuous fault is the dark marking, which often approaches orange if not liver. I hope I may be wrong, but I despair of ever seeing such Clumbers again as those I have

mentioned, as I fail to see how the present breeding stock can produce the correct type. Fortunately the sporting instincts of Clumbers has not deteriorated in the same degree as their show points. On the contrary, they have won almost all the principal stakes at our field-trial meetings, and this may be accounted for by the fact that the largest kennels, such as the Duke of Portland's, the Duke of Newcastle's, the Duke of Northumberland's, and the Duke of Westminster's, are in the hands of noblemen and gentlemen who use them for shooting purposes, principally working them in teams. I am not aware that Clumbers are either as fascinating or as affectionate as the other varieties of spaniels; they are slower in movement, thoughtful, and somewhat sullen in temperament, and I have known specimens which have been decidedly vicious; but the success which they have gained at field trials has caused a great boom in the breed, and probably injudicious and haphazard breeding will account for the inferior specimens exhibited at present.

MR. F. E. SCHOLFIELD.-I am not satisfied with present type, but I am more than satisfied with the progress it is making. The breed is again improving by leaps and bounds; colour, size, correct quality of coat and Clumber expression are the chief requirements.

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MR. F. WINTON SMITH.-There are no Clumbers large enough to-day, and very few have the true Clumber expression, such as was seen in John O' Gaunt, Tower, and others. consider a Clumber is easier to train than any other spaniel, and, if bred from working stock, is seldom hard-mouthed or guilty of any chasing proclivities. For all round purposes by far the best dog to shoot over.

MR. ROBERT N. ALLEN.-I do not consider the ordinary Clumber of to-day a credit to the breed, so many lack correct proportions, and are too highly coloured. Clumbers are very sensible, and when once under control, useful with the gun.

MR. LOUIS J. PETTIT.-I think that the Clumber of the present day could be much improved upon by judges at the shows giving the awards to bitches with big, massive heads, as the general run of bitches are inclined to get snipey about the nose. I also think that the younger dogs should have more encouragement in this breed, as they are not at their best until they are about eight years old. I keep Clumbers for work, as I do not consider any other spaniel works like them; they are mute and will work singly as well as in a pack. Then again you can always see them on account of their colour, and I think

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