by men for running down the gazelle or coursing the hare. The earliest references to him are far back in the primitive ages, long before he was beautifully depicted by Assyrian artists, straining at the leash or racing after his prey across the desert sands. The Egyptians loved him and appreciated him centuries before the pyramids were built. In those days he wore a feathered tail, and his ears were heavy with a silken fringe of hair. His type was that of the modern Arabian Slughi, who is the direct and unaltered descendant of the ancient hound. The glorious King Solomon referred to him (Proverbs xxx. 31) as being one of the four things which “go well and are comely in going–a lion, which is strongest among beasts, and turneth not away from any; a Greyhound; an he goat also; and a king against whom there is no rising up.”
That the Greyhound is “comely in going,” as well as in repose, was recognised very early by the Greeks, whose artists were fond of introducing this graceful animal as an ornament in their decorative workmanship. In their metal work, their carvings in ivory and stone, and more particularly as parts in the designs on their terra-cotta oil bottles, wine coolers, and other vases, the Greyhound is frequently to be seen, sometimes following the hare, and always in remarkably characteristic attitudes. Usually these Greek Greyhounds are represented with prick ears, but occasionally the true rose ear is shown.
All writings in connection with Greyhounds point to the high estimation in which the dog has always been held. Dr. Caius, when referring to the name, says “The Greyhound hath his name of this word gre; which word soundeth gradus in Latin, in Englishe degree, because among all dogges these are the most principall, occupying the chiefest place, and being simply and absolutely the best of the gentle kinde of Houndes.”
It was not until the reign of Queen Elizabeth that coursing in England was conducted under established rules. These were drawn up by the then Duke of Norfolk. The sport quickly grew in favour, and continued to increase in popularity until the first coursing club was established at Swaffham in 1776. Then in 1780 the Ashdown Park Meeting came into existence. The Newmarket Meeting in 1805 was the next fixture that was inaugurated, and this now remains with the champion stakes as its most important event. Afterwards came the Amesbury Meeting in 1822, but Amesbury, like Ashdown, although for many years one of the most celebrated institutions of the description, has fallen from its high estate. Three years later came the Altcar Club. But it was not until eleven years after this period that the Waterloo Cup was instituted (in 1836), to win which is the highest ambition of followers of the leash.
At the present time the run for the Waterloo Cup, which at the commencement was an eight dog stake, is composed of sixty-four nominations, the entry fee for which is P25. The winner takes P500, and the cup, value P100, presented by the Earl of Sefton, the runner up P200, the third and fourth P50 each, four dogs P36 each, eight dogs P20 each, and sixteen dogs P10 each. The thirty-two dogs beaten in the first round of the Cup compete for the Waterloo Purse, value P215, and the sixteen dogs run out in the second round for the Waterloo Plate, value P145. The winner in each case taking P75, and the runner up P30, the remainder being divided amongst the most forward runners in the respective stakes. The Waterloo Cup holds the same position in coursing circles as the Derby does in horse racing.
The National Coursing Club was established in 1858, when a stud book was commenced, and a code of laws drawn up for the regulation of coursing meetings. This is recognised in Australia and other parts of the world where coursing meetings are held. The Stud Book, of which Mr. W. F. Lamonby is the keeper, contains particulars of all the best-known Greyhounds in the United Kingdom, and a dog is not allowed to compete at any of the large meetings held under Coursing Club rules unless it has been duly entered with its pedigree complete. In fact, the National Coursing Club is more particular in connection with the pedigrees of Greyhounds being correctly given, than the Kennel Club is about dogs that are exhibited; and that is saying a great deal. It holds the same position in coursing matters as the Jockey Club does in racing. It is in fact, the supreme authority on all matters connected with coursing.
Various opinions have been advanced as to the best size and weight for a Greyhound. Like horses, Greyhounds run in all forms, and there is no doubt that a really good big one will always have an advantage over the little ones; but it is so difficult to find the former, and most of the chief winners of the Waterloo Cup have been comparatively small. Coomassie was the smallest Greyhound that ever won the blue ribbon of the leash; she drew the scale at 42 lbs., and was credited with the win of the Cup on two occasions. Bab at the Bowster, who is considered by many good judges to have been the best bitch that ever ran, was 2 lbs. more; she won the Cup once, and many other stakes, as she was run all over the country and was not kept for the big event. Master McGrath was a small dog, and only weighed 53 lbs., but he won the Waterloo Cup three times. Fullerton, who was a much bigger dog, and was four times declared the winner of the Cup, was 56 lbs. in weight.
There are very few Greyhounds that have won the Waterloo Cup more than once, but Cerito was credited with it three times, namely, in 1850, 1852, and 1853, when it was a thirty-two dog stake. Canaradzo, Bit of Fashion, Miss Glendine, Herschel, Thoughtless Beauty, and Fabulous Fortune, are probably some of the best Greyhounds that ever ran besides those already alluded to. Bit of Fashion was the dam of Fullerton, who shares with Master McGrath the reputation of being the two best Greyhounds that ever ran. But Master McGrath came first. During his remarkable career in public he won thirty-six courses out of thirty-seven, the only time that he was defeated being the 1870 at his third attempt to win the Waterloo Cup, and the flag went up in favour of Mr. Trevor’s Lady Lyons. He, however, retrieved his good fortune the following year, when he again ran through the stake.
Fullerton, who, when he won all his honours, was the property of Colonel North, was bred by Mr. James Dent in Northumberland. Colonel North gave 850 guineas for him, which was then stated to be the highest price ever paid for a Greyhound. He ran five times altogether for the Waterloo Cup, and was declared the winner on four occasions. The first time was in 1889, when he divided with his kennel companion Troughend. Then he won the Cup outright the three following years. In 1893, however, after having been put to the stud, at which he proved a failure, he was again trained for the Cup, but age had begun to tell its tale, and after winning one course he was beaten by Mr. Keating’s Full Captain, in the second. This was one of the two occasions upon which out of thirty-three courses he failed to raise the flag. On the other he was beaten by Mr. Gladstone’s Greengage, when running the deciding course at Haydock Park.
It appears like descending from the sublime to the ridiculous to mention the Greyhound as a show dog, after the many brilliant performances that have been recorded of him in the leash, but there are many dogs elegant in outline with fine muscular development that are to be seen in the judging ring. Mr. George Raper’s Roasting Hot is one of the most prominent winners of the day; he is a fawn and white, as handsome as a peacock and, moreover, is a good dog in the field. On one occasion after competing successfully at the Kennel Club Show at the Crystal Palace, he was taken to a coursing meeting where he won the stake in which he was entered. A brace of very beautiful bitches are Mr. F. Eyer’s Dorset Girl and Miss W. Easton’s Okeford Queen.
Although, as a rule, the most consistent winners in the leash have not been noted for their good looks, there have been exceptions in which the opposite has been the case. Fullerton was a good-looking dog, if not quite up to the form required in the show ring. Mr. Harding Cox has had several specimens that could run well and win prizes as show dogs, and the same may be said of Miss Maud May’s fine kennel of Greyhounds in the North of England. In the South of England Mrs. A. Dewe keeps a number of longtails that when not winning prizes at the Crystal Palace and elsewhere are running at Plumpton and other meetings in Sussex.
The following is the standard by which Greyhounds should be judged.
* * * * *
HEAD–Long and narrow, slightly wider in skull, allowing for plenty of brain room; lips tight, without any flew, and eyes bright and intelligent and dark in colour. EARS–Small and fine in texture, and semi-pricked. TEETH–Very strong and level, and not decayed or cankered. NECK–Lengthy, without any throatiness, but muscular. SHOULDERS–Placed well back in the body, and fairly muscular, without being loaded. FORE-LEGS–Perfectly straight, set well into the shoulders, with strong pasterns and toes set well up and close together. BODY–Chest very deep, with fairly well-sprung ribs; muscular back and loins, and well cut up in the flanks. HIND-QUARTERS–Wide and well let down, with hocks well bent and close to the ground, with very muscular haunches, showing great propelling power, and tail long and fine and tapering with a slight upward curve. COAT–Fairly fine in texture. WEIGHT–The ideal weight of a dog is from 60 pounds to 65 pounds, of a bitch from 55 pounds to 60 pounds.
CHAPTER XIX
THE WHIPPET
For elegance of style, cleanliness of habit, and graceful movement, few dogs can equal the Whippet, for which reason his popularity as a companion has increased very greatly within the past decade. No more affectionate creature is to be found, yet he possesses considerable determination and pluck, and on occasion will defend himself in his own way.
Too fragile in his anatomy for fighting, in the ordinary sense of the word, when molested, he will “snap” at his opponent with such celerity as to take even the most watchful by surprise; while his strength of jaw, combined with its comparatively great length, enables him to inflict severe punishment at the first grab. It was probably owing to this habit, which is common to all Whippets, that they were originally known as Snap-Dogs.
The Whippet existed as a separate breed long before dog shows were thought of, and at a time when records of pedigrees were not officially preserved; but it is very certain that the Greyhound had a share in his genealogical history, for not only should his appearance be precisely that of a Greyhound in miniature, but the purpose for which he was bred is very similar to that for which his larger prototype is still used, the only difference being that rabbits were coursed by Whippets, and hares by Greyhounds.
This sport has been mainly confined to the working classes, the colliers of Lancashire, Yorkshire, Durham, and Northumberland being particularly devoted to it. As a rule the contests are handicaps, the starting point of each competitor being regulated by its weight; but the winners of previous important events are penalised in addition, according to their presumed merit, by having a certain number of yards deducted from the start to which weight alone would otherwise have entitled them. Each dog is taken to its stipulated mark according to the handicap, and there laid hold of by the nape of the neck and hind-quarters; the real starter stands behind the lot, and after warning all to be ready, discharges a pistol, upon which each attendant swings his dog as far forward as he can possibly throw him, but always making sure that he alights on his feet. The distance covered in the race is generally 200 yards, minus the starts allotted, and some idea of the speed at which these very active little animals can travel may be gleaned from the fact that the full distance has been covered in rather under 12 seconds.
In order to induce each dog to do its best, the owner, or more probably the trainer stands beyond the winning post, and frantically waves a towel or very stout rag. Accompanied by a babel of noise, the race is started, and in less time than it takes to write it the competitors reach the goal, one and all as they finish taking a flying leap at their trainer’s towel, to which they hold on with such tenacity that they are swung round in the air. The speed at which they are travelling makes this movement necessary in many cases to enable the dog to avoid accident, particularly where the space beyond the winning mark is limited. For racing purposes there is a wide margin of size allowed to the dogs, anything from 8 lbs. to 23 lbs., or even more, being eligible; but in view of the handicap terms those dogs which possess speed, and scale 9 to 12 lbs. amongst the light-weights, and over 17 lbs. in the heavy ones, are considered to have the best chance.
Probably there is no locality where the pastime has maintained such a firm hold as in and around Oldham, one of the most famous tracks in the world being at Higginshaw, where not infrequently three hundred dogs are entered in one handicap. The Borough grounds at Oldham and the Wellington grounds at Bury are also noted centres for races. It is a remarkable but well recognised fact that bitches are faster than dogs, and in consequence the terms upon which they are handicapped are varied. The general custom is to allow a dog 2-1/2 to 3 yards advantage for every pound difference in weight between it and the gentle sex.
One of the fastest dogs that ever ran was Collier Lad, but he was almost a Greyhound as regards size. Whitefoot, whose owner challenged the world, and was considered to be quite unbeatable, was a Whippet in every sense of the word, and was a nice medium weight, though probably Capplebank’s time of 11-1/2 seconds stands alone. The best of the present-day racing dogs are Polly fro’ Astley (15 lbs.) and Dinah (11-1/2 lbs.), and of those which promise well for the future, Eva, whose weight is only 9-3/4 lbs., is most prominent.
The training of Whippets is by no means easy work, and is more expensive than most people imagine. The very choicest food is deemed absolutely necessary, in fact a Whippet undergoing preparation for an important race is provided with the most wholesome fare. Choice mutton-chops, beef-steaks and similar dainties comprise their daily portion. Of course exercise is a necessity, but it is not considered good policy to allow a dog in training to gambol about either on the roads or in the fields. Indeed, all dogs which are undergoing preparation for a race are practically deprived of their freedom, in lieu of which they are walked along hard roads secured by a lead; and for fear of their picking up the least bit of refuse each is securely muzzled by a box-like leather arrangement which completely envelops the jaws, but which is freely perforated to permit proper breathing. Any distance between six and a dozen miles a day, according to the stamina and condition of the dog, is supposed to be the proper amount of exercise, and scales are brought into use every few days to gauge the effect which is being produced. In addition to this private trials are necessary in the presence of someone who is accustomed to timing races by the aid of a stop-watch–a by no means easy task, considering that a slight particle of a second means so many yards, and the average speed working out at about 16 yards per second–nearly twice as fast as the fastest pedestrian sprinter, and altogether beyond the power of the fleetest race-horse.
Colour in the Whippet is absolutely of no importance to a good judge, though possibly what is known as the peach fawn is the favourite among amateur fanciers. Red fawns, blue or slate coloured, black, brindled of various shades, and these colours intermingled with white, are most to be met with, however. In some quarters the idea is prevalent that Whippets are delicate in their constitution, but this is a popular error. Probably their disinclination to go out of doors on their own initiative when the weather is cold and wet may account for the opinion, but given the opportunity to roam about a house the Whippet will find a comfortable place, and will rarely ail anything. In scores of houses Whippets go to bed with the children, and are so clean that even scrupulous housewives take no objection to their finding their way under the clothes to the foot of the bed, thereby securing their own protection and serving as an excellent footwarmer in the winter months.
Probably in no other breed, except the Greyhound, do judges attach so little importance to the shape of the head; so long as the jaws are fairly long and the colour of the eyes somewhat in keeping with that of the body, very little else is looked for in front of the ears. As in the case of racing competitors, really good dogs for show purposes are much more difficult to find than bitches. The best of the males are not so classical in outline as the females, though some of them are as good in legs and feet–points which are of the greatest importance. Though it is not quite in accordance with the standard laid down by the club, it will be found that most judges favour dogs which are about 17 lbs. weight, and bitches which are between 15 lbs. and 16 lbs., the 20 lbs. mentioned in the standard of points, without variation for sex being considered altogether too heavy. Appearances are sometimes deceptive, but these dogs are rarely weighed for exhibition purposes, the trained eye of the judge being sufficient guide to the size of the competitors according to his partiality for middle-size, big, or little animals.
The South Durham and Yorkshire Show at Darlington has the credit for first introducing classes for Whippets into the prize ring. Previous to this it had not long been generally recognised as a distinct breed, and it is within the last twenty years that the Kennel Club has placed the breed on its recognised list.
The following is the standard of points adopted by the Whippet Club:–
* * * * *
HEAD–Long and lean, rather wide between the eyes and flat on the top; the jaw powerful yet cleanly cut; the teeth level and white. EYES–Bright and fiery. EARS–Small, fine in texture and rose shape. NECK–Long and muscular, elegantly arched and free from throatiness. SHOULDERS–Oblique and muscular. CHEST–Deep and capacious. BACK–Broad and square, rather long and slightly arched over the loin, which should be strong and powerful. FORE-LEGS–Rather long, well set under the dog, possessing a fair amount of bone. HIND-QUARTERS–Strong and broad across stifles, well bent thighs, broad and muscular; hocks well let down. FEET–Round, well split up, with strong soles. COAT–Fine and close. COLOUR–Black, red, white, brindle, fawn, blue, and the various mixtures of each. WEIGHT–Twenty pounds.
CHAPTER XX
THE FOXHOUND
There is plenty of proof that Foxhounds were the very first of the canine races in Great Britain to come under the domination of scientific breeding. There had been hounds of more ancient origin, such as the Southern Hound and the Bloodhound; but something different was wanted towards the end of the seventeenth century to hunt the wild deer that had become somewhat scattered after Cromwell’s civil war. The demand was consequently for a quicker hound than those hitherto known, and people devoted to the chase began to breed it. Whether there were crosses at first remains in dispute, but there is more probability that the policy adopted was one of selection; those exceptionally fast were bred with the same, until the slow, steady line hunter was improved out of his very character and shape. At any rate, there are proofs that in 1710 hounds were to be found in packs, carefully bred, and that at that time some of the hunts in question devoted attention to the fox.
The first known kennel of all was at Wardour Castle, and was said to have been established in 1696; but more reliable is the date of the Brocklesby, commenced in 1713. The first record of a pack of hounds being sold was in 1730, when a Mr. Fownes sold his pack to a Mr. Bowles. The latter gentleman showed great sport with them in Yorkshire. At that time Lord Hertford began to hunt the Cotswold country, in Gloucestershire, and was the first to draw coverts for fox in the modern style. Very soon after this it became the fashion of the day to breed hounds. Many of the nobility and large landowners devoted much of their time and money to it, and would take long journeys to get fresh blood. It was the rule to breed hounds on the most scientific principles, and by 1750 there were fifty such breeders, including the fifth Duke of Beaufort, Lord Lincoln, Lord Stamford, Lord Percival, Lord Granby, Lord Ludlow, Lord Vernon, Lord Carlisle, Lord Mexbro, Sir Walter Vavasour, Sir Roland Winns, Mr. Noel, Mr. Stanhope, Mr. Meynell, Mr. Barry, and Mr. Charles Pelham. The last-named gentleman, afterward the first Lord Yarborough, was perhaps the most indefatigable of all, as he was the first to start the system of walking puppies amongst his tenantry, on the Brocklesby estates, and of keeping lists of hound pedigrees and ages. By 1760 all the above-named noblemen and gentlemen had been breeding from each other’s kennels. The hounds were registered, as can be seen now in Lord Middleton’s private kennel stud book, through which his lordship can trace the pedigrees of his present pack for a hundred and sixty years to hounds that were entered in 1760, got by Raytor, son of Merryman and grandson of Lord Granby’s Ranter. Another pedigree was that of Ruby, who is credited with a numerous progeny, as she was by Raytor out of Mr. Stapleton’s Cruel by Sailor, a son of Lord Granby’s Sailor by Mr. Noel’s Victor. This shows well how seriously Foxhound breeding was gone into before the middle of the eighteenth century. Portraits prove also that a hound approaching very closely to those of modern times had been produced at this early period. By such evidence the Foxhound had outstripped the Harrier in size by nearly five inches, as the latter does not appear to have been more than eighteen inches, and the early Foxhound would have been twenty-three inches. Then the heavy shoulder, the dewlap, and jowl of the Southern Hound had been got rid of, and the coat had been somewhat altered. The old school of breeders had evidently determined upon great speed and the ability to stay, through the medium of deep ribs, heart room, wide loins, length of quarter, quality of bone, straightness of fore-leg, and round strong feet; the slack loined, loosely built, and splayfooted hound of former generations had been left behind. To such perfection, indeed, had the Foxhound attained, that long before the close of the eighteenth century sportsmen were clamouring as to what a Foxhound could do.
With so much prominence given to the Foxhound in the comparatively short period of forty or fifty years, it is no wonder that individual hounds became very celebrated in almost every part of the country. Mr. Pelham’s Rockwood Tickler and Bumper were names well known in Yorkshire, and Lord Ludlow’s Powerful and Growler were talked of both in Lincolnshire and Warwickshire. From the first, indeed, it appeared that certain hounds were very much better than others, and old huntsmen have generally declared for one which was in the whole length of their careers (sometimes extending to fifty years) immeasurably superior to all others they had hunted. Harry Ayris, who was for just half a century with Lord FitzHardinge, declared to the day of his death that nothing had equalled Cromwell; Osbaldeston said the same of Furrier, and Frank Gillard never falters from the opinion that Weathergage was quite by himself as the best hound he ever hunted. The Foxhound Kennel Stud Book abounds in the strongest proofs that hereditary merit in their work has been transmitted from these wonderful hounds, and they really make the history of the Foxhound.
There have been many great hounds; but there must be the greatest of the great, and the following twelve hounds are probably the best England has ever seen:–Mr. Corbet’s Trojan (1780), Lord Middleton’s Vanguard (1815), Mr. Osbaldeston’s Furrier (1820), Lord Henry Bentinck’s Contest (1848), Lord FitzHardinge’s Cromwell (1855), Mr. Drake’s Duster (1844), Sir Richard Sutton’s Dryden (1849), the Duke of Rutland’s Senator (1862), Duke of Rutland’s Weathergage (1874), the Earl of Coventry’s Rambler (1874), Mr. E. P. Rawnsley’s Freeman (1884), and the Grafton Woodman (1892).
Breeding Foxhounds is one of the most fascinating of all the pleasures of animal culture, as the above list, so full of extreme merit, can be traced for nearly a hundred and thirty years.
It cannot be said that the prices paid for Foxhounds in very recent times have greatly exceeded those of the past. In 1790 Colonel Thornton sold Merkin for four hogsheads of claret, and the seller to have two couples of the whelps. Then in 1808 Mr. John Warde sold a pack of hounds to Lord Althorpe for 1,000 guineas, and the same gentleman sold another pack for the same sum a few years later. In 1838 Lord Suffield offered 3,000 guineas for Mr. Lambton’s pack, and afterwards sold it to Sir Matthew White Ridley for 2,500. In 1834 Osbaldeston sold ten couples of bitches, all descendants of Furrier, for 2,000 sovereigns, or P100 a hound–a record that was almost eclipsed at the sale of Lord Politmore’s hounds in 1870, when twenty-two couples of dog-hounds sold for 3,365 guineas.
Of late years there has been the sale of the Quorn for, it was said, P3,000, and the late Lord Willoughby de Broke valued the North Warwickshire for the county to purchase at P2,500. In 1903 the Atherstone was valued by Mr. Rawlence, the well-known representative of Tattersall’s, at P3,500, or something like P50 a hound, and that has been considered very cheap. If, therefore, modern prices have not greatly exceeded those of the far past, there has not been any particular diminution, and there is no doubt about it that if certain packs could be purchased the prices would far exceed anything ever reached before.
Foxhounds have very much improved in looks during the past five-and-twenty years, and unquestionably they are quite as good in the field or better. Whenever hounds have good foxes in front of them, and good huntsmen to assist or watch over them, they are as able as ever, notwithstanding that the drawbacks to good sport are more numerous now than they used to be. The noble hound will always be good enough, and ever and anon this is shown by a run of the Great Wood order, to hunt over five-and-twenty to thirty miles at a pace to settle all the horses, and yet every hound will be up. There has been a slight tendency to increase size of late years. The Belvoir dog-hound is within very little of 24 inches instead of 23-1/2, the standard of twenty years ago, and this increase has become very general. In elegance of form nothing has been lost, and there can be no other to possess beauty combined with power and the essential points for pace and endurance in the same degree as a Foxhound.
A detailed description of the Foxhound is here given:–
* * * * *
HEAD–Somewhat broad, not peaked like the Bloodhound, but long from the apex to the frontal bones, eyebrows very prominent, cheeks cut clean from the eye to the nostril, ears set low and in their natural condition thin and shapely, but not large, nose large, jaw strong and level, and small dewlaps, expression fierce, and with the best often repellent. EYES–Very bright and deeply set, full of determination, and with a very steady expression. The look of the Foxhound is very remarkable. NECK–Should be perfectly clean, no skin ruffle whatever, or neck cloth, as huntsmen call it. The length of neck is of importance, both for stooping and giving an air of majesty. SHOULDERS–The blades should be well into the back, and should slant, otherwise be wide and strong, to meet the arms, that should be long and powerful. LEGS AND FEET–The bone should be perfectly straight from the arm downward, and descend in the same degree of size to the ankles, or, as the saying is, “down to his toes.” The knee should be almost flat and level; there should be no curve until coming to the toes, which should be very strong, round, cat-shaped, and every toe clean set as it were. FORE-RIBS AND BRISKET–Deep, fine ribs are very essential, and the brisket should be well below the elbows. BACK AND LOINS–Back should be straight. A hollow back offends the eye much, and a roach back is worse. The loin wide, back ribs deep and long, a slight prominence over the croup. QUARTERS AND HOCKS–The quarters cannot be too long, full, showing a second thigh, and meeting a straight hock low down, the shank bone short, and meeting shapely feet. COAT–The coat is hard hair, but short and smooth, the texture is as stiff as bristles, but beautifully laid. COLOUR–Belvoir tan, which is brown and black, perfectly intermixed, with white markings of various shapes and sizes. The white should be very opaque and clear. Black and white, with tan markings on head and stifles. Badger pied–a kind of grey and white. Lemon pied, light yellow and white. Hare pied, a darker yellow and white. STERN–Long and carried gaily, but not curled; often half white. HEIGHT–Dogs from 23-1/2 to 24 inches; bitches from 22 to 22-1/2 inches.
CHAPTER XXI
THE HARRIER AND THE BEAGLE
The Harrier is a distinct breed of hound used for hunting the hare–or rather it should be said the Association of Masters of Harriers are doing their utmost to perpetuate this breed; the Harrier Stud Book bearing witness thereto: and it is to be deplored that so many Masters of Harriers ignore this fact, and are content to go solely to Foxhound kennels to start their packs of Harriers, choosing, maybe, 20 inch to 22 inch Foxhounds, and thenceforth calling them Harriers. It is, indeed, a common belief that the modern Harrier is but a smaller edition of the Foxhound, employed for hunting the hare instead of the fox, and it is almost useless to reiterate that it is a distinct breed of hound that can boast of possibly greater antiquity than any other, or to insist upon the fact that Xenophon himself kept a pack of Harriers over two thousands years ago. Nevertheless, in general appearance the Harrier and the Foxhound are very much alike, the one obvious distinction being that of size.
Opinions differ as to what standard of height it is advisable to aim at. If you want to hunt your Harriers on foot, 16 inches is quite big enough–almost too big to run with; but if you are riding to them, 20 inches is a useful height, or even 19 inches. Either is a good workable size, and such hounds should be able to slip along fast enough for most people. Choose your hounds with plenty of bone, but not too clumsy or heavy; a round, firm neck, not too short, with a swan-like curve; a lean head with a long muzzle and fairly short ears; a broad chest with plenty of lung room, fore-legs like gun barrels, straight and strong; hind-legs with good thighs and well let down hocks; feet, round like cats’ feet, and a well-set-on, tapering stern. Such a make and shape should see many seasons through, and allow you to be certain of pace and endurance in your pack. It is useless to lay down any hard and fast rule as to colour. It is so much a matter of individual taste. Some Masters have a great fancy for the dark colouring of the old Southern Hound, but nothing could look much smarter than a good combination of Belvoir tan with black and white. Puppies, as a rule, a week or two after they are whelped, show a greater proportion of dark marking than any other, but this as they grow older soon alters, and their white marking becomes much more conspicuous. As in the case of the Foxhound, the Harrier is very seldom kept as a companion apart from the pack. But puppies are usually sent out to walk, and may easily be procured to be kept and reared until they are old enough to be entered to their work. Doubtless the rearing of a Harrier puppy is a great responsibility, but it is also a delight to many who feel that they are helping in the advancement of a great national sport.
* * * * *
There is nothing to surpass the beauty of the Beagle either to see him on the flags of his kennel or in unravelling a difficulty on the line of a dodging hare. In neatness he is really the little model of a Foxhound. He is, of course, finer, but with the length of neck so perfect in the bigger hound, the little shoulders of the same pattern, and the typical quarters and second thighs. Then how quick he is in his casts! and when he is fairly on a line, of course he sticks to it, as the saying is, “like a beagle.”
Beagles have been carefully preserved for a great many years, and in some cases they have been in families for almost centuries. In the hereditary hunting establishments they have been frequently found, as the medium of amusement and instruction in hunting for the juvenile members of the house; and there can be nothing more likely to instil the right principles of venery into the youthful mind than to follow all the ways of these little hounds.
Dorsetshire used to be the great county for Beagles. The downs there were exactly fitted for them, and years ago, when roe-deer were preserved on the large estates, Beagles were used to hunt this small breed of deer. Mr. Cranes’ Beagles were noted at the time, and also those of a Colonel Harding. It is on record that King George IV. had a strong partiality for Beagles, and was wont to see them work on the downs round about Brighton. The uses of the Beagle in the early days of the last century, however, were a good deal diversified. They were hunted in big woodlands to drive game to the gun, and perhaps the ordinary Beagle of from 12 inches to 14 inches was not big enough for the requirements of the times. It is quite possible, therefore, that the Beagle was crossed with the Welsh, Southern or Otterhound, to get more size and power, as there certainly was a Welsh rough-coated Beagle of good 18 inches, and an almost identical contemporary that was called the Essex Beagle. Sixty years ago such hounds were common enough, but possibly through the adoption of the more prevalent plan of beating coverts, and Spaniels being in more general use, the vocation of the Beagle in this particular direction died out, and a big rough-coated Beagle is now very rarely seen.
That a great many of the true order were bred became very manifest as soon as the Harrier and Beagle Association was formed, and more particularly when a section of the Peterborough Hound Show was reserved for them. Then they seemed to spring from every part of the country. In 1896 one became well acquainted with many packs that had apparently held aloof from the dog shows. There was the Cheshire, the Christ Church (Oxford), Mr. T. Johnson’s, the Royal Rock, the Thorpe Satchville, the Worcestershire, etc., and of late there have been many more that are as well known as packs of Foxhounds. One hears now of the Chauston, the Halstead Place–very noted indeed–the Hulton, the Leigh Park, the Stoke Place, the Edinburgh, the Surbiton, the Trinity Foot, the Wooddale, Mrs. G. W. Hilliard’s, Mrs. Price’s, and Mrs. Turner’s.
Beagle owners, like the masters of Foxhound kennels, have never been very partial to the ordinary dog shows, and so the development of the up-to-date Beagle, as seen at recent shows, is somewhat new. It is just as it should be, and if more people take up “beagling” it may not be in the least surprising. They are very beautiful little hounds, can give a vast amount of amusement, and, for the matter of that, healthy exercise. If a stout runner can keep within fairly easy distance of a pack of well-bred Beagles on the line of a lively Jack hare, he is in the sort of condition to be generally envied.
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DESCRIPTION OF THE BEAGLE: HEAD–Fair length, powerful without being coarse; skull domed, moderately wide, with an indication of peak, stop well defined, muzzle not snipy, and lips well flewed. NOSE–Black, broad, and nostrils well expanded. EYES–Brown, dark hazel or hazel, not deep set nor bulgy, and with a mild expression. EARS–Long, set on low, fine in texture, and hanging in a graceful fold close to the cheek. NECK–Moderately long, slightly arched, the throat showing some dewlap. SHOULDERS–Clean and slightly sloping. BODY–Short between the couplings, well let down in chest, ribs fairly well sprung and well ribbed up, with powerful and not tucked-up loins. HIND-QUARTERS–Very muscular about the thighs, stifles and hocks well bent, and hocks well let down. FORE-LEGS–Quite straight, well under the dog, of good substance and round in the bone. FEET–Round, well knuckled up, and strongly padded. STERN–Moderate length, set on high, thick and carried gaily, but not curled over the back. COLOUR–Any recognised hound colour. COAT–Smooth variety: Smooth, very dense and not too fine or short. Rough variety: Very dense and wiry. HEIGHT–Not exceeding 16 inches. Pocket Beagles must not exceed 10 inches. GENERAL APPEARANCE–A compactly-built hound, without coarseness, conveying the impression of great stamina and vivacity.
CHAPTER XXII
THE POINTER
It has never been made quite clear in history why the Spaniards had a dog that was very remarkable for pointing all kinds of game. They have always been a pleasure-loving people, certainly, but more inclined to bull-fighting than field-craft, and yet as early as 1600 they must have had a better dog for game-finding than could have been found in any other part of the world. Singularly enough, too, the most esteemed breeds in many countries can be traced from the same source, such as the Russian Pointer, the German Pointer, the French double-nosed Griffon, and, far more important still, the English Pointer. A view has been taken that the Spanish double-nosed Pointer was introduced into England about two hundred years ago, when fire-arms were beginning to be popular for fowling purposes. Setters and Spaniels had been used to find and drive birds into nets, but as the Spanish Pointer became known it was apparently considered that he alone had the capacity to find game for the gun. This must have been towards the end of the seventeenth century, and for the next fifty years at least something very slow was wanted to meet the necessities of the old-fashioned flintlock gun, which occupied many minutes in loading and getting into position. Improvements came by degrees, until they set in very rapidly, but probably by 1750, when hunting had progressed a good deal, and pace was increased in all pastimes, the old-fashioned Pointer was voted a nuisance through his extreme caution and tortoise-like movements.
There is evidence, through portraits, that Pointers had been altogether changed by the year 1800, but it is possible that the breed then had been continued by selection rather than by crossing for a couple of decades, as it is quite certain that by 1815 sportsmen were still dissatisfied with the want of pace in the Pointer, and many sportsmen are known to have crossed their Pointers with Foxhounds at about that time. By 1835 the old Spanish Pointer had been left behind, and the English dog was a perfect model for pace, stamina, resolution, and nerve. The breed was exactly adapted to the requirements of that day, which was not quite as fast as the present. Men shot with good Joe Mantons, did their own loading, and walked to their dogs, working them right and left by hand and whistle. The dogs beat their ground methodically, their heads at the right level for body scent, and when they came on game, down they were; the dog that had got it pointing, and the other barking or awaiting developments. There was nothing more beautiful than the work of a well-bred and well-broken brace of Pointers, or more perfect than the way a man got his shots from them. There was nothing slow about them, but on the contrary they went a great pace, seemed to shoot into the very currents of air for scent, and yet there was no impatience about them such as might have been expected from the Foxhound cross. The truth of it was that the capacity to concentrate the whole attention on the object found was so intense as to have lessened every other propensity. The rush of the Foxhound had been absorbed by the additional force of the Pointer character. There has been nothing at all like it in canine culture, and it came out so wonderfully after men had been shooting in the above manner for about forty years.
It was nearing the end of this period that field trials began to occupy the attention of breeders and sportsmen, and although Setters had been getting into equal repute for the beauty of their work, there was something more brilliant about the Pointers at first. Brockton’s Bounce was a magnificent dog, a winner on the show bench, and of the first Field Trial in England. Newton’s Ranger was another of the early performers, and he was very staunch and brilliant, but it was in the next five years that the most extraordinary Pointer merit was seen, as quite incomparable was Sir Richard Garth’s Drake, who was just five generations from the Spanish Pointer. Drake was rather a tall, gaunt dog, but with immense depth of girth, long shoulders, long haunches, and a benevolent, quiet countenance. There was nothing very attractive about him when walking about at Stafford prior to his trial, but the moment he was down he seemed to paralyse his opponent, as he went half as fast again. It was calculated that he went fifty miles an hour, and at this tremendous pace he would stop as if petrified, and the momentum would cover him with earth and dust. He did not seem capable of making a mistake, and his birds were always at about the same distance from him, to show thereby his extraordinary nose and confidence. Nothing in his day could beat him in a field. He got some good stock, but they were not generally show form, the bitches by him being mostly light and small, and his sons a bit high on the leg. None of them had his pace, but some were capital performers, such as Sir Thomas Lennard’s Mallard, Mr. George Pilkington’s Tory, Mr. Lloyd Price’s Luck of Edenhall, winner of the Field Trial Derby, 1878; Lord Downe’s Mars and Bounce, and Mr. Barclay Field’s Riot. When Sir Richard Garth went to India and sold his kennel of Pointers at Tattersall’s, Mr. Lloyd Price gave 150 guineas for Drake.
The mid-century owners and breeders had probably all the advantages of what a past generation had done, as there were certainly many wonderful Pointers in the ‘fifties, ‘sixties, and ‘seventies, as old men living to-day will freely allow. They were produced very regularly, too, in a marvellous type of perfection.
Mr. William Arkwright, of Sutton Scarsdale, Derbyshire, has probably the best kennel in England at the present time. He discovered and revived an old breed of the North of England that was black, and bred for a great many years by Mr. Pape, of Carlisle, and his father before him. With these Mr. Arkwright has bred to the best working strains, with the result that he has had many good field trial winners. For a good many years now Elias Bishop, of Newton Abbot, has kept up the old breeds of Devon Pointers, the Ch. Bangs, the Mikes, and the Brackenburg Romps, and his have been amongst the best at the shows and the field trials during the past few years. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule that many of the modern Pointers do not carry about them the air of their true business; but it would appear that fewer people keep them now than was the case a quarter of a century ago, owing to the advance of quick-shooting, otherwise driving, and the consequent falling away of the old-fashioned methods, both for the stubble and the moor. However, there are many still who enjoy the work of dogs, and it would be a sin indeed in the calendar of British sports if the fine old breed of Pointer were allowed even to deteriorate. The apparent danger is that the personal or individual element is dying out. In the ‘seventies the name of Drake, Bang, or Garnet were like household words. People talked of the great Pointers. They were spoken of in club chat or gossip; written about; and the prospects of the moors were much associated with the up-to-date characters of the Pointers and Setters. There is very little of this sort of talk now-a-days. Guns are more critically spoken of. There is, however, a wide enough world to supply with first-class Pointers. In England’s numerous colonies it may be much more fitting to shoot over dogs. It has been tried in South Africa with marvellous results. Descendants of Bang have delighted the lone colonist on Cape partridge and quails, and Pointers suit the climate, whereas Setters do not. The Pointer is a noble breed to take up, as those still in middle life have seen its extraordinary merit whenever bred in the right way. As to the essential points of the breed, they may be set down as follows:–
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HEAD–Should be wide from ear to ear, long and slanting from the top of the skull to the setting on of the nose; cheek bones prominent; ears set low and thin in texture, soft and velvety; nose broad at the base; mouth large and jaws level. NECK–The neck should be very strong, but long and slightly arched, meeting shoulders well knit into the back, which should be straight and joining a wide loin. There should be great depth of heart room, very deep brisket, narrow chest rather than otherwise, shoulders long and slanting. LEGS AND FEET–Should be as nearly like the Foxhound’s as possible. There should be really no difference, as they must be straight, the knees big, and the bone should be of goodly size down to the toes, and the feet should be very round and cat-shaped. HIND-QUARTERS–A great feature in the Pointer is his hind-quarters. He cannot well be too long in the haunch or strong in the stifle, which should be well bent, and the muscles in the second thigh of a good Pointer are always remarkable. The hocks may be straighter than even in a Foxhound, as, in pulling up sharp on his point, he in a great measure throws his weight on them; the shank bones below the hock should be short. COLOUR–There have been good ones of all colours. The Derby colours were always liver and whites for their Pointers and black breasted reds for their game-cocks. The Seftons were liver and whites also, and so were the Edges of Strelly, but mostly heavily ticked. Brockton’s Bounce was so, and so were Ch. Bang, Mike, and Young Bang. Drake was more of the Derby colour; dark liver and white. Mr. Whitehouse’s were mostly lemon and whites, after Hamlet of that colour, and notable ones of the same hue were Squire, Bang Bang, and Mr. Whitehouse’s Pax and Priam, all winners of field trials. There have been several very good black and whites. Mr. Francis’s, afterwards Mr. Salter’s, Chang was a field trial winner of this colour. A still better one was Mr. S. Becket’s Rector, a somewhat mean little dog to look at, but quite extraordinary in his work, as he won the Pointer Puppy Stake at Shrewsbury and the All-Aged Stake three years in succession. Mr. Salter’s Romp family were quite remarkable in colour–a white ground, heavily shot with black in patches and in ticks. There have never been any better Pointers than these. There have been, and are, good black Pointers also. HEIGHT AND SIZE–A big Pointer dog stands from 24-1/2 inches to 25 inches at the shoulder. Old Ch. Bang and Young Bang were of the former height, and the great bitch, Mr. Lloyd Price’s Belle, was 24 inches. For big Pointers 60 pounds is about the weight for dogs and 56 pounds bitches; smaller size, 54 pounds dogs and 48 pounds bitches. There have been some very good ones still smaller.
CHAPTER XXIII
THE SETTERS
I. THE ENGLISH SETTER.–In some form or other Setters are to be found wherever guns are in frequent use and irrespective of the precise class of work they have to perform; but their proper sphere is either on the moors, when the red grouse are in quest, or on the stubbles and amongst the root crops, when September comes in, and the partridge season commences.
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, is supposed to have been the first person to train setting dogs in the manner which has been commonly adopted by his successors. His lordship lived in the middle of the sixteenth century, and was therefore a contemporary of Dr. Caius, who may possibly have been indebted to the Earl for information when, in his work on _English Dogges_, he wrote of the Setter under the name of the Index.
Though Setters are divided into three distinct varieties,–The English, the Irish and the Gordon, or Black and Tan–there can be no doubt that all have a common origin, though it is scarcely probable, in view of their dissimilarity, that the same individual ancestors can be supposed to be their original progenitors. Nearly all authorities agree that the Spaniel family is accountable on one side, and this contention is borne out to a considerable extent by old illustrations and paintings of Setters at work, in which they are invariably depicted as being very much like the old liver and white Spaniel, though of different colours. Doubt exists as to the other side of their heredity, but it does not necessarily follow that all those who first bred them used the same means. Of the theories put forward, that which carries the most presumptive evidence must go to the credit of the old Spanish Pointer. Where else could they inherit that wonderful scenting power, that style in which they draw up to their game, their statuesque attitude when on point, and, above all, the staunchness and patience by which they hold their game spellbound until the shooter has time to walk leisurely up, even from a considerable distance?
But, apart from the question of their origin, the different varieties have many other attributes in common; all perform the same kind of work, and in the same manner; consequently the system of breaking or training them varies only according to the temper or ideas of those who undertake their schooling.
Few dogs are more admired than English Setters, and those who are looked upon as professional exhibitors have not been slow to recognise the fact that when a really good young dog makes its appearance it is a formidable rival amongst all other breeds when the special prizes come to be allotted.
Seen either at its legitimate work as a gun dog or as a domestic companion, the English Setter is one of the most graceful and beautiful of the canine race, and its elegant form and feathery coat command instant admiration. Twenty years ago it was known by several distinct names, among the more important being the Blue Beltons and Laveracks, and this regardless of any consideration as to whether or not the dogs were in any way connected by relationship to the stock which had earned fame for either of these time-honoured names. It was the great increase in the number of shows and some confusion on the part of exhibitors that made it necessary for the Kennel Club to classify under one heading these and others which had attained some amount of notability and the old terms have gradually been dropped.
Doubtless the English Setter Club has done much since its institution in 1890 to encourage this breed of dog, and has proved the usefulness of the club by providing two very valuable trophies, the Exhibitors’ Challenge Cup and the Field Trial Challenge Cup, for competition amongst its members, besides having liberally supported all the leading shows; hence it has rightly come to be regarded as the only authority from which an acceptable and official dictum for the guidance of others can emanate.
The following is the standard of points issued by the English Setter Club:–
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HEAD–The head should be long and lean, with well-defined stop. The skull oval from ear to ear, showing plenty of brain room, and with a well-defined occipital protuberance. The muzzle moderately deep and fairly square; from the stop to the point of the nose should be long, the nostrils wide, and the jaws of nearly equal length; flews not too pendulous. The colour of the nose should be black, or dark, or light liver, according to the colour of the coat. The eyes should be bright, mild, and intelligent, and of a dark hazel colour, the darker the better. The ears of moderate length, set on low and hanging in neat folds close to the cheek; the tip should be velvety, the upper part clothed with fine silky hair. NECK–The neck should be rather long, muscular, and lean, slightly arched at the crest, and clean cut where it joins the head; towards the shoulder it should be larger, and very muscular, not throaty with any pendulosity below the throat, but elegant and bloodlike in appearance. BODY–The body should be of moderate length, with shoulders well set back or oblique; back short and level; loins wide, slightly arched, strong and muscular. Chest deep in the brisket, with good round widely-sprung ribs, deep in the back ribs–that is, well ribbed up. LEGS AND FEET–The stifles should be well bent and ragged, thighs long from hip to hock. The forearm big and very muscular, the elbow well let down. Pasterns short, muscular, and straight. The feet very close and compact, and well protected by hair between the toes. TAIL–The tail should be set on almost in a line with the back; medium length, not curly or ropy, to be slightly curved or scimitar-shaped, but with no tendency to turn upwards; the flag or feather hanging in long, pendant flakes; the feather should not commence at the root, but slightly below, and increase in length to the middle, then gradually taper off towards the end; and the hair long, bright, soft and silky, wavy but not curly. COAT AND FEATHERING–The coat from the back of the head in a line with the ears ought to be slightly wavy, long, and silky, which should be the case with the coat generally; the breeches and fore-legs, nearly down to the feet, should be well feathered. COLOUR AND MARKINGS–The colour may be either black and white, lemon and white, liver and white, or tricolour–that is, black, white, and tan; those without heavy patches of colour on the body, but flecked all over preferred.
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II. THE IRISH SETTER.–Though this variety has not attained such popularity as its English cousin, it is not because it is regarded as being less pleasing to the eye, for in general appearance of style and outline there is very little difference; in fact, none, if the chiselling of the head and colour of the coat be excepted. The beautiful rich golden, chestnut colour which predominates in all well-bred specimens is in itself sufficient to account for the great favour in which they are regarded generally, while their disposition is sufficiently engaging to attract the attention of those who desire to have a moderate-sized dog as a companion, rather than either a very large or very small one. Probably this accounts for so many lady exhibitors in England preferring them to the other varieties of Setters. We have to go over to its native country, however, to find the breed most highly esteemed as a sporting dog for actual work, and there it is naturally first favourite; in fact, very few of either of the other varieties are to be met with from one end of the Green Isle to the other. It has been suggested that all Irish Setters are too headstrong to make really high-class field trial dogs. Some of them, on the contrary, are quite as great in speed and not only as clever at their business, but quite as keen-nosed as other Setters. Some which have competed within the past few years at the Irish Red Setter Club’s trials have had as rivals some of the best Pointers from England and Scotland, and have successfully held their own.
The Secretary of the Irish Setter Club is Mr. S. Brown, 27, Eustace Street, Dublin, and the standard of points as laid down by that authority is as follows:–
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HEAD–The head should be long and lean. The skull oval (from ear to ear), having plenty of brain room, and with well-defined occipital protuberance. Brows raised, showing stop. The muzzle moderately deep and fairly square at the end. From the stop to the point of the nose should be fairly long, the nostrils wide, and the jaws of nearly equal length; flews not to be pendulous. The colour of the nose dark mahogany or dark walnut, and that of the eyes (which ought not to be too large) rich hazel or brown. The ears to be of moderate size, fine in texture, set on low, well back, and hanging in a neat fold close to the head. NECK–The neck should be moderately long, very muscular, but not too thick; slightly arched, free from all tendency to throatiness. BODY–The body should be long. Shoulders fine at the points, deep and sloping well back. The chest as deep as possible, rather narrow in front. The ribs well sprung, leaving plenty of lung room. Loins muscular and slightly arched. The hind-quarters wide and powerful. LEGS AND FEET–The hind-legs from hip to hock should be long and muscular; from hock to heel short and strong. The stifle and hock joints well bent, and not inclined either in or out. The fore-legs should be straight and sinewy, having plenty of bone, with elbows free, well let down, and, like the hocks, not inclined either in or out. The feet small, very firm; toes strong, close together, and arched. TAIL–The tail should be of moderate length, set on rather low, strong at root, and tapering to a fine point, to be carried as nearly as possible on a level or below the back. COAT–On the head, front of legs, and tips of ears the coat should be short and fine; but on all other parts of the body and legs it ought to be of moderate length, flat, and as free as possible from curl or wave. FEATHERING–The feather on the upper portion of the ears should be long and silky; on the back of fore and hind-legs long and fine; a fair amount of hair on the belly, forming a nice fringe, which may extend on chest and throat. Feet to be well feathered between the toes. Tail to have a nice fringe of moderately long hair, decreasing in length as it approaches the point. All feathering to be as straight and as flat as possible. COLOUR AND MARKINGS–The colour should be a rich golden chestnut, with no trace whatever of black; white on chest, throat, or toes, or a small star on the forehead, or a narrow streak or blaze on the nose or face not to disqualify.
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III. THE BLACK AND TAN SETTER.–Originally this variety was known as the Gordon Setter, but this title was only partly correct, as the particular dogs first favoured by the Duke of Gordon, from whom they took the name, were black, tan, and white, heavily built, and somewhat clumsy in appearance. But the introduction of the Irish blood had the effect of making a racier-looking dog more fashionable, the presence of white on the chest was looked upon with disfavour, and the Kennel Club settled the difficulty of name by abolishing the term “Gordon” altogether.
Very few of this variety have appeared at field trials for several years past, but that cannot be considered a valid reason for stigmatising them as “old-men’s dogs,” as some narrow-minded faddists delight in calling them. On the few occasions when the opportunity has been presented they have acquitted themselves at least as well as, and on some occasions better than, their rivals of other varieties, proving to be as fast, as staunch, and as obedient as any of them. A notable example of this occurred during the season of 1902 and 1903, when Mr. Isaac Sharpe’s Stylish Ranger was so remarkably successful at the trials.
It is very difficult to account for the lack of interest which is taken in the variety outside Scotland, but the fact remains that very few have appeared at field trials within recent years, and that only about four owners are troubling the officials of English shows regularly at the present time.
In France, Belgium, Norway, and especially in Russia this handsome sporting dog is a far greater favourite than it is in Great Britain, not only for work with the gun, but as a companion, and it is a fact that at many a Continental dog show more specimens of the breed are exhibited than could be gathered together in the whole of the United Kingdom.
The want of an active organisation which would foster and encourage the interests of the Black and Tan Setter is much to be deplored, and is, without doubt, the chief cause of its being so much neglected, for in these strenuous days, when almost every breed or variety of breed is backed up by its own votaries, it cannot be expected that such as are not constantly kept in prominence will receive anything more than scant consideration.
The Black and Tan Setter is heavier than the English or Irish varieties, but shows more of the hound and less of the Spaniel. The head is stronger than that of the English Setter, with a deeper and broader muzzle and heavier lips. The ears are also somewhat longer, and the eyes frequently show the haw. The black should be as jet, and entirely free from white. The tan on the cheeks and over the eyes, on the feet and pasterns, should be bright and clearly defined, and the feathering on the fore-legs and thighs should also be a rich, dark mahogany tan.
Amongst the oldest and most successful owners of Setters who have consistently competed at field trials may be mentioned Colonel Cotes, whose Prince Frederick was probably the most wonderful backer ever known. Messrs. Purcell-Llewellyn, W. Arkwright, Elias and James Bishop, F. C. Lowe, J. Shorthose, G. Potter and S. Smale, who may be considered the oldest Setter judges, and who have owned dogs whose prowess in the field has brought them high reputation. Mr. B. J. Warwick has within recent years owned probably more winners at field trials than any other owner, one of his being Compton Bounce. Captain Heywood Lonsdale has on several occasions proved the Ightfield strain to be staunch and true, as witness the doughty deeds of Duke of that ilk, and the splendid success he achieved at recent grouse trials in Scotland with his Ightfield Rob Roy, Mack, and Dot, the first-named winning the all-aged stake, and the others being first and third in the puppy stake. Mr. Herbert Mitchell has been another good patron of the trials, and has won many important stakes. Mr. A. T. Williams has also owned a few noted trial winners, and from Scotland comes Mr. Isaac Sharpe, whose Gordon Setter, Stylish Ranger, has effectually put a stop to the silly argument that all this breed are old men’s dogs.
Many of the older field trial men hold tenaciously to the opinion that the modern exhibition Setter is useless for high-class work, and contend that if field-trial winners are to be produced they must be bred from noted working strains. Doubtless this prejudice in favour of working dogs has been engendered by the circumstance that many owners of celebrated bench winners care nothing about their dogs being trained, in some cases generation after generation having been bred simply for show purposes. Under such conditions it is not to be wondered at that the capacity for fine scenting properties and the natural aptitude for quickly picking up a knowledge of their proper duties in the field is impaired. But there is no reason why a good show dog should not also be a good worker, and the recent edict of the Kennel Club which rules that no gun dog shall be entitled to championship honours until it has gained a certificate of merit in field trials will doubtless tend towards a general improvement in the working qualities of the breeds whose providence is in the finding and retrieving of game.
CHAPTER XXIV
THE RETRIEVERS
It is obviously useless to shoot game unless you can find it after it has been wounded or killed, and from the earliest times it has been the habit of sportsmen to train their dogs to do the work which they could not always successfully do for themselves. The Pointers, Setters, and Spaniels of our forefathers were carefully broken not only to find and stand their game, but also to fetch the fallen birds. This use of the setting and pointing dog is still common on the Continent and in the United States, and there is no inaccuracy in a French artist depicting a Pointer with a partridge in its mouth, or showing a Setter retrieving waterfowl.
The Springer and the old curly-coated water-dog were regarded as particularly adroit in the double work of finding and retrieving. Pointers and Setters who had been thus broken were found to deteriorate in steadiness in the field, and it gradually came to be realised that even the Spaniel’s capacity for retrieving was limited. A larger and quicker dog was wanted to divide the labour, and to be used solely as a retriever in conjunction with the other gun dogs. The Poodle was tried for retrieving with some success, and he showed considerable aptitude in finding and fetching wounded wild duck; but he, too, was inclined to maul his birds and deliver them dead. Even the old English Sheepdog was occasionally engaged in the work, and various crosses with Spaniel or Setter and Collie were attempted in the endeavour to produce a grade breed having the desired qualities of a good nose, a soft mouth, and an understanding brain, together with a coat that would protect its wearer from the ill effects of frequent immersion in water.
It was when these efforts were most active–namely about the year 1850–that new material was discovered in a black-coated dog recently introduced into England from Labrador. He was a natural water-dog, with a constitution impervious to chills, and entirely free from the liability to ear canker, which had always been a drawback to the use of the Spaniel as a retriever of waterfowl. Moreover, he was himself reputed to be a born retriever of game, and remarkably sagacious. His importers called him a Spaniel–a breed name which at one time was also applied to his relative the Newfoundland. Probably there were not many specimens of the race in England, and, although there is no record explicitly saying so, it is conjectured that these were crossed with the English Setter, producing what is now familiarly known as the black, flat-coated Retriever.
One very remarkable attribute of the Retriever is that notwithstanding the known fact that the parent stock was mongrel, and that in the early dogs the Setter type largely predominated, the ultimate result has favoured the Labrador cross distinctly and prominently, proving how potent, even when grafted upon a stock admittedly various, is the blood of a pure race, and how powerful its influence for fixing type and character over the other less vital elements with which it is blended.
From the first, sportsmen recognised the extreme value of the new retrieving dog. Strengthened and improved by the Labrador blood, he had lost little if any of the Setter beauty of form. He was a dignified, substantial, intelligent, good-tempered, affectionate companion, faithful, talented, highly cultivated, and esteemed, in the season and out of it, for his mind as well as his beauty.
It is only comparatively recently that we have realised how excellent an all-around sporting dog the Retriever has become. In many cases, indeed, where grouse and partridge are driven or walked-up a well-broken, soft-mouthed Retriever is unquestionably superior to Pointer, Setter, or Spaniel, and for general work in the field he is the best companion that a shooting man can possess.
Doubtless in earlier days, when the art of training was less thoroughly understood, the breaking of a dog was a matter of infinite trouble to breeders. Most of the gun dogs could be taught by patience and practice to retrieve fur or feather, but game carefully and skilfully shot is easily rendered valueless by being mumbled and mauled by powerful jaws not schooled to gentleness. And this question of a tender mouth was certainly one of the problems that perturbed the minds of the originators of the breed. The difficulty was overcome by process of selection, and by the exclusion from breeding operations of all hard-mouthed specimens, with the happy effect that in the present time it is exceptional to find a working Retriever who does not know how to bring his bird to hand without injuring it. A better knowledge of what is expected of him distinguishes our modern Retriever. He knows his duty, and is intensely eager to perform it, but he no longer rushes off unbidden at the firing of the gun. He has learned to remain at heel until he is ordered by word or gesture from his master, upon whom he relies as his friend and director.
It would be idle to expect that the offspring of unbroken sire and dam can be as easily educated as a Retriever whose parents before him have been properly trained. Inherited qualities count for a great deal in the adaptability of all sporting dogs, and the reason why one meets with so many Retrievers that are incapable or disobedient or gun-shy is simply that their preliminary education has been neglected–the education which should begin when the dog is very young.
In his earliest youth he should be trained to prompt obedience to a given word or a wave of the hand. It is well to teach him very early to enter water, or he may be found wanting when you require him to fetch a bird from river or lake. Lessons in retrieving ought to be a part of his daily routine. Equally necessary is it to break him in to the knowledge that sheep and lambs are not game to be chased, and that rabbits and hares are to be discriminated from feathered game.
Gun-shyness is often supposed to be hereditary; but it is not so. Any puppy can be cured of gun-shyness in half a dozen short lessons. Sir Henry Smith’s advice is to get your puppy accustomed to the sound and sight of a gun being fired, first at a distance and gradually nearer and nearer, until he knows that no harm will come to him. Companionship and sympathy between dog and master is the beginning and end of the whole business, and there is a moral obligation between them which ought never to be strained.
Both as a worker and as a show dog the flat-coated Retriever has reached something very near to the ideal standard of perfection which has been consistently bred up to. Careful selection and systematic breeding, backed up by enthusiasm, have resulted in the production of a dog combining useful working qualities with the highest degree of beauty.
A very prominent admirer and breeder was the late Mr. S. E. Shirley, the President of the Kennel Club, who owned many Retrievers superlative both as workers and as show dogs, and who probably did more for the breed than any other man of his generation.
[Illustration: MR. H. REGINALD COOKE’S RETRIEVER CH. WORSLEY BESS _From the Painting by Maud Earl_]
Mr. Shirley’s work was carried on by Mr. Harding Cox, who devoted much time and energy to the production of good Retrievers, many of which were of Mr. Shirley’s strain. Mr. Cox’s dogs deservedly achieved considerable fame for their levelness of type, and the improvement in heads so noticeable at the present time is to be ascribed to his breeding for this point. Mr. L. Allen Shuter, the owner of Ch. Darenth and other excellent Retrievers of his own breeding, claims also a large share of credit for the part he has played in the general improvement of the breed. Mr. C. A. Phillips, too, owned admirable specimens, and the name of the late Lieut.-Colonel Cornwall Legh must be included. Many of Colonel Legh’s bitches were of Shirley blood, but it is believed that a breed of Retrievers had existed at High Legh for several generations, with which a judicious cross was made, the result being not only the formation of a remarkable kennel, but also a decided influence for good upon the breed in general.
But since the Shirley days, when competition was more limited than it is at present, no kennel of Retrievers has ever attained anything like the distinction of that owned by Mr. H. Reginald Cooke, at Riverside, Nantwich. By acquiring the best specimens of the breed from all available sources, Mr. Cooke has gathered together a stock which has never been equalled. His ideas of type and conformation are the outcome of close and attentive study and consistent practice, and one needs to go to Riverside if one desires to see the highest examples of what a modern flat-coated Retriever can be.
Since Dr. Bond Moore imparted to the Retriever a fixity of character, the coats have become longer and less wavy, and in conformation of skull, colour of eye, straightness of legs, and quality of bone, there has been a perceptible improvement.
As there is no club devoted to the breed, and consequently no official standard of points, the following description of the perfect Retriever is offered:–
* * * * *
GENERAL APPEARANCE–That of a well-proportioned bright and active sporting dog, showing power without lumber and raciness without weediness. HEAD–Long, fine, without being weak, the muzzle square, the underjaw strong with an absence of lippiness or throatiness. EYES–Dark as possible, with a very intelligent, mild expression. NECK–Long and clean. EARS–Small, well set on, and carried close to the head. SHOULDERS–Oblique, running well into the back, with plenty of depth of chest. BODY–Short and square, and well ribbed up. STERN–Short and straight, and carried gaily, but not curled over the back. FORE-LEGS–Straight, pasterns strong, feet small and round. QUARTERS–Strong; stifles well bent. COAT–Dense black or liver, of fine quality and texture. Flat, not wavy. WEIGHT–From 65 lb. to 80 lb. for dogs; bitches rather less.
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As a rule the Retriever should be chosen for the intelligent look of his face, and particular attention should be paid to the shape of his head and to his eyes. His frame is important, of course, but in the Retriever the mental qualities are of more significance than bodily points.
There has been a tendency in recent years among Retriever breeders to fall into the common error of exaggerating a particular point, and of breeding dogs with a head far too fine and narrow–it is what has been aptly called the alligator head–lacking in brain capacity and power of jaw. A perfect head should be long and clean, but neither weak nor snipy. The eye should be placed just halfway between the occiput and the tip of the nose.
It is pleasing to add that to this beautiful breed the phrase “handsome is as handsome does” applies in full measure. Not only is the average Retriever of a companionable disposition, with delightful intelligence that is always responsive, but he is a good and faithful guard and a courageous protector of person and property. It has already been said that the majority of the best-looking Retrievers are also good working dogs, and it may here be added that many of the most successful working dogs are sired by prize-winners in the show ring.
THE CURLY-COATED RETRIEVER
The curly-coated Retriever is commonly believed to be of earlier origin than his flat-coated relative, and he is of less pure descent. He probably owes ancestral tribute to the Poodle. Such a cross may conceivably have been resorted to by the early Retriever breeders, and there was little to lose from a merely sporting point of view from this alien introduction, for the Poodle is well known to be by nature, if not by systematic training, an excellent water dog, capable of being taught anything that the canine mind can comprehend. During the early years of the nineteenth century the Poodle was fairly plentiful in England, and we had no other curly-coated dog of similar size and type apart from the Irish Water Spaniel, who may himself lay claim to Poodle relationship; while as to the Retriever, either curly or flat coated, he can in no sense be assigned to any country outside of Great Britain. The presumption is strong that the “gentleman from France” was largely instrumental in the manufacture of the variety, but whatever the origin of the curly-coated Retriever he is a beautiful dog, and one is gratified to note that the old prejudice against him, and the old indictment as to his hard mouth, are fast giving place to praise of his intelligence and admiration of his working abilities.
Speaking generally, it seems to be accepted that he is slightly inferior in nose to his flat-coated cousin, and not quite so easy to break, but there are many keepers and handlers who have discovered in individual specimens extraordinary merit in the field combined with great endurance. It is not certain that any great improvement has been effected in the variety during recent years, but there are particular dogs to-day who are decidedly better than any that existed a dozen years or more ago, when such celebrities as True, Old Sam, King Koffee, Ben Wonder, Doden Ben, Lad and Una, were prominent, and there is no doubt that the curly coats attained show form in advance of the flat-coated variety.
The coat of the curly Retriever plays a very important part in his value and personality. There are many kinds of coat, but the only true and proper one is the close-fitting “nigger curl,” of which each knot is solid and inseparable. A coat of this quality is not capable of improvement by any method of grooming, for the simple reason that its natural condition is in itself perfect. The little locks should be so close together as to be impervious to water, and all parts of the body should be evenly covered with them, including the tail and legs. A bad class of coat, and one which readily yields to the faker’s art, is the thin open curl which by careful manipulation can be greatly improved. Another bad quality of coat is one in which, upon the withers and over the loins in particular, the curls do not tighten up naturally, but are large, loose, and soft to the feel. Regarding the dog as a whole, the following may be taken as an all-round description:–
* * * * *
GENERAL APPEARANCE–That of a smart, active, clean-cut and alert dog, full of go and fire–a sportsman from stem to stern. HEAD–Long and not weedy in the muzzle, nor thick and coarse in the skull, but tapering down and finishing with a stout broad muzzle. SKULL–Should be flat and moderately broad between the ears, which are rather small, and well covered with hair. EARS–Should lie close to the side of the head, but not dead in their carriage. FACE–The face should be smooth, and any indication of a forelock should be penalised. EYE–The eye should in all cases be dark and not too deeply set. NECK–Well placed in the shoulders and nicely arched, of moderate length and yet powerful and free from throatiness. SHOULDERS–Well laid back and as free from massiveness as possible, though there is a decided tendency in this variety to such a fault. LEGS–Straight and well covered with coat. The bone should show quality and yet be fairly abundant. FEET–Compact and hound-like. BODY–Should show great power, with deep, well-rounded ribs. As little cut-up in the flank as possible. TAIL–Strong at the base, set on in a line with the back and tapering to a point, the size of the curls upon it diminishing gradually to the end. HIND-QUARTERS–Should show great development of muscle, with bent hocks, the lower leg being strong and the hind feet compact. Any suspicion of cow hocks should be heavily penalised. COLOUR–Mostly a dull black. Some liver-coloured dogs are seen with very good coats and bodies, but their heads are generally thick and coarse, and the colour of their eyes does not always match, as it should do, with the colour of the coat. A few dogs of this colour have achieved distinction on the show bench.
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THE LABRADOR
Within recent years the original smooth-coated Labrador dog has taken its place as a recognised variety of the Retriever and become prominent both at exhibitions and as a worker. It is not probable that any have been imported into England for the past quarter of a century, but without the assistance of shows or imported blood they have survived marvellously. Thanks especially to the kennels of such breeders as the Dukes of Buccleuch and Hamilton, the Earl of Verulam, Lords Wimborne, Horne, and Malmesbury, the Hon. A. Holland Hibbert, Sir Savile Crossley, Mr. F. P. Barnett, Mr. C. Liddell, Mr. O. L. Mansel, and others equally enthusiastic.
To the Duke of Buccleuch’s kennel we are probably more indebted in the last twenty years than to any other. Its foundation was laid in two bitches by a dog of the Duke of Hamilton’s from a bitch of Lord Malmesbury’s. At Drumlanrig, as well as on the Duke’s other estates, they have been most particular in preserving the purity and working qualities of their strain. And the same may be said of the Hon. A. Holland Hibbert, whose principal dogs are not only typical in appearance, but broken to perfection. The Duchess of Hamilton’s kennels have been responsible for some of the best field trial winners of the present day. As far as looks are concerned, one cannot say that the Labrador compares favourably with either the flat or the curly coated Retriever, but that is immaterial so long as he continues to work as he is doing at present.
CHAPTER XXV
THE SPORTING SPANIEL
I. THE SPANIEL FAMILY.–The Spaniel family is without any doubt one of the most important of the many groups which are included in the canine race, not only on account of its undoubted antiquity, and, compared with other families, its well authenticated lineage, but also because of its many branches and subdivisions, ranging in size from the majestic and massive Clumbers to the diminutive toys which we are accustomed to associate with fair ladies’ laps and gaily-decked pens at our big dog shows.
Moreover, the different varieties of Setters undoubtedly derive their origin from the same parent stock, since we find them described by the earlier sporting writers as “setting” or “crouching” Spaniels, in contradistinction to the “finding” or “springing” Spaniel, who flushed the game he found without setting or pointing it. As time went on, the setting variety was, no doubt, bred larger and longer in the leg, with a view to increased pace; but the Spaniel-like head and coat still remain to prove the near connection between the two breeds.
All the different varieties of Spaniels, both sporting and toy, have, with the exception of the Clumber and the Irish Water Spaniel (who is not, despite his name, a true Spaniel at all), a common origin, though at a very early date we find them divided into two groups–viz., Land and Water Spaniels, and these two were kept distinct, and bred to develop those points which were most essential for their different spheres of work. The earliest mention of Spaniels to be found in English literature is contained in the celebrated “Master of Game,” the work of Edward Plantagenet, second Duke of York, and Master of Game to his uncle, Henry IV., to whom the work is dedicated. It was written between the years 1406 and 1413, and although none of the MSS., of which some sixteen are in existence, is dated, this date can be fairly accurately fixed, as the author was appointed Master of Game in the former and killed at Agincourt in the latter year. His chapter on Spaniels, however, is mainly a translation from the equally celebrated “Livre de Chasse,” of Gaston Comte de Foix, generally known as Gaston Phoebus, which was written in 1387, so that we may safely assume that Spaniels were well known, and habitually used as aids to the chase both in France and England, as early as the middle of the fourteenth century.
In the eighteenth and early part of the nineteenth century the Spaniel was described by many writers on sporting subjects; but there is a great similarity in most of these accounts, each author apparently having been content to repeat in almost identical language what had been said upon the subject by his predecessors, without importing any originality or opinions of his own. Many of these works, notwithstanding this defect, are very interesting to the student of Spaniel lore, and the perusal of Blaine’s _Rural Sports_, Taplin’s _Sporting Dictionary and Rural Repository_, Scott’s _Sportsman’s Repository_, and Needham’s _Complete Sportsman_, can be recommended to all who wish to study the history of the development of the various modern breeds. The works of the French writers, De Cominck, De Cherville, Blaze, and Megnin, are well worth reading, while of late years the subject has been treated very fully by such British writers as the late J. H. Walsh (“Stonehenge”), Mr. Vero Shaw, Mr. Rawdon Lee, Colonel Claude Cane, and Mr. C. A. Phillips.
Nearly all of the early writers, both French and English, are agreed that the breed came originally from Spain, and we may assume that such early authorities as Gaston Phoebus, Edward Plantagenet, and Dr. Caius had good reasons for telling us that these dogs were called Spaniels because they came from Spain.
The following distinct breeds or varieties are recognised by the Kennel Club: (1) Irish Water Spaniels; (2) Water Spaniels other than Irish; (3) Clumber Spaniels; (4) Sussex Spaniels; (5) Field Spaniels; (6) English Springers; (7) Welsh Springers; (8) Cocker Spaniels. Each of these varieties differs considerably from the others, and each has its own special advocates and admirers, as well as its own particular sphere of work for which it is best fitted, though almost any Spaniel can be made into a general utility dog, which is, perhaps, one of the main reasons for the popularity of the breed.
II. THE IRISH WATER SPANIEL.–There is only one breed of dog known in these days by the name of Irish Water Spaniel, but if we are to trust the writers of no longer ago than half a century there were at one time two, if not three, breeds of Water Spaniels peculiar to the Emerald Isle. These were the Tweed Water Spaniel, the Northern Water Spaniel, and the Southern Water Spaniel, the last of these being the progenitors of our modern strains.
The history of the Irish Water Spaniel is in many ways a very extraordinary one. According to the claim of Mr. Justin McCarthy, it originated entirely in his kennels, and this claim has never been seriously disputed by the subsequent owners and breeders of these dogs. It seems improbable that Mr. Justin McCarthy can actually have originated or manufactured a breed possessing so many extremely marked differences and divergences of type as the Irish Water Spaniel; but what he probably did was to rescue an old and moribund breed from impending extinction, and so improve it by judicious breeding, and cross-breeding as to give it a new lease of life, and permanently fix its salient points and characteristics. However that may be, little seems to have been known of the breed before he took it in hand, and it is very certain that nearly every Irish Water Spaniel seen for the last half century owes its descent to his old dog Boatswain, who was born in 1834 and lived for eighteen years. He must have been a grand old dog, since Mr. McCarthy gave him to Mr. Joliffe Tuffnell in 1849, when he was fifteen years old; and his new owner subsequently bred by him Jack, a dog whose name appears in many pedigrees.
It was not until 1862 that the breed seems to have attracted much notice in England, but in that year the Birmingham Committee gave two classes for them, in which, however, several of the prizes were withheld for want of merit; the next few years saw these dogs making great strides in popularity and, classes being provided at most of the important shows, many good specimens were exhibited.
During the last few years, however, the breed seems to have been progressing the wrong way, and classes at shows have not been nearly so strong, either in numbers or in quality, as they used to be. Yet there have been, and are still, quite a large number of good dogs and bitches to be seen, and it only needs enthusiasm and co-operation among breeders to bring back the palmiest days of the Irish Water Spaniel.
There is no member of the whole canine family which has a more distinctive personal appearance than the Irish Water Spaniel. With him it is a case of once seen never forgotten, and no one who has ever seen one could possibly mistake him for anything else than what he is. His best friends probably would not claim beauty, in the aesthetic sense, for him; but he is attractive in a quaint way peculiarly his own, and intelligent-looking. In this particular his looks do not bewray him; he is, in fact, one of the most intelligent of all the dogs used in aid of the gun, and in his own sphere one of the most useful. That sphere, there is no doubt, is that indicated by his name, and it is in a country of bogs and marshes, like the south and west of Ireland, of which he was originally a native, where snipe and wildfowl provide the staple sport of the gunner, that he is in his element and seen at his best, though, no doubt, he can do excellent work as an ordinary retriever, and is often used as such.
But Nature (or Mr. McCarthy’s art) has specially formed and endowed him for the amphibious sport indicated above, and has provided him with an excellent nose, an almost waterproof coat, the sporting instincts of a true son of Erin, and, above all, a disposition full of good sense; he is high-couraged, and at the same time adaptable to the highest degree of perfection in training. His detractors often accuse him of being hard-mouthed, but this charge is not well founded. Many a dog which is used to hunt or find game as well as to retrieve it, will often kill a wounded bird or rabbit rather than allow it to escape, while there are many Irish Water Spaniels who, under normal circumstances, are just as tender-mouthed as the most fashionable of black Retrievers. Besides his virtues in the field, the Irish Water Spaniel has the reputation–a very well-founded one–of being the best of pals.
Most people are well acquainted with the personal appearance of this quaint-looking dog. The points regarded as essential are as follows:–
* * * * *
COLOUR–The colour should always be a rich dark liver or puce without any white at all. Any white except the slightest of “shirt fronts” should disqualify. The _nose_ of course should conform to the coat in colour, and be dark brown. HEAD–The head should have a capacious skull, fairly but not excessively domed, with plenty of brain room. It should be surmounted with a regular topknot of curly hair, a _most important_ and distinctive point. This topknot should _never_ be square cut or like a poodle’s wig, but should grow down to a well defined point between the eyes. EYES–The eyes should be small, dark, and set obliquely, like a Chinaman’s. EARS–The ears should be long, strong in leather, low set, heavily ringleted, and from 18 to 24 inches long, according to size. MUZZLE AND JAW–The muzzle and jaw should be long and strong. There should be a decided “stop,” but not so pronounced as to make the brows or forehead prominent. NECK–The neck should be fairly long and very muscular. SHOULDERS–The shoulders should be sloping. Most Irish Water Spaniels have bad, straight shoulders, a defect which should be bred out. CHEST–The chest is deep, and usually rather narrow, but should not be so narrow as to constrict the heart and lungs. BACK AND LOINS–The back and loins strong and arched. FORE-LEGS–The fore-legs straight and well boned. Heavily feathered or ringleted all over. HIND-LEGS–The hind-legs with hocks set very low, stifles rather straight, feathered all over, except inside from the hocks down, which part should be covered with short hair (a most distinctive point). FEET–The feet large and rather spreading as is proper for a water dog, well clothed with hair. STERN–The stern covered with the shortest of hair, except for the first couple of inches next the buttocks, whiplike or stinglike (a most important point), and carried low, not like a hound’s. COAT–The coat composed entirely of short crisp curls, not woolly like a Poodle’s, and very dense. If left to itself, this coat mats or cords, but this is not permissible in show dogs. The hair on the muzzle and forehead below the topknot is quite short and smooth, as well as that on the stern. GENERAL APPEARANCE–Is not remarkable for symmetry, but is quaint and intelligent looking. HEIGHT–The height should be between 21 and 23 inches.
* * * * *
III. THE ENGLISH WATER SPANIEL.–In the Kennel Club’s Register of Breeds no place is allotted to this variety, all Water Spaniels other than Irish being classed together. Despite this absence of official recognition there is abundant evidence that a breed of Spaniels legitimately entitled to the designation of English Water Spaniels has been in existence for many years, in all probability a descendant of the old “Water-Dogge,” an animal closely resembling the French “Barbet,” the ancestor of the modern Poodle. They were even trimmed at times much in the same way as a Poodle is nowadays, as Markham gives precise directions for “the cutting or shearing him from the nauill downeward or backeward.” The opinion expressed by the writer of _The Sportsman’s Cabinet_, 1803, is that the breed originated from a cross between the large water dog and the Springing Spaniel, and this is probably correct, though Youatt, a notable authority, thinks that the cross was with an English Setter. Possibly some strains may have been established in this way, and not differ very much in make and shape from those obtained from the cross with the Spaniel, as it is well known that Setters and Spaniels have a common origin.
In general appearance the dog resembles somewhat closely the Springer, except that he may be somewhat higher on the leg, and that his coat should consist of crisp, tight curls, almost like Astrakhan fur, everywhere except on his face, where it should be short. There should be no topknot like that of the Irish Water Spaniel.
IV. THE CLUMBER SPANIEL is in high favour in the Spaniel world, both with shooting men and exhibitors, and the breed well deserves from both points of view the position which it occupies in the public esteem. No other variety is better equipped mentally and physically for the work it is called upon to do in aid of the gun; and few, certainly none of the Spaniels, surpass or even equal it in appearance.
As a sporting dog, the Clumber is possessed of the very best of noses, a natural inclination both to hunt his game and retrieve it when killed, great keenness and perseverance wonderful endurance and activity considering his massive build, and as a rule is very easy to train, being highly intelligent and more docile and “biddable.” The man who owns a good dog of this breed, whether he uses it as a retriever for driven birds, works it in a team, or uses it as his sole companion when he goes gunning, possesses a treasure. The great success of these Spaniels in the Field Trials promoted by both the societies which foster those most useful institutions is enough to prove this, and more convincing still is the tenacity with which the fortunate possessors of old strains, mostly residents in the immediate neighbourhood of the original home of the breed, have held on to them and continued to breed and use them year after year for many generations.
As a show dog, his massive frame, powerful limbs, pure white coat, with its pale lemon markings and frecklings, and, above all, his solemn and majestic aspect, mark him out as a true aristocrat, with all the beauty of refinement which comes from a long line of cultured ancestors.
All research so far has failed to carry their history back any further than the last quarter of the eighteenth century. About that time the Duc de Noailles presented some Spaniels, probably his whole kennel, which he brought from France, to the second Duke of Newcastle, from whose place, Clumber Park, the breed has taken its name. Beyond this it seems impossible to go: indeed, the Clumber seems to be generally looked upon as a purely English breed.
From Clumber Park specimens found their way to most of the other great houses in the neighbourhood, notably to Althorp Park, Welbeck Abbey, Birdsall House, Thoresby Hall, and Osberton Hall. It is from the kennels at the last-named place, owned by Mr. Foljambe, that most of the progenitors of the Clumbers which have earned notoriety derived their origin. Nearly all the most famous show winners of early days were descended from Mr. Foljambe’s dogs, and his Beau may perhaps be considered one of the most important “pillars of the stud,” as he was the sire of Nabob, a great prize-winner, and considered one of the best of his day, who belonged at various times during his career to such famous showmen as Messrs. Phineas Bullock, Mr. Fletcher, Mr. Rawdon Lee, and Mr. G. Oliver.
There has been a great deal of lamentation lately among old breeders and exhibitors about the decadence of the breed and the loss of the true old type possessed by these dogs. But, despite all they can say to the contrary, the Clumber is now in a more flourishing state than it ever has been; and although perhaps we have not now, nor have had for the last decade, a John o’ Gaunt or a Tower, there have been a large number of dogs shown during that time who possessed considerable merit and would probably have held their own even in the days of these bygone heroes. Some of the most notable have been Baillie Friar, Beechgrove Donally, Goring of Auchentorlie, Hempstead Toby, and Preston Shot, who all earned the coveted title of Champion.
The Field Trials have, no doubt, had a great deal to do with the largely augmented popularity of the breed and the great increase in the number of those who own Clumbers. For the first two or three years after these were truly established no other breed seemed to have a chance with them; and even now, though both English and Welsh Springers have done remarkably well, they more than hold their own. The most distinguished performer by far was Mr. Winton Smith’s Beechgrove Bee, a bitch whose work was practically faultless, and the first Field Trial Champion among Spaniels. Other good Clumbers who earned distinction in the field were Beechgrove Minette, Beechgrove Maud, the Duke of Portland’s Welbeck Sambo, and Mr. Phillips’ Rivington Honey, Rivington Pearl, and Rivington Reel.
The points and general description of the breed as published by both the Spaniel Club and the Clumber Spaniel Club are identical. They are as follows:–
* * * * *
HEAD–Large, square and massive, of medium length, broad on top, with a decided occiput; heavy brows with a deep stop; heavy freckled muzzle, with well developed flew. EYES–Dark amber; slightly sunk. A light or prominent eye objectionable. EARS–Large, vine leaf shaped, and well covered with straight hair and hanging slightly forward, the feather not to extend below the leather. NECK–Very thick and powerful, and well feathered underneath. BODY (INCLUDING SIZE AND SYMMETRY)–Long and heavy, and near the ground. Weight of dogs about 55 lb. to 65 lb.; bitches about 45 lb. to 55 lb. NOSE–Square and flesh coloured. SHOULDERS AND CHEST–Wide and deep; shoulders strong and muscular. BACK AND LOIN–Back straight, broad and long; loin powerful, well let down in flank. HIND-QUARTERS–Very powerful and well developed. STERN–Set low, well feathered, and carried about level with the back. FEET AND LEGS–Feet large and round, well covered with hair; legs short, thick and strong; hocks low. COAT–Long, abundant, soft and straight. COLOUR–Plain white with lemon markings; orange permissible but not desirable; slight head markings with white body preferred. GENERAL APPEARANCE–Should be that of a long, low, heavy, very massive dog, with a thoughtful expression.
* * * * *
IV. THE SUSSEX SPANIEL.–This is one of the oldest of the distinct breeds of Land Spaniels now existing in the British Islands, and probably also the purest in point of descent, since it has for many years past been confined to a comparatively small number of kennels, the owners of which have always been at considerable pains to keep their strains free from any admixture of foreign blood.
The modern race of Sussex Spaniels, as we know it, owes its origin in the main to the kennel kept by Mr. Fuller at Rosehill Park, Brightling, near Hastings. This gentleman, who died in 1847, is said to have kept his strain for fifty years or more, and to have shot over them almost daily during the season, but at his death they were dispersed by auction, and none of them can be traced with any accuracy except a dog and a bitch which were given at the time to Relf, the head keeper. Relf survived his master for forty years, and kept up his interest in the breed to the last. He used to say that the golden tinge peculiar to the Rosehill breed came from a bitch which had been mated with a dog belonging to Dr. Watts, of Battle, and that every now and then what he termed a “sandy” pup would turn up in her litters. Owing to an outbreak of dumb madness in the Rosehill kennels, a very large number of its occupants either died or had to be destroyed, and this no doubt accounted for the extreme scarcity of the breed when several enthusiasts began to revive it about the year 1870. Mr. Saxby and Mr. Marchant are said to have had the same strain as that at Rosehill, and certainly one of the most famous sires who is to be found in most Sussex pedigrees was Buckingham, by Marchant’s Rover out of Saxby’s Fan.
It was from the union of Buckingham, who was claimed to be pure Rosehill–with Bebb’s daughter Peggie that the great Bachelor resulted–a dog whose name is to be found in almost every latter-day pedigree, though Mr. Campbell Newington’s strain, to which has descended the historic prefix “Rosehill,” contains less of this blood than any other.
About 1879 Mr. T. Jacobs, of Newton Abbot, took up this breed with great success, owning, amongst other good specimens, Russett, Dolly, Brunette, and Bachelor III., the latter a dog whose services at the stud cannot be estimated too highly. When this kennel was broken up in 1891, the best of the Sussex Spaniels were acquired by Mr. Woolland, and from that date this gentleman’s kennel carried all before it until it in turn was broken up and dispersed in 1905. So successful was Mr. Woolland that one may almost say that he beat all other competitors off the field, though one of them, Mr. Campbell Newington, stuck most gallantly to him all through.
Mr. Campbell Newington has been breeding Sussex Spaniels for over a quarter of a century with an enthusiasm and tenacity worthy of the warmest admiration, and his strain is probably the purest, and more full of the original blood than any other. His kennel has always maintained a very high standard of excellence, and many famous show specimens have come from it, notably Rosehill Ruler II. (a splendid Sussex, scarcely inferior to Bridford Giddie), Romulus, Roein, Rita, Rush, Rock, Rag, and Ranji, and many others of almost equal merit.
Colonel Claude Cane’s kennel of Sussex, started from a “Woolland-bred” foundation, has been going for some seventeen years, the best he has shown being Jonathan Swift, Celbridge Eldorado, and Celbridge Chrysolite.
The breed has always had a good character for work, and most of the older writers who mention them speak of Sussex Spaniels in very eulogistic terms. They are rather slow workers, but thoroughly conscientious and painstaking, and are not afraid of any amount of thick covert, through which they will force their way, and seldom leave anything behind them.
A well-bred Sussex Spaniel is a very handsome dog. Indeed, his beautiful colour alone is enough to make his appearance an attractive one, even if he were unsymmetrical and ungainly in his proportions.
This colour, known as golden liver, is peculiar to the breed, and is the great touchstone and hall-mark of purity of blood. No other dog has exactly the same shade of coat, which the word “liver” hardly describes exactly, as it is totally different from the ordinary liver colour of an Irishman, a Pointer, or even a liver Field Spaniel. It is rather a golden chestnut with a regular metallic sheen as of burnished metal, showing more especially on the head and face and everywhere where the hair is short. This is very apparent when a dog gets his new coat. In time, of course, it is liable to get somewhat bleached by sun and weather, when it turns almost yellow. Every expert knows this colour well, and looks for it at once when judging a class of Sussex.
The description of the breed given by the Spaniel Club is as follows:–
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HEAD–The skull should be moderately long, and also wide, with an indentation in the middle, and a full stop, brows fairly heavy; occiput full, but not pointed, the whole giving an appearance of heaviness without dulness. EYES–Hazel colour, fairly large, soft and languishing, not showing the haw overmuch. NOSE–The muzzle should be about three inches long, square, and the lips somewhat pendulous. The nostrils well developed and liver colour. EARS–Thick, fairly large, and lobe shaped; set moderately low, but relatively not so low as in the Black Field Spaniel; carried close to the head, and furnished with soft wavy hair. NECK–Is rather short, strong, and slightly arched, but not carrying the head much above the level of the back. There should not be much throatiness in the skin, but well marked frill in the coat. CHEST AND SHOULDERS–The chest is round, especially behind the shoulders, deep and wide, giving a good girth. The shoulders should be oblique. BACK AND BACK RIBS–The back and loin are long, and should be very muscular, both in width and depth; for this development the back ribs must be deep. The whole body is characterised as low, long, level, and strong. LEGS AND FEET–The arms and thighs must be bony, as well as muscular, knees and hocks large and strong, pasterns very short and bony, feet large and round, and with short hair between the toes. The legs should be very short and strong, with great bone, and may show a slight bend in the forearm, and be moderately well feathered. The hind-legs should not be apparently shorter than the fore-legs, or be too much bent at the hocks, so as to give a Settery appearance which is so objectionable. The hind-legs should be well feathered above the hocks, but should not have much hair below that point. The hocks should be short and wide apart. TAIL–Should be docked from five to seven inches, set low, and not carried above the level of the back, thickly clothed with moderately long feather. COAT–Body coat abundant, flat or slightly waved, with no tendency to curl, moderately well feathered on legs and stern, but clean below the hocks. COLOUR–Rich golden liver; this is a certain sign of the purity of the breed, dark liver or puce denoting unmistakably a recent cross with the black or other variety of Field Spaniel. GENERAL APPEARANCE–Rather massive and muscular, but with free movements and nice tail action denoting a tractable and cheerful disposition. Weight from 35 lb. to 45 lb.
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VI. THE FIELD SPANIEL.–The modern Field Spaniel may be divided into two classes. Indeed, we may almost say at this stage of canine history, two breeds, as for several years past there has not been very much intermingling of blood between the Blacks and those known by the awkward designation of “Any Other Variety,” though, of course, all came originally from the same parent stock.
The black members of the family have always been given the pride of place, and accounted of most importance, though latterly their parti-coloured brethren seem to have rather overtaken them.
Among the really old writers there is one mention, and one only, of Spaniels of a black colour. Arcussia speaks of them, and of their being used in connection with the sport of hawking, but from his time up to the middle of the nineteenth century, though many colours are spoken of as being appropriate to the various breeds of Spaniels, no author mentions black.
The first strain of blacks of which we know much belonged to Mr. F. Burdett, and was obtained from a Mr. Footman, of Lutterworth, Leicestershire, who was supposed to have owned them for some time. Mr. Burdett’s Bob and Frank may be found at the head of very many of the best pedigrees. At his death most of his Spaniels became the property of Mr. Jones, of Oscott, and Mr. Phineas Bullock, of Bilston, the latter of whom was most extraordinarily successful, and owned a kennel of Field Spaniels which was practically unbeatable between the dates of the first Birmingham Show in 1861 and the publication of the first volume of the Kennel Club’s Stud Book in 1874, many, if not most, of the dogs which won for other owners having been bred by him. His Nellie and Bob, who won the chief prizes year after year at all the leading shows, were probably the two best specimens of their day. Another most successful breeder was Mr. W. W. Boulton, of Beverley, whose kennel produced many celebrated dogs, including Beverlac, said to be the largest Field Spaniel ever exhibited, and Rolf, whose union with Belle produced four bitches who were destined, when mated with Nigger, a dog of Mr. Bullock’s breeding, to form the foundation of the equally if not more famous kennel belonging to Mr. T. Jacobs, of Newton Abbot.
It was Mr. Jacobs who, by judiciously mating his Sussex sires Bachelor, Bachelor III., and others with these black-bred bitches, established the strain which in his hands and in those of his successors, Captain S. M. Thomas and Mr. Moses Woolland, carried all before it for many years, and is still easily at the top of the tree, being the most sought for and highly prized of all on account of its “quality.”
If Black Spaniels are not quite so popular at present as they were some years ago, the fault lies with those breeders, exhibitors, and judges (the latter being most to blame) who encouraged the absurd craze for excessive length of body and shortness of leg which not very long ago threatened to transform the whole breed into a race of cripples, and to bring it into contempt and derision among all practical men. No breed or variety of dog has suffered more from the injudicious fads and crazes of those showmen who are not sportsmen also. At one time among a certain class of judges, length and lowness was everything, and soundness, activity, and symmetry simply did not count. As happens to all absurd crazes of this kind when carried to exaggeration, public opinion has proved too much for it, but not before a great deal of harm has been done to a breed which is certainly ornamental, and can be most useful as well. Most of the prize-winners of the present day are sound, useful dogs capable of work, and it is to be hoped that judges will combine to keep them so.
The coloured Field Spaniel has now almost invariably at the principal shows special classes allotted to him, and does not have to compete against his black brother, as used to be the case in former years.
The systematic attempt to breed Spaniels of various colours, with a groundwork of white, does not date back much more than a quarter of a century, and the greater part of the credit for producing this variety may be given to three gentlemen, Mr. F. E. Schofield, Dr. J. H. Spurgin, and Mr. J. W. Robinson. In the early days of breeding blacks, when the bitches were mated either with Sussex or liver and white Springers or Norfolk Spaniels, many parti-coloured puppies necessarily occurred, which most breeders destroyed; but it occurred to some of these gentlemen that a handsome and distinct variety might be obtained by careful selection, and they have certainly succeeded to a very great extent. The most famous names among the early sires are Dr. Spurgin’s Alonzo and his son Fop, and Mr. Robinson’s Alva Dash, from one or other of whom nearly all the modern celebrities derive their descent.
Those who have been, and are, interested in promoting and breeding these variety Spaniels deserve a large amount of credit for their perseverance, which has been attended with the greatest success so far as producing colour goes. No doubt there is a very great fascination in breeding for colour, and in doing so there is no royal road to success, which can only be attained by the exercise of the greatest skill and the nicest discrimination in the selection of breeding stock. At the same time colour is not everything, and type and working qualities should never be sacrificed to it. This has too often been done in the case of coloured Field Spaniels. There are plenty of beautiful blue roans, red roans, and tricolours, whether blue roan and tan or liver roan and tan, but nearly all of them are either cocktailed, weak in hind-quarters, crooked-fronted, or houndy-headed, and showing far too much haw. In fact, in head and front the greater number of the tricolours remind one of the Basset-hound almost as much as they do in colour. It is to be hoped that colour-breeders will endeavour to get back the true Spaniel type before it is too late.
The points of both black and coloured Field Spaniels are identical, bar colour, and here it must be said that black and tan, liver and tan, and liver are not considered true variety colours, though of course they have to compete in those classes, but rather sports from black. The colours aimed at by variety breeders have all a ground colour of white, and are black and white, blue roan, liver