THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



37 



by using the remnants of half a dozen other 

 breeds that enough material was found of 

 which to make him. 



Wlien he comes up to you for the first time, 

 you'll probably laugh at him; but don't laugh 

 too long; there'll be tears in your eyes if you 

 do. For this quaint creature who looks as if 

 he had borrowed from friends everything he 

 has on, including his tail, has such an honest 

 face, such a charming expression, and such a 

 dignity of manner that he'll win your sympa- 

 thy and your respect before the first smile of 

 amusement has left your face. As a water 

 dog, he is generally regarded as superior to 

 any other member of his family, though most 

 spaniels take kindly to the water. 



Formerly quite a popularly known dog for 

 sniping and ducking, the old Irish water span- 

 iel seems to have been almost entirely aban- 

 doned, and few are now seen in this country. 

 Perhaps the uses to which he was put are more 

 satisfactorily met by the setters and retrievers, 

 both of which are stronger and heavier and can 

 equal him in work in the water. 



The type of this breed should weigh about 

 50 pounds and be of a uniform liver-color. 

 The coat is quite long and tightly curled, but 

 by no means woolly. It is long on the crow-n, 

 but the face, front of hind legs, and most of 

 the tail should be clothed in short, soft, rather 

 dull hair, giving the appearance of having been 

 clipped. 



It is very different in appearance from the 

 land spaniel of the cocker type, being in shape 

 and size not greatly unlike the poodle, but dif- 

 fering much from this breed in texture of coat 

 and in the perfectly smootli face. In disposi- 

 tion it is like both the poodle and the spaniels 

 generally — kind, affectionate, playful, and 

 bright, but showing a strong tendency to be a 

 little aloof with strangers. They have also a 

 strong trend toward obesity in age, when they 

 become heavy, untidy, and decrepit. 



CLUMBER, FIELD, AND COCKER 

 SPANIELS 



(For illustration, sec pacie 4j) 



These rather closely related dogs may, like 

 the setters, be considered each in relation to 

 the others. 



The clumber is the largest, weighing up to 

 65 pounds, though the average is probably 

 about SO. He is perhaps best described as a 

 very low, heavily built English setter, all white 

 except for lemon or orange ears and eye- 

 patches, with ticking of the same on forelegs 

 and as little as possible elsewhere. He is a 

 benign, affectionate creature and very sedate 

 in manners. 



As a gun-dog, he is used in England on 

 woodcock, snipe, and other lowland birds, but 

 he has never been much used or bred in this 

 country. The soft, deep eye shows consider- 

 able haw in mature dogs. The coat should be 

 almost perfectly straight, and the tail, belly, 

 and legs, down to the hocks, should be full- 

 feathered. 



The cocker is the smallest of the three and 

 is an active, playful, intelligent little dog, 

 which takes on the spaniel dignity rather later 

 in life than the clumber and the business-like 

 field spaniel. He gets his name, "cocker," 

 from the use to which he was bred in hunting 

 woodcock. They are easily trained to fowling, 

 being already predisposed in scenting out and 

 flushing grouse-like birds (including the do- 

 mestic hen). This tendency is taken advantage 

 of and developed, to force grouse up into the 

 trees, where they are easily shot. The cocker 

 rushes his bird and then barks and keeps it 

 busy and preoccupied. If the hunter himself 

 flushed the game, it would ,go far and probably 

 not again be seen. 



The cocker should weigh from 18 to 24 

 pounds. In color he may be black, red. liver, 

 or lemon, with or without white. These colors 

 should be clear and pronounced, not pale or 

 washed out, and if predominant over white 

 should be virtually solid, the white being re- 

 stricted to a mere dash on the chest. If white 

 predominates, the color should be solid on ears 

 and face, except for the fore-face and a blaze 

 up the nose. In this case, color should be dis- 

 tributed about as in the English setter. 



The ears, while long, silky, and set low, 

 should not reach beyond the nose when drawn 

 forward. The legs must be strong, straight, 

 and of good bone and not too short, and the 

 squarely built body hard and muscular. They 

 are admirable house-dogs, but when kept as 

 such should be rather sparingly fed and kept 

 in good trim. A fat spaniel is not an attractive 

 object. 



The field spaniel is much larger and stronger 

 than the cocker, but not so restless. He is, 

 however, more active and lively than the clum- 

 ber. While not so thoughtful-looking and se- 

 date as the latter, he is highly intelligent, good- 

 natured, and obedient. His body is long and 

 low, but he carries his head with an air of 

 courage and determination. His coat is straiglit 

 and silky, and his color may be solid black, 

 solid liver, liver and white, black and white, 

 black and tan, orange, or orange and white. 

 The black and the liver are the colors preferred. 

 The proper weight is from 30 to 45 pounds. 



NEWFOUNDLAND 



(For illustration, see page 42) 



Two dogs which rival the Eskimo in their 

 ability to endure deep snow and extreme cold 

 are the St. Bernard and the Newfoundland, 

 both of which have become famous as savers 

 of life. Both are well-known subjects of the 

 poet and the painter, who delight to record 

 their heroic deeds or their simple fidelity. 



The Newfoundland has the further unique 

 distinction among dogs of being figured on a 

 postage stamp of his native land. He is a won- 

 derful swimmer and is credited with saving 

 many people from drowning. 



It is a real pity that this noble, useful, and 

 typically ."Xmerican dog should have lost popu- 

 laritv to such an extent that now he is almost 



