RETRIEVER.—Canis tumiliaris., 
or pheasants, this Dog is preferable to the Terrier Retriever, as it is a more powerful 
tee and therefore better able to carry its burden; but, for the lesser description of 
game, the smaller Dog is preferable for many reasons. 
The height of the large Retriever is from twenty-two to twenty- four inches; its 
frame is powerfully built, and its limbs strong. A good nose is necessary, for the 
purpose of enabling the Dog to trace the devious and manifold windings of the wounded 
birds, which would bafile any animal not endowed with so exquisite a sense of 
smell. The fur of this Dog is curly and of moderate length, and is almost invariably 
black in colour. Indeed, many Dog-owners will repudiate a Retriever of any other colour 
but black. 
To train a Retriever properly is rather a difficult task, demanding the greatest 
patience and perseverance on the part of the instructor. It is comparatively easy to 
teach a Dog to fetch and carry a load, but to teach him to retrieve in water is quite a 
different matter. On land the Dog can see the object from some little distance, but in 
the water his nose is so nearly on a level with the object for which he is searching, that 
he can only see a very little distance ahead, and must learn to guide his way by the voice 
and gesture of his master. 
It is said that the greatest difficulty in the course of instruction is to keep the Dog 
from the water-rats, which are found so abundantly on the banks of rivers and ponds, 
and which afford such powerful temptations to a young and ine xpe rienced animal. 
Another obstacle in the tuition is the natural propensity of the Dog to bark when he 
is excited ; and as a young Dog is excited by almost everything that crosses his path, he 
