HISTORICAL NOTES 35 



Used for hunting exclusively, they suffered from 

 no degradation to mere bench-show breeding, and 

 puppies got to-day can be depended upon to be 

 wonderful hunters, with good nose and all the af 

 fectionate spaniel traits. Here is a description of 

 him written by Dr. Caius in 1570. 1 1 This kinde of 

 dogge is properly called Aquaticus, a water span 

 iel, because he f requenteth and hath usual recourse 

 to the water where all his game & exercise lyeth, 

 namely waterf owles, which are taken by the helpe 

 and seruice of them in their kind. And princi 

 pally ducks and drakes, whereupon he is lykewise 

 named a dogge for the ducke, because in that quali- 

 tie he is excellent. With these dogge s also we 

 fetche out of the water such f owle as be stung to 

 death by any venomous worme, we vse them also 

 to bring vs our boultes & arrowes out of the water 

 (missing our markett) whereat we directed our 

 leuell, which otherwise we should hardly recouer, 

 and oftentimes they restore to vs our shaftes 

 which we thought never to touche or handle 

 againe, after they were lost, for which circum 

 stances they are called Inquisitor 'es, searchers and 

 finders." 



That was 350 years ago, but you will find the 

 water spaniel just as good a duck dog now as then. 

 In America only a few years ago Mr. James 



