158 British Dogs. 



that sense it is not applicable to the deerhound, who, although he has 

 been termed a retriever, is only so to the extent of recovering and tracing 

 the lost trail of the wounded deer, but manifestly cannot retrieve it in 

 the sense that the retriever proper does smaller game. 



If the definition of the retriever stopped there, there would be more 

 justification for the general loose application of the term than there is, 

 for it would be impossible to deny a dog's right to the name until we 

 had proved his capacity for the work ; but it is one of the good things 

 which modern dog shows have done to define more or less clearly, not only 

 what the working capacities of a good retriever should be, but the external 

 appearance and all the points and physical attributes of the breed, so 

 that a retriever proper, whether good at his business or not, is, from his 

 tout ensemble, as easily recognised to be such as is either the pointer or 

 the setter to be what they are. 



The retriever of the present day is quite of modern production, an 

 instance of intelligent selection and careful breeding up to a standard 

 which has been crowned with very marked success, and reflects the very 

 greatest credit on the skill and unwearying patience of those who have 

 worked at it, and now see their labours crowned with success. Those 

 who visiting a show admire the beautiful symmetry, fine intelligent 

 countenance, and jet black coats of the retrievers, whether wavy-coated 

 or curly-coated, and go away with the idea that the fine collection, every 

 one of which bears the unmistakeable family stamp, is a mere fortuitous 

 assemblage of dogs accidently alike, would be very far from the truth. 

 The idea of which these dogs are the embodiment was conceived in the 

 minds of certain sportsmen years ago, and has been slowly worked out, 

 every succeeding year seeing some fault bred out and desirable points 

 developed, till I am strongly of opinion that, if the breed has not reached 

 perfection, it is about as near it as human effort is likely to attain ; 

 yet it is not many years since a dog in white stockings won a 

 first prize at the Crystal Palace. In the early days of dog 

 shows, when it was more the custom to cry out that these insti- 

 tutions were ruining the various breeds than is the case now, there 

 was much discussion as to retrievers then in the course of manufacture 

 and it was clearly enough proved, if indeed it needed proof, that dogs to 

 do the work of retrievers, could be made by a combination of almost any 

 breed ; even a half bred bull dog has been known to do it. A cross with 



