THE RETRIEVERS 339 



earliest and most influential patrons of the breed ; in fact, no 

 more enthusiastic Retriever breeder has existed than the Squire 

 of Ettington. It was at the feet of this Gamaliel that the writer 

 sat, and from him that he obtained the nucleus of a strain which, 

 without flattery, may be said to have fairly held its own in the struggle 

 for supremacy. Mr. Shirley is a sound judge of almost any breed 

 of dog, and therefore can hardly be termed a specialist ; though 

 naturally enough his knowledge of Retrievers should exceed that 

 of any judge past or present, seeing that he has bred more winners 

 than any other. Amongst his most notable winners may be 

 mentioned Champions Thorn, Dusk, Moonstone, True, Think, 

 Heedful, Hopeful, Wiseacre, Rightaway, and a host of others. 

 Of these, Moonstone stands out a pillar of the Stud Book, and a 

 landmark in the writer's memory, as a dog of exceptional merit, 

 and to whom he is proud to think he awarded the first notch in 

 the tally of his fame. 



Of late years Mr. Shirley's success as a breeder and an exhibitor 

 of Flat-coated Retrievers has sadly fallen off. It had dawned 

 upon him that an outcross was a pressing necessity, and he 

 largely used Rightaway, who had some mysterious alien strain 

 in his pedigree. This was a good-looking dog of considerable 

 quality, though some judges would not stand him at any price. 

 Personally, the writer considers that the introduction of his blood 

 has not proved an unmixed blessing, either to his owner or to 

 Retriever breeders at large. Mr. Shirley has a good dog in his 

 favourite Dare, and lately he exhibited two very nice specimens 

 in Dargai and Woodchat, the latter a most promising youngster 

 that unfortunately yielded to the Reaper before he had time to 

 make his mark. 



The genial master of High Legh Hall (Colonel Cornwall-Legh) 

 has always had good Retrievers, and no better judge of the breed 

 exists, though he can seldom be persuaded to officiate. Champions 

 Miner L, Miner III., Kite, and Twidle were all good ones, and, 

 if memory serves me aright, Champion Taut originally hailed 

 from High Legh. 



Mr. Allen Shuter is a most painstaking and expert judge, but 

 he is ruthless in carpeting an exhibit that shows one of the failings 

 (" bad set of ears " and " too strong in skull " are his pet aversions) 

 which he considers fatal. Mr. Shuter never shows a bad Retriever, 

 thus proving himself that rara avis a good "home-judge." On 

 the other hand, he has produced some " toppers." Amongst these 

 rare old Champion Darenth is the bright particular star. His 

 success both at the stud and on the show-bench was phenomenal, 

 and he was a perfect workman. Mr. Shuter had the luck to breed 

 a son of the old dog that bids fair to emulate his sire's deeds in 

 all directions ; of course I allude to Champion Horton Rector. 



