THE IRISH WATER SPANIEL. 425 



to the kennels of a few gentlemen. This strain is readily known 

 by its marked peculiarities. The larger the dog is the better it is 

 appreciated among fanciers. The body is round and strongly 

 made, the legs are rather short, the feet broad, the hind quarters 

 or stern should be short, broad and tapering to a fine string, and 

 covered with short hair like a pointer. Some have short, crisp 

 curls, and in this case there should be no straight hair or fringe. 



The head should not be broad or coarse ; the nose should be 

 long and free from wave ; the ears should be long and so broad in 

 the leather that they will meet across the nose, and be covered 

 with the long ringlets which give the animal such a striking ap- 

 pearance. A moustache is considered a sign of bad blood or im- 

 purity ; so this is an important point to be considered by pur- 

 chasers or breeders. 



On the forehead, between the ears, there is a long ringlet which 

 hangs down between the eyes. This is one of the most important 

 signs of the thoroughbred, and should be carefully noted, as some 

 are inclined to wear a "wig," instead, and in this case such a 

 peculiarity is most objectionable. 



The legs of the pure blood are heavily feathered with ringlets, 

 while the remainder of the body is covered with short, crisp curls 

 of a rich, dark liver color, entirely free from white. A breed in 

 the North of Ireland, known as the " Lough Neagh," differs some- 

 what from this description, and though all are splendid retrievers, 

 yet they are not considered as good as the type described. They 

 are readily recognized by their " feathered " tail. 



As a retriever, the Irish spaniel cannot be surpassed. The 

 perseverance and intelligence used in the retrieving of ducks from 

 the soft and miry marsh, the heaviest billows or the tall and 

 heavy rice with which many of our Western lakes abound, con- 

 vinces us that there is not the equal of this breed from which to 

 produce just such dogs as the sportsmen of this country desire for 

 duck shooting. He is an admirable diver, swift swimmer, and is 

 greatly assisted in these arts by the breadth of its paws. Much of 

 these qualities in the dog is owing to the abundant supply of nat- 

 ural oil with which his coat is supplied, and which prevents it 

 from really becoming wet, A real water spaniel gives himself a 

 good shake as soon as he leaves the lake, and is dry in a very 



