BLACK FIELD SPANIEL 



all loose skin ; the shoulders sloping ; the chest rather 

 narrow ; the ribs nicely rounded ; the back short, and 

 the loins not too much tucked up. The forelegs, which 

 are an important point, must not be out at the elbows, 

 they should be dead straight and heavy in bone, the feet 

 being long. The tail must be fine, rather short, and 

 carried straight out, and the thighs should show plenty 

 of muscle ; whilst the coat is short and close, and not too 

 fine. Colour, however, is the most important point in 

 connection with this breed, and should consist of a rich 

 raven black relieved by rich, warm tan distributed as 

 follows — under the lower jaw, along the throat, over each 

 eye and upon each cheek, in the form of spots, with larger 

 ones on the front of the breast. The legs are tanned up 

 to just above the pasterns, but there are black lines, 

 termed pencillings, running up the top of each toe, and 

 a black spot called the thumb-mark on the forelegs above 

 the pasterns. The insides of the thighs are also tanned, 

 and so should be the hair at the vent, but the latter must 

 not be profuse, as the tan should be hidden entirely if the 

 tail is pressed down. Very frequently tan hairs appear 

 behind the ears, or on the outside of the thighs — the dog 

 is said to be breeched in the latter case — but if so, it is 

 regarded as a serious fault, as the black hairs should be 

 quite free of any tan at all. 



Black Field Spaniel. — The popularity of the black 

 field spaniel has increased very much of late years, and 

 certainly the breed is entitled to all the praises bestowed 

 upon it by its admirers, as in addition to its being a very 

 beautiful, it is a most valuable field dog. There can be 

 no doubt that this variety of spaniel, which is compara- 

 tively speaking a modern production, has been crossed 

 with the Sussex by some breeders to the detriment of 

 the latter's purity ; nor is there any difference as regards 

 its shape and make from other varieties of field spaniels, 

 from which it is divided only by colour. 



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