THE RETRIEVER 109 



the flat-coated variety should be quite free from any 

 tendency to curl. It should carry a beautiful gloss, 

 with a thick undercoat. 



Writing in the Kennel Gazette in 1907, Mr. H. 

 Reginald Cooke confessed that, taking the breed as 

 a whole, after many years of gradual and steady 

 improvement, there has been a decided retrogres- 

 sion. He added : "I think that in obtaining the 

 generally-accepted points breeders have been fairly 

 successful ; by those I mean such points as dark 

 eyes, small ears, good coat, stern, stifles, legs, and 

 feet, &c. But in spite of this I do not think the 

 type is improving. For working purposes many 

 people are rightly in favour of small or moderate- 

 sized Retrievers, but these should be the multum in 

 \parvo sort, with substance and bone, and not the 

 settery, weedy animals which are frequently taking 

 prizes at the present time, especially amongst the 

 bitches. The very pretty, lovely-coated specimens 

 one sometimes sees would look charming on a white 

 rug in front of the fire, but they lack the hardy 

 business look required in a working Retriever." The 

 demand for good show strains may be gauged from 

 the fact that Mr. L. Allen Shuter's champion 

 " Darenth " when at stud credited his owner with 

 1,323 ; while " Black Drake," another well-known 

 winner, earned 1,000. 



The curly-coated Retriever is less popular than the 

 one to which we have just been referring, possibly 

 owing to the fact that much care and attention have 

 to be lavished on the coats of the show specimens. 

 On the whole, however, it must be conceded that there 

 has been an improvement in many ways, especially 

 in the hindquarters. Mr. Duerdin-Dutton says : 



