SPECIAL FIELD DOGS 77 



with field trial setters and pointers. The Wat- 

 nong spaniels, a kennel maintained by Mr. Wil- 

 merding, of New York, is a good example of real 

 field dogs kept so by continuous working. His 

 Ch. Matterhorn, or the Watnong bitches. Floss, 

 Irene and Nettie, give good hunting spaniel par- 

 entage. The Canadian dogs, Ch. Black Duke, 

 Black Knight, etc., and the dogs from the Weald- 

 stone, Saybrook and Brookside kennels, are all 

 field spaniels that have not forgotten how to hunt. 



For cockers, i.e., woodcock spaniels, the Midkiff, 

 Lucknow and Bellevue kennels are reliable, but 

 breed mostly for bench show points. 



On the borderland between the bird dogs and 

 the fur dogs stands the Airedale, the dog who can 

 hunt both. What shall I say of him — I who know 

 and love him so well? My opinion of him remains 

 about as it was when I penned "Airedale, Setter 

 and Hound" — as just dog he is unbeatable, but as 

 a specialist on either fur or feathers he is not to 

 be compared to the breeds which were old in the 

 hunting game centuries before the Airedale was 

 ever thought of. He is the greatest of the ter- 

 riers, and the one who can and is being success- 

 fully trained to hunt everything alive that can be 

 hunted. Tackling bear or cougar, routing out 

 woodchucks, jumping rabbits, tree marking squir- 



