The Field Spaniel 243 



ent upon the support of Mr. Keasbey and Mr. Viti, who made fourteen 

 of the twenty-six entries, the other than black classes depending almost 

 entirely upon the support of the former with his home-bred Saybrook 

 Popcorn and his progeny. It would seem to be the urgent duty of the 

 Spaniel Club to use every effort to increase the interest in three at least 

 of the spaniel breeds, Clumber, field and Irish water spaniel, each of which 

 is urgently in need of better support. 



The black field spaniel when w^ell shown is certainly a very handsome 

 dog, with his highly polished coat, but that is not the only colour, and there 

 are varieties other than the liver and black and tan which should be exploited. 

 The roans are more or less attractive, as much so certainly as the livers 

 and black and tans, and there are various particolours. We remember 

 seeing at Mr. Robert Chapman's famed Glenboig Kennels a number of 

 white and black field spaniels, a most handsome variety which we regret 

 has not been introduced here. These w^ere not blacks with a little white 

 other than on chest, but white with black markings similar to a well-marked 

 particolour cocker or black and white setter or pointer. Then we have 

 seen tricolours, though they are scarce. We remember getting a brace of 

 puppies from Mr. Jacobs many years ago. Most unfortunately, they 

 reached the steamer at Liverpool with incipient distemper, and although 

 they arrived at New York in fair strength, they never fully rallied. The 

 dog was a particularly good one, and would, had he lived, have made a 

 sensation on account of his very handsome markings as well as his good 

 head and character. Our recollection is that they were bred from a cocker 

 bitch, but by what dog we cannot now say. A cross of the Welsh spaniel 

 might produce good field spaniels with the Welsh red and white markings. 

 Some amendment of the classification along the line of putting blacks and 

 livers together and catering to other colours by special conditioned classes 

 might bring about the necessary interest to increase the number of exhib- 

 itors and thereby the entries. 



Of some of these colour varieties we pick up notes in many of the 

 works devoted to shooting, as well as books more particularly connected 

 with dogs. Jesse wrote as early as 1846 regarding the variety kept by 

 the Earl of Albemarle: "They are black and tan, of a large size, with 

 long ears, and very much feathered about the legs. They are excellent 

 retrievers, and those who have seen will not soon forget Mr. Landseer's 

 charming picture of Lord Albemarle's celebrated dog Chancellor and one 



