370 Modern Dogs. 



they are in grouse driving, duck shooting, and for 

 bringing a wounded hare or a winged pheasant out 

 of the covert. I incline to the opinion that a 

 well-broken, soft-mouthed retriever is the best all- 

 round dog a man can have one whose means are 

 limited, who is fond of sport, and has not accommo- 

 dation for more than one dog. Let such an animal 

 live in the house and be constituted a constant 

 companion, and there is no knowing how sensible a 

 creature he will prove when his services are required 

 in the field. 



The retriever is a creation within the past fifty 

 years, and he was no doubt, in the first instance, pro- 

 duced from crossing the old English or Irish water 

 spaniel with the setter, the collie, and the smaller 

 Newfoundland, usually known as the St. John or 

 Labrador Newfoundland. Colonel Hutchinson, in 

 his admirable work on dog breaking, gives us 

 pictures of various crosses, and in general appear- 

 ance these illustrations are of dogs bearing very 

 much the characteristics of the modern retriever. 

 Colonel Hutchinson published his book in 1847. 

 Still, there were retrieving dogs long before Colonel 

 Hutchinson's time. Dr. Caius wrote of dogs that 

 brought back the " boults and arrows " that had 

 missed the mark, and also such waterfowl as had 

 been stung to death by some " venomous worm." 



