The Curly -coated Black Retriever. 375 



as I have already hinted, he is not the most 

 desirable, but as a show dog he excels. His deep 

 black coat, hard, close crisp curls right on to the 

 top of' the brow, but no further should they go ; his 

 symmetry, clean ears nicely shaped tail, and dark 

 piercing eyes, that should have a mild expression, 

 and so convey the impression of great sense and 

 sagacity in their owner, make him particularly 

 attractive on the show bench. Still, to be successful 

 there, he requires a constant attention, and the cases 

 are exceptional where a dog can be brought straight 

 from work and prove successful in the ring. 



The earliest classes at shows for the curly-coated 

 retrievers were at Birmingham in 1860, but the 

 competition was by no means keen. The first prize 

 was awarded to a big coarse dog, shown by Mr. W. 

 Brailsford ; second honours went to a brown bitch 

 belonging to Lord Alfred Paget, which, so far as 

 looks went, was not worth her entrance fee. Up to 

 1864 all the varieties were shown together at Curzon 

 Hall, but, following the example of the Cremorne 

 management, the National exhibition increased the 

 classification, and the two varieties competed 

 separately, as they have done since, excepting, 

 perhaps, where a special cup was concerned, offered 

 for the best retriever in the show, and often enough 

 a curly dog has won this great honour. 



