The Irish Water Spaniel. 417 



pared with what were to be found ten or a dozen 

 years ago. 



" The origin of the Irish water spaniel is a matter 

 no authority, or any one else, has ventured to say 

 much about, and give anything like a definite 

 opinion. We know years ago Ireland possessed 

 two, if not more, varieties, in the north and south. 

 We also know that to-day, and indeed since dog 

 shows commenced, that our judges have taken the 

 south of Ireland type for their standard of what an 

 Irish water spaniel should be like. We know, also, 

 that years ago more care was exercised by gentlemen 

 in the south of Ireland to establish a type than those 

 in the north ; hence ' Stonehenge/ in his last work, 

 making the following remark in his article on this 

 variety of spaniel : ( At the present time the 

 McCarthy strain may be considered to be the type of 

 the Irish water spaniel, and his description, published 

 in the Field, and quoted on another page, is the 

 standard by which the breed is judged, and must, 

 therefore, be so regarded.' I may just remark that 

 in my opinion the common ' water dog,' as known 

 in 1803, a capital illustration of which appears in 

 the ' Sportsman's Cabinet,' so often alluded to in 

 these days, had a great deal to do with the origi- 

 nality of this variety of spaniel. Indeed, even down 

 to the specimens seen to-day, in outline, the water 



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