The Irish Water Spaniel. 421 



if any, breeder or gentleman who has taken an 

 interest in this variety, of spaniel will contradict me 

 when I state that our present champions could 

 not possibly have been in it, point for point with 

 the prominent winners at that time. Take, for 

 instance, such dogs as Mr. Skidmore's Mickey 

 Free (10,393), Mr. Hockey's Young Patsey 

 (10,397), and the same gentleman's Lady (9250) 

 and other big winners about this time. It may 

 be said it is all very well to simply say that the 

 prominent winning specimens ten years ago were so 

 much ahead of the present prominent winners, but 

 tell us, in your opinion, in what way, in which par- 

 ticular points, these specimens could beat the present 

 winners ? For argument's sake I will take the most 

 prominent winning bitch of ten years or so ago 

 -Young Hilda (born 1878, breeder and exhibitor, 

 Mr. G. S. Hockey) and Champion Harp (born 1885, 

 breeder and exhibitor, Colonel the Hon. W. Le Poer 

 Trench). Now I say that in length of face, expres- 

 sion, colour of eye, colour and texture of coat and 

 outline, there is no comparison between these two 

 specimens ; and it is in the points I have described 

 where Champion Harp loses so much when com- 

 pared with Young Hilda. Thus, my opinion is, that 

 the specimens seen generally to-day are behind those 

 of ten years and twenty years ago. 



