428 Modern Dogs. 



we should have taken the English water spaniel ever 

 to have been. However, the dog is not bred or kept 

 now as a special variety, nor is there much likelihood 

 of its being quickly resuscitated. Youatt said that 

 the true breed was, even at the time he wrote, lost, 

 and the variety, was then a cross between the " water 

 dog" and the English setter. 



However, I believe that the old " water dog " and 

 the English water spaniel were identical, and my 

 opinion is pretty well supported by those who may 

 be considered authorities on the matter. 



At some of the earlier Birmingham dog shows 

 classes were provided for English water spaniels, 

 but few entries were obtained, and, these becoming 

 fewer and fewer, the classes were discontinued 

 entirely. I have not seen such a spaniel on the 

 bench or in the ring for a long time ; the Kennel 

 Club Stud book during the past few years will be 

 searched in vain for an entry of the breed, and the 

 last so entered in j 886 had no pedigree attached to 

 them. Curiosities rather than eligibilities for any 

 Stud Book. 



In some recent remarks on the English water 

 spaniel Mr. J. F. Farrow, of Ipswich, says : 



The grandest specimen of this variety of spaniel I ever saw was 

 Mr. P. Bullock's Rover, which I came across at Birmingham in 

 1869, when awarded the second prize in the English Water 



