The Japanese Spaniel. 305 



several examples at late shows, it means the pro- 

 duct of breeder's tricks, which it is wrong to 

 encourage. 



" These tiny specimens, again, have not got the 

 points of the larger ones, though they are undeni- 

 ably very pretty also undeniably useless, except 

 for the shows. No possessor of a female specimen 

 of these attenuated Toys dare run the risk of 

 breeding from it a sufficient proof of nature gone 

 wrong. 



11 Apart from this, I maintain that the true charms 

 of the species, the admitted points, are lost in these 

 tiny examples. To take one point alone, no one 

 ever saw a grand head in a very small-bred Jap ; 

 and this, according to the Toy Spaniel Club's de- 

 scription (from which, by the way, at least as regards 

 colour, a native of Japan would hardly recognise 

 his own breed), ought to rank first of all, yet counts 

 very little with most judges. 



" To the only defensive argument raised by the 

 ladies for diminutive Japs, that Toys should be as 

 small as possible, I reply that health should count 

 before a fad, and I also ask, ( How about King and 

 Prince Charles, some of the best of which have 

 weighed from i2lb. to 2olb., and which are probably 

 own cousins to the Japs ? ' 



" One cannot dictate exact weights in any breed, 



x 



