196 THE BOOK OF THE DOG. 



The small breed, on the other hand, though equally intelligent, are naturally enough 

 inferior as sporting companions, and may therefore be considered more in the light of toy 

 dogs, even on the Continent, than their larger relatives. 



The corded Poodle is, however, a totally different dog in appearance to the curly-coated 

 ones alluded to above. Though the structural development is the same, the vast difference 

 in coat proves the distinction between the two varieties. Instead of the thick curly coat 

 which is possessed by the large and small curly-coated dogs, the jacket of the corded Poodle 

 appears at first sight to consist entirely of lengths of twisted cords or rope, which give the 

 dog a most peculiar appearance. There is a complete line down the skull, neck, and back : 

 the cords of hair hanging down and sometimes trailing on the ground from this line. The tail is 

 also fully furnished with " cords," and the only parts exempt are the muzzle and feet. It is not 

 often, however, that this variety is met with in this country, and the best collection we remember 

 to have ever come across at English shows was at the Nottingham Canine Society's exhibition 

 in 1875, when three or four excellent specimens faced the judges. 



Herr R. Von Schmiedeberg, the great German authority on canine and sporting subjects, 

 kindly writes to us as follows : 



" We distinguish two breeds of Poodles, one the woolly breed, or as we say, the Schaaf 

 Ptidel sheep Poodle. The other is the Scfoner Pudel pedigree Poodle. The former has long 

 woolly hair, which naturally forms little bunches, but which -by combing becomes silky, and 

 forms single hairs. The latter has its hair grown in long spirals, which sometimes touch 

 the ground, even from the ears and tail. Some writers distinguish Poodles from each other 

 on account of their size, but that is not correct. Poodles have all other peculiarities alike. 

 Colour is either white or black, and sometimes brown, which is considered a bad one. 

 White ones with black or brown patches appear also, but they are discarded. The long curly 

 hair grows on the whole body, even on the muzzle and the legs. Frequently it is shaven, 

 so that there is a sort of moustache growing round the nose ; the feet are also shaven from 

 below the knee. 



"The first record we have of the breed is by Conrad Gessner in 1555, but it seems the 

 ancients knew the breed, as little poodles are represented upon some monuments about the 

 time of the Emperor Augustus, about A.D. 30." 



The engraving which accompanies this chapter represents both the above-described 

 varieties, one of which is trimmed in the manner described. 



The following may be taken to represent the points of the Poodle : 



Skull high and well domed. 



Mtizzle short and rather blunt. 



Eyes rather small and dark, but very intelligent. 



Ears large, and lying flat to the head. 



Body moderately long, with a deep chest. 



Legs thick, and rather short. 



Coat either very tightly curled, or corded as above described. In any case the jacket 

 must be thick and dense. 



Colour white or black. The latter is far rarer than white, and especially so in the case 

 of the corded varieties. An excellent black-and-white pied specimen, called Domino, was 



