44 THE BOOK OF THE DOG. 



diminished. In addition to the high value which their rarity placed upon the Clumbers, the 

 fact of their being for years very much in-bred brought about the inevitable result, and signs 

 of constitutional delicacy began to appear, which have remained characteristics of the breed 

 ever since. It is not so much in the cases of the older dogs that this objection can be raised 

 against the Clumbers, for a matured dog of this variety usually keeps hale and hearty to a 

 ripe old age, and increases in sagacity and value as the years roll on. It is in their puppy- 

 hood that young Clumbers are peculiarly susceptible to the ills to which puppyhood is 

 especially heir. As a rule, they suffer terribly from the ravages of distemper, and most 

 breeders of Clumbers are on thorns until their valuable stock have safely passed through this 

 ordeal. Yellows or jaundice they also are very subject to, and if it appears in an aggravated 

 form the malady is usually fatal to the invalid. In spite, however, of the difficulty experienced 

 in rearing dogs of this description, the Clumber has always been a popular Spaniel with 

 sportsmen, and his character fully entitles him to the respect which he has won himself from 

 the highest in the land. Following on the Duke of Newcastle, the names of Earl Spencer- 

 the Duke of Westminster, the Earl of Abingdon, the Duke of Norfolk, and the Duke of 

 Portland, have all been identified at one time or another with kennels of this breed. The 

 latter nobleman has at the present time a large and unusually strong kennel of Clumber 

 Spaniels ; but, as they do not appear often at dog shows, the public have but slender oppor- 

 tunities of judging their merits, and comparing his Grace's dogs with those from better-known 

 kennels. Mr. R. S. Holford, of Tetbury, formerly showed some excellent specimens of the 

 breed, and Mr. Yeatman is also well known in connection with the ownership of many good 

 dogs, nor must that old breeder, Mr. Foljambe, be omitted from the list. 



In addition to his aristocratic associations, the Clumber Spaniel has much to recommend 

 him to the general body of sportsmen, who, as a body, are more inclined to value a 

 sporting dog on account of his own intrinsic merit than because he has been the recipient 

 of patrician patronage. In covert shooting of a certain description the Clumber is almost 

 unsurpassed by any breed, and a peculiarity in the breed is that the pure-bred ones, almost 

 without exception, hunt mute, which enables them to draw close up to their game without 

 disturbing it. On this account Clumbers are very frequently worked with bells attached to 

 their collars, as by the help of these they can gradually drive the game forward, and the guns 

 can more readily tell their whereabouts in the covert. These Spaniels can be worked in teams 

 of any number upwards of one brace and a half, and when this practice is resorted to it has a 

 singularly taking effect, in addition to which good sport is certain to be provided for the 

 guns if any game is in the covert, as the Clumber beats his ground most thoroughly, being a 

 very close worker. In working in teams they show but little jealousy, and single specimens can 

 readily be broken to retrieve and take water, which naturally increases their value very consider- 

 ably in the sportsman's eyes. The range of a Clumber should not exceed thirty yards, and they 

 should be broken to down charge, or to return in a body when the shot is fired. It is not many 

 sportsmen, however, who are in a position to work a team of Clumbers, as few kennels contain 

 a sufficient number to enable them to do so, but, as will have been seen above, a single Clumber 

 Spaniel is a valuable assistance to the sportsman engaged in covert shooting. 



We have been furnished with the following notes by Mr. A. W. Langdale, who has 

 devoted considerable attention to the Clumber as well as to the Sussex Spaniel, and has 

 kindly sent us his ideas for publication : 



" This beautiful Spaniel is believed to be the oldest known breed of dog genus Spaniel, 



