460 THE BOOK uf THE Doc. 



be a profitable undertaking for the breeder. As in the case of other things, the loss of the 

 English Water Spaniel has awakened sportsmen to a sense of his value, and regrets at his 

 absence are often heard at dog shows, where the meagreness of the classes for Water Spaniels, 

 other than Irish, almost invariably are a fruitful cause for discussion. In support of these 

 views, we give the following notes from the pen of Mr. A. W. Langdale, who writes : 



" This old-fashioned favourite of both farmer and squire, whose appearance on the show 

 bench is now so rare, that when he does come out of his shell he is passed over for what 

 modern judges say is the correct thing, and our parti-coloured dog is left out in the cold. 

 Colour has not all to do with it; feathering, make, and shape are things to be looked to, 

 especially the former, as it would be impossible for the winners in late years at Birmingham, 

 with all their wool and flew, to go through a day or night's work. To Tny idea, no Spaniel 

 shows more sport than the English Water. He is artful, careful, and, above all, not too noisy ; 

 slipped from the punt or shed it is long odds against the wounded mallard, so good are they 

 in nose, and so unceasing are they in their endeavours to please. I give you a copy of 

 what they wrote in 1846, so that your readers may learn that feather, whole colour, shortness 

 of leg, and carriage of stern are not, if in other breeds, the essential qualities of an English 

 Water Spaniel. Before, however, commencing, I may state that the subject of the quotation 

 is Flush, a liver-coloured bitch, bred by H. G. Dawson, Esq., of Geldeston, Norfolk, about 

 1840, whose praises were thus sung in a sporting magazine: 'Her extraordinary prowess in 

 recovering wounded game has been allowed by first-rate judges never to have been excelled, 

 keeping directly on the line of the fallen bird in spite of whatever fresh game may arise before 

 her, and ready to shake a rat to death in a minute, and bring a jack snipe alive the next. 

 But besides this, what is prettier in look, merrier at work, and more even in temper, as much 

 at home at the fireside as the brook, an equal favourite with lord or lady, than the Spaniel ? 

 What more of one who hunts up his game with a dash and an earnestness, with a half- 

 suppressed challenge, and a gradually increasing importance that makes shooting almost as 

 exciting as hunting ? Of one who if he does occasionally, in his energy, sin against the strict 

 letter and the law of the field, still errs on the right side, and who takes his correction so 

 humbly, and then goes to work as if naught had happened ? ' 



"Young breeders and judges should have before them this fact, that colour should be a 

 secondary matter with the English Water Spaniel, and the latter should never pass over 

 a liver-and-white dog in favour of a whole-coloured liver, providing the liver-and-white is a 

 well-made specimen of his breed. The weight again should not .exceed forty pounds, and 

 his height 19 in. ; his ears may be fairly long, and covered all over with curl, also the body, 

 not the close curl of his Irish brother, but one somewhat looser and more straggly ; his head 

 is broad and long, with a piercing eye ; his legs are well-feathered behind as well as in front, 

 and there is no doubt that the feather which in a ticked dog comes out from each and 

 every liver spot in front of the fore leg, has a great deal to do with his power of endurance 

 in water. They may be called natural retrievers, as no dog is easier taught." 



Very little need be added to Mr. A. W. Langdale's description of a now almost-extinct 

 variety, which, though not absolutely lost beyond recall, is so scattered throughout the length 

 and breadth of the land that great difficulty would be experienced by any enthusiasts who 

 endeavoured to rescue it from obliteration. If, however, a few persevering persons were to 

 take the matter up, we can only repeat what we have said before, when we expressed the 



