746 T1IE DOG. 



great part of Europe. All the characters of this dog indi- 

 cate that he is the creature of an aquatic situation, suited to 

 find his prey in marshes, pools, and rivers, where water-fowls 

 abound. His feet are webbed, and he swims and dives with 

 rapidity and ease. His fur is shaggy and curling, his ears 

 are pendent, and his tail is short or rudimental. He is not 

 a fierce dog, and avoids the combats to which other dogs are 

 prone. He delights to fetch and carry, and is well adapted 

 to the hunting of wild ducks and other aquatic birds, whose 

 nests he ferrets out among the reeds in which they are con- 

 cealed. He is used in this country as a retriever, in districts 

 of sedgy rivers and marshes, and on the coasts where the 

 shooting of sea-fowls is practised. He is a favourite with 

 sailors, on account of his readiness to leap into the sea, and 

 recover what has fallen overboard. 



The purest of this race are derived from the marshy coun- 

 tries of Northern Europe and Asia. But the Barbet as- 

 sumes a great variety of aspect, according to situation, and 

 the uses to which he is habituated. He is large or small, 

 according to the degree in which his muscular powers are 

 called forth by exercise, and more or less covered with hair, 

 according to the climate. When reared up as a household 

 dog in our dwellings, the race progressively diminishes in 

 size, and loses the rude and shaggy aspect distinctive of it 

 in a state of greater liberty. The little Barbet of the French, 

 termed by us a Poodle, is one of the most curious varieties 

 of the race. It is wonderfully fitted to receive instruction of 

 any kind, arid even imitates the actions of persons about it. 

 It is likewise a faithful dog, and manifests great attachment 

 to its immediate master. 



A fine variety of the Barbet group is the English Water- 

 Spaniel, popularly so called. The fur of this dog is short, 

 curly, and usually of a deep brown colour, and his general 

 aspect is mild and graceful. He is docile and sagacious, valued 

 by the sportsman as a retriever, and capable of receiving any 

 kind of instruction. The race has now become rare. It was 



