THE RETRIEVERS 145 



flat coated, he can in no sense be assigned to any country 

 outside of Great Britain. The presumption is strong that 

 the " gentleman from France " was largely instrumental in the 

 manufacture of the variety, but whatever the origin of the 

 curly-coated Retriever he is a beautiful dog, and one is gratified 

 to note that the old prejudice against him, and the old in- 

 dictment as to his hard mouth, are fast giving place to 

 praise of his intelligence and admiration of his working 

 abilities. 



Speaking generally, it seems to be accepted that he is 

 slightly inferior in nose to his flat-coated cousin, and not quite 

 so easy to break, but there are many keepers and handlers 

 who have discovered in individual specimens extraordinary 

 merit in the field combined with great endurance. It is not 

 certain that any great improvement has been effected in the 

 variety during recent years, but there are particular dogs to- 

 day who are decidedly better than any that existed a dozen 

 years or more ago, when such celebrities as True, Old Sam, 

 King Koffee, Ben Wonder, Doden Ben, Lad and Una, were 

 prominent, and there is no doubt that the curly coats 

 attained show form in advance of the flat-coated variety. 



The coat of the curly Retriever plays a very important 

 part in his value and personality. There are many kinds of 

 coat, but the only true and proper one is the close-fitting 

 " nigger curl," of which each knot is solid and inseparable. 

 A coat of this quality is not capable of improvement by any 

 method of grooming, for the simple reason that its natural 

 condition is in itself perfect. The little locks should be 

 so close together as to be impervious to water, and all parts 

 of the body should be evenly covered with them, including 

 the tail and legs. A bad class of coat, and one which readily 

 yields to the faker's art, is the thin open curl which by careful 

 manipulation can be greatly improved. Another bad quality 

 of coat is one in which, upon the withers and over the loins 

 in particular, the curls do not tighten up naturally, but are 

 large, loose, and soft to the feel. Regarding the dog as a 



