I 



THE SPORTING SPANIEL 167 



IX. THE COCKER SPANIEL. For the last few years the popu- 

 larity of this smaller sized branch of the Spaniel tribe has 

 been steadily increasing, and the Cocker classes at most of 

 the best shows are now remarkable both for the number of 

 entries and the very high standard of excellence to which 

 they attain. 



A short time ago black Cockers were decidedly more fashion- 

 able than their parti-coloured relatives, but now the reverse is 

 the case, and the various roans and tricolours have overtaken 

 and passed the others, both in general quality and in the public 

 esteem. The reason for this popularity of the breed as a 

 whole is not far to seek. The affectionate and merry disposi- 

 tion of the Cocker and his small size compared with that of the 

 other breeds pre-eminently fit him for a companion in the house 

 as well as in the field, and he ranks among his admirers quite 

 as many of the fairer sex as he does men a fact which is 

 not without a certain element of danger, since it should never 

 be lost sight of that the breed is a sporting one, which should 

 on no account be allowed to degenerate into a race of mere 

 house companions or toys. 



Small-sized Spaniels, usually called Cockers, from their 

 being more especially used in woodcock shooting, have been 

 indigenous to Wales and Devonshire for many years, and it is 

 most likely from one or both of these sources that the modern 

 type has been evolved. It is probable too that the type in 

 favour to-day, of a short coupled, rather " cobby" dog, 

 fairly high on the leg, is more like that of these old-fashioned 

 Cockers than that which obtained a decade or two ago, 

 when they were scarcely recognised as a separate breed, and 

 the Spaniel classes were usually divided into " Field Spaniels 

 over 25 Ib." and " Field Spaniels under 25 Ib." In those days a 

 large proportion of the prizes fell to miniature Field Spaniels. 

 The breed was not given official recognition on the Kennel 

 Club's register till 1893, nor a section to itself in the Stud 

 Book ; and up to that date the only real qualification a dog 

 required to be enabled to compete as a Cocker was that he 



