THE KING CHARLES SPANIELS 283 



a century that this variety has existed. It seems to have 

 originally appeared in a litter of King Charles puppies, when 

 it was looked upon as a freak of nature, taking for its entire 

 colour only the tan markings and losing the black ground. 



The different varieties of Toy Spaniels have been so much 

 interbred that a litter has been reputed to contain the four 

 kinds, but this would be of very rare occurrence. The Blen- 

 heim is now often crossed with the Tricolour, when the litter 

 consist of puppies quite true to the two types. The crossing 

 of the King Charles with the Ruby is also attended with very 

 good results, the tan markings on the King Charles becoming 

 very bright and the colour of the Ruby also being improved. 

 Neither of these specimens should be crossed with either 

 the Blenheim or the Tricolour, as white must not appear ia 

 either the King Charles or the Ruby Spaniel. 



It is regretted by some of the admirers of these dogs that 

 custom has ordained that their tails should be docked. As 

 portrayed in early pictures of the King Charles and the 

 Blenheim varieties, the tails are long, well flagged, and 

 inclined to curve gracefully over the back, and in none of the 

 pictures of the supposed ancestors of our present Toy 

 Spaniels even so recent as those painted by Sir Edwin 

 Landseer do we find an absence of the long tail. 



If left intact, the tail would take two or three years to attain 

 perfection, but the same may be said of the dog generally,, 

 which improves very much with age, and is not at its best until 

 it is three years old, and even then continues to improve. 



Although the Toy Spaniels are unquestionably true aristo- 

 crats by nature, birth, and breeding, and are most at home in 

 a drawing-room or on a well-kept lawn, they are by no means 

 deficient in sporting proclivities, and, in spite of their short 

 noses, their scent is very keen. They thoroughly enjoy a 

 good scamper, and are all the better for not being too much 

 pampered. They are very good house-dogs, intelligent 

 and affectionate, and have sympathetic, coaxing little ways. 

 One point in their favour is the fact that they are not noisy,. 



