THE MODERN FIELD SPANIEL. 93 



CHAPTER III. 

 SPANIELS. 



THE MODERN FIELD SPANIEL THE MODERN COCKER THE SUSSEX SPANIEL 

 THE CLUMBER SPANIEL THE IRISH WATER SPANIEL THE ENGLISH 

 WATER SPANIEL. 



THE MODEEN FIELD SPANIEL. 



!jj? MONGr the earliest records of venerie in England, the spaniel is alluded 

 If to as used for hawking and netting, and he claims, with the greyhound, 

 , a3t tne bulldog, and the mastiff, the honour of having been the first of 

 / 3Jjj\ his species introduced into this country. I do not pretend to settle this 

 }e moot point ; but there can be no doubt that in this century he is 

 remarkable among his compeers for tenderness of nose, high intelligence, devotion 

 to his master, pluck, stamina, and perseverance in the pursuit of his game. 

 Possessed of these high qualities, he is not only useful as a " dog of all work," 

 but he is also a sagacious and faithful companion. Nevertheless, for some years 

 past the spaniel has been supplanted in general estimation by the pointer, setter, 

 or terrier, partly owing to the superior speed of the first two better suiting our 

 modern ideas, and partly also to the fact that the terrier will not only hunt game, 

 but vermm, about which the spaniel is comparatively indifferent. Still there are 

 many excellent sportsmen who adhere to the spaniel, and who use nothing else 

 for beating -hedgerows, small coverts, and even turnips or clover, where, of course, 

 this dog is constantly kept within range of the gun by careful breaking. In 

 our modern farming, the large inclosures and the very thin fences which are its 

 distinguished feature also lessen his utility ; and even in Wales, Devonshire, and 

 Norfolk each of which districts used formerly to possess its peculiar breed 

 spaniels are comparatively rare, and these three strains are no longer to be met 

 with in a typical form. There is, however, one kind of game the woodcock 

 which still demands a couple or leash of spaniels ; and " cock shooting " being 

 highly valued, a few good sportsmen, for this and other reasons, have recently 

 done their best to improve the breeding of this dog, in externals as well as utility. 

 In the early days of dog shows Mr. F. Burdett, the secretary of the Bir- 

 mingham Dog Show, and in fact its prime mover, possessed a breed of black 

 Cockers, obtained from the neighbourhood of Lutterworth, where they were bred 

 by an old family of the name of Footman. They were unrivalled in appearance 

 as well as at work, taking every prize for which they competed. Mr. Burdett's 

 early death, however, caused their distribution, and the best specimens passed 



