THE RETRIEVERS., 



261 



ment by any method of grooming, for the 

 s mple 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 manipu- 

 lation 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. Re- 

 garding the dog as a whole, the following 

 may be taken as an all-round description : 



1. General Appearance. That of a smart, 

 active, clean-cut and alert dog, full of go and 

 fire a sportsman from stem to stern. 



2. Head. Long and not weedy in the muzzle, 

 nor thick and coarse in the skull, but tapering 

 down and finishing with a stout broad muzzle. 



3. Skull. Should be flat and moderately broad 

 between the ears, which are rather small, and 

 well covered with hair. 



4. Ears. Should lie close to the side of the head, 

 but not dead in their carriage. 



5. Face. The face should be smooth, and any 

 indication of a forelock should be penalised. 



6. Eye. The eye should in all cases be dark 

 and not too deeply set. 



7. Neck. Well placed in the shoulders and 

 nicely arched, of moderate length and yet power- 

 ful and free from throatiness. 



8. Shoulders. Well laid back and as free from 

 massiveness as possible, though there is a decided 

 tendency in this variety to such a fault. 



9. Legs. Straight and well covered with coat. 

 The bone should show quality and yet be fairly 

 abundant. 



10. Feet. Compact and hound-like. 



11. Body. Should show great power, with deep, 

 well-rounded ribs. As little cut-up in the flank 

 as possible. 



12. Tail. Strong at the base, set on in a line with 

 the back and tapering to a point, the size of the 

 curls upon it diminishing gradually to the end. 



13. Hind Quarters. Should show great develop- 

 ment of muscle, with bent hocks, the lower leg 

 being strong and the hind feet compact. Any 

 suspicion of cow hocks should be heavily penalised. 



14. Colour. Mostly a dull black. Some liver- 

 coloured dogs are seen with very good coats and 

 bodies, but their heads are . generally thick and 

 coarse and the colour of their eyes does not always 

 match, as it should do, with the colour of the 

 coat. A few dogs of this colour have achieved 

 distinction on the show bench. 



III.-THE LABRADOR. 



BY F. E. SCHOFIELD. 



AMONG sporting dogs the Labradors are 

 unique. In the evolution of flat-coated 

 Retrievers they played a most important 

 part, yet they themselves remain to-day 

 very much as they were when the former 

 were neither defined nor definable. It 

 was not till the year 1903 that the breed 

 was recognised by the Kennel Club, and 

 special attention drawn to them. 



Of their common origin with the New- 

 foundland there is no doubt. It must be 

 remembered that previous to the foundation 

 of the Kennel Club in 1873 the classification 

 of many varieties of dogs was very indefinite. 

 When the Newfoundland was first intro- 

 duced into this country I do not know. 

 It is quite certain, however, that in the 



early years of the nineteenth century even 

 the large dogs were frequently used in 

 field sports, and equally certain that many 

 of the references in The Sporting Magazine 

 and other publications to Newfoundlands 

 in the field were really meant for Labradors. 

 In Scott's beautifully illustrated " British 

 Field Sports," published in 1818, mention 

 is made of the Newfoundland dog, " so well 

 known of late years in this country," being 

 used for the " purpose of fetching and 

 carrying game." He adds : " This noble 

 animal . . . appears to be specifically the 

 same, or a variety of the Great Dog of the 

 north of Europe, perhaps imported thence 

 into the island of Newfoundland on its first 

 colonisation." 



