434 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



spot, called the beauty spot, which by in- 

 breeding with other varieties is fast being 

 lost. Chestnut markings are on the body 

 and on the sides of the hind-legs. The 

 coat should incline to be curly ; the head 

 must be flat, not broad, and the muzzle 

 should be straight. The chestnut should 

 be of a rich colour. 



The four varieties the King Charles, 

 Tricolour or (as he has been called) Charles I. 

 Spaniel, the modern Blenheim, and the 

 Ruby have all the same points, differing 

 from one another in colour only, and the 

 following description of the points as deter- 

 mined by the Toy Spaniel Club serves for 

 all:- 



1. Head. Should be well domed, and in good 

 specimens is absolutely semi-globular, some- 

 times even extending beyond the half-circle, 

 and projecting over the eyes, so as nearly to meet 

 the upturned nose. 



2. Eyes. The eyes are set wide apart, with 

 the eyelids square to the line of the face, not 

 oblique or fox-like. The eyes themselves are 

 large, and dark as possible, so as to be generally 

 considered black, their enormous pupils, which 

 are absolutely of that colour, increasing the 

 description. There is always a certain amount 

 of weeping shown at the inner angles. This 

 is owing to a defect in the lachrymal duct. 



3. Stop. The " stop " or hollow between the 

 eyes is well marked, as in the Bulldog, or even 

 more so ; some good specimens exhibit a hollow 

 deep enough to bury a small marble. 



4. Nose. The nose must be short and well 

 turned up between the eyes, and without any 

 indication of artificial displacement afforded by a 

 deviation to either side. The colour of the end 

 should be black, and it should be both deep and 

 wide with open nostrils. 



5. Jaw. The muzzle must be square and deep, 

 and the lower jaw wide between the branches, 

 leaving plenty of space for the tongue, and 

 for the attachment of the lower lips, which should 

 completely conceal the teeth. It should also be 

 turned up or " finished," so as to allow of its 

 meeting the end of the upper jaw turned up in 

 a similar way, as above described. 



6. Ears. The ears must be long, so as to ap- 

 proach the ground. In an average-sized dog they 

 measure twenty inches from tip to tip, and some 

 reach twenty-two inches, or even a trifle more. 

 They should be set low on the head, hang 

 flat to the sides of the cheeks, and be heavily 

 feathered. In this last respect the King 

 Charles is expected to exceed the Blenheim, and 

 his ears occasionally extend to twenty-four inches. 



7. Size. The most desirable size is indicated by 

 the accepted weight of from 7 Ib. to 10 Ib. 



8. Shape. In compactness of shape these 

 Spaniels almost rival the Pug, but the length of 

 coat adds greatly to the apparent bulk, as the 

 body, when the coat is wetted, looks small in com- 

 parison with that dog. Still, it ought to be 

 decidedly " cobby," with strong, stout legs, short 

 broad back and wide chest. The symmetry of the 

 King Charles is of importance, but it is seldom 

 that there is any defect in this respect. 



9. Coat. The coat should be long, silky, soft 

 and wavy, but not curly. In the Blenheim there 

 should be a profuse mane, extending well down in 

 the front of the chest. The feather should be well 

 displayed on the ears and feet, and in the latter 

 case so thickly as to give the appearance of their 

 being webbed. It is also carried well up the 

 backs of the legs. In the Black and Tan the 

 feather on the ears is very long and profuse, 

 exceeding that of the Blenheim by an inch or 

 more. The feather on the tail (which is cut to the 

 length of three and a half to four inches) should 

 be silky, and from five to six inches in length, 

 constituting a marked " flag " of a square shape, 

 and not carried above the level of the back. 



10. Colour. The colour differs with the 

 variety. The Black and Tan is a rich glossy 

 black and deep mahogany tan ; tan spots over 

 the eyes, and the usual markings on the muzzle, 

 chest, and legs are also required. The Ruby is a 

 rich chestnut red, and is whole-coloured. The 

 presence of a few white hairs intermixed with the 

 black on the chest of a Black and Tan, or inter- 

 mixed with the red on the chest of a Ruby Spaniel, 

 shall carry weight against a dog, but shall not in 

 itself absolutely disqualify ; but a white patch 

 on the chest or white on any other part of a 

 Black and Tan or Ruby Spaniel shall be a disqualifi- 

 cation. The Blenheim must on no account be 

 whole-coloured, but should have a ground of pure 

 pearly white, with bright rich chestnut or ruby 

 red markings evenly distributed in large patches. 

 The ears and cheeks should be red, with a blaze of 

 white extending from the nose up the forehead, 

 and ending between the ears in a crescentic curve. 

 In the centre of this blaze at the top of the fore- 

 head there should be a clear " spot " of red, of the 

 size of a sixpence. Tan ticks on the fore legs and 

 on the white muzzle are desirable. The Tricolour 

 should in part have the tan of the Black and Tan, 

 with markings like the Blenheim in black instead 

 of red on a pearly-white ground. The ears and 

 under the tail should also be lined with tan. The 

 Tricolour has no " spot," that beauty being pecu- 

 liarly the property of the Blenheim. 



The All Red King Charles is known by the 

 name of " Ruby Spaniel " ; the colour of the nose 

 is black. The points of the " Ruby " are the 

 same as those of the " Black and Tan," differing 

 only in colour. 



