THE SPORTING SPANIEL. 



287 



hands and in those of his successors, Captain 

 S. M. Thomas and ^Ir. Moses Woolland, 

 carried all before it for many years, and is 

 still easily at the top of the tree, being the 

 most sought for and highly prized of all on 

 account of its '' quality." The hst of dogs 

 which, while in this gentleman's possession, 

 made histor}-, is a very formidable one, and 

 far too long to quote in extenso, but the 

 following names are among the best kno\\Ti, 

 and their bearers have, through their 

 descendants, exercised a great influence 

 on the breed : — Nigger, Kaffir, Squaw, 

 Newton Abbot Blossom, Newton Ab- 

 bot "\'ictor, Newton Abbot Lassie, 

 and Newton Abbot Shah, subsequently 

 acquired by Mr. Woolland and re- 

 christened Bridford Shah. Probably 

 the best Black Spaniel ever bred by 

 Mr. Jacobs was also bought by ^Ir. 

 Woolland, the bitch Bridford Per- 

 fection, by Newton Abbot King out 

 of Newton Abbot Duchess. This 

 beautiful bitch, who was fully worthy 

 of her name, cost her plucky pur- 

 chaser nearly /400 — \dz. /380 in cash 

 and a further consideration ; and after 

 an all too short career, during which 

 she never had to put up with defeat, 

 died childless. Such are the disappointments 

 which breeders have to endure. In 1891 

 Mr. Jacobs decided to disperse his kennel, 

 and the pick of the Spaniels were di\nded 

 between Captain S. Moreton Thomas and 

 Mr. Woolland. The former gentleman ac- 

 quired some beautiful specimens, including 

 such well-known animals as Newton Abbot 

 King, Barnum, Ripper, Lassie, and Glory, 

 but he does not seem to have met with 

 much success in carrying on the strain, 

 and we meet with very few dogs nowadays 

 descended from the Spaniels he showed 

 so successfully for several years. 



On the other hand, Mr. Jacobs' mantle 

 as a breeder seems to have fallen upon 

 Mr. Woolland's shoulders, and up to the 

 time in 1906 when he in turn gave up 

 breeding and disposed of his kennel, he 

 had easily outdistanced all his competitors. 



Although ^Ir. Jacobs was undoubtedly 

 the most prominent figure among the ex- 



hibitors of blacks of his da}', many of his 

 contemporaries were breeding and showing 

 specimens of very great merit, notably 

 Mr. W. W. Boulton, Mr. J. Smith, of Coles- 

 hiU, Mr. Theo. ]Marples, Dr. J. H. Spurgin, 

 Mr. C. C. Lawrence, Colonel Cornwall Legh, 

 Mr. James Farrow, Mr. H. Bird, Jlessrs. 

 Mortlock and Prance, Mr. J. H. Hussey, 

 and Mr. P. E. Le Gros. 



A very great number of winning black 

 Spaniels came during the 'nineties from 

 these kennels, the following names being 



MR R. PRATT S ACE OF TRUMPS 



BY OH. FEN TWILIGHT ROTHERWOOD PRINCESS 



those of perhaps the greatest distinction : — 

 Mr. Farrow's Gipping Sam (afterwards 

 Buckle), Mr. J. Smith's Beverley Comet, 

 Mr. ilarples' Moonstone and Maxim, Mr. 

 Lawrence's Cloisonne, Colonel Cornwall 

 Legh's Mimic, Music, and Maize, the latter 

 subsequently owned by me, and Mr. J. 

 Smith's ColeshiU Chloe, whom I also bought 

 and renamed Celbridge Chloe. Another 

 very beautiful bitch was Colonel Gostwyck 

 Card's Rona, whose head and ears were 

 admitted by everj'one to be little short 

 of ideal. 



All this time, however, Mr. ^^'oolland 

 seemed able to defy competition, and to 

 win with the greatest ease whenever he 

 chose to exhibit, which, to his credit be 

 it said, was very seldom, and only at the 

 principal shows. No one could e\'er accuse 

 him of going round the small shows with 

 his champion dogs and mopping up all 

 the small prizes, as I am sorry to saj' is 



