222 CROSSED BREEDS. 
that he is more under control and has a softer mouth. Almost all 
shooters now depend on a retriever for fetching their game, and 
as sometimes there are more than half a dozen out, their qualities 
are of considerable importance, especially as time is never allowed 
for retrievers, and if it is not done at once, the task is given over 
to the keepers, for otherwise a whole line of shooters would be 
kept idle, which in the present day would be thought a nuisance. 
Formerly we used to consider the retrieving of a wounded bird or 
hare quite as important and interesting as the shooting of others, 
but all this is changed, and of course we must take the shooting 
world as we find it. Anyhow, the curly-coated retriever is rare, 
both on the show-bench and in the field, as compared with his 
numbers fifteen years ago. 
Points of the curly-coated retriever :— 
VALUE | ; VALUE 
Skull, . F . 10 Feet, °. 5 
Nose and jaws, . Io |, Tail, 5 
Ears and eyes, 5 Coat, 5 
Neck, . » 35 Colour, . 5 
Shoulders and chest, . Io Symmetry, 5 
Loins and back, . Io . Temperament, 5 
Quarters and stifles, s § — 
Legs, knees, and hocks,- 5 Total, . 100 
The skull is long and wide, with scarcely any brow, the slightest 
possible rise being only visible at that point. 
Nose and jaws.—These must be long for carrying purposes 
and wide for scenting powers, with open moist nostrils and level 
teeth. 
The ears must be of moderate length, without much hair on 
them, and neither vine-shaped nor lobular, but intermediate. The 
eyes are of medium size, soft, and intelligent in expression. 
The neck should be long enough to allow stooping for a scent 
without difficulty : a chumpy-necked retriever is not admired. 
Shoulders and chest—The chest is round and not very deep. 
Shoulders rather short but muscular, 
The back and loin are maaally strong and well knit, with fairly 
deep back ribs. 
