The Cocker Spaniel 25q 



a good-sized cocker. Mr. Willey saw what was coming years ago, and 

 tried crossing with a large field spaniel to get size, but he lost cocker type. 



It has always been our opinion that a standard for any breed of dogs 

 is of far less use than its framers imagine will be the case. The first standard 

 of the Spaniel Club was based upon the recognised code drawn by Stone- 

 henge, with some particularisation of description to meet our requirements. 

 The matter of weight was first of all decided by voting a scope of ten pounds 

 in view of the diversified varieties of that time. Then it was decided that 

 it would be ridiculous to call a spaniel under eighteen pounds a sporting 

 spaniel, although some who had long-eared toys wished to get down to 

 fifteen pounds. So with the decision to allow ten pounds between the 

 limits and not to go below eighteen pounds, the top limit was arbitrarily 

 reached at twenty-eight pounds. Some thought the top weight too low, 

 among them being the late Mr. J. F. Kirk, of Toronto, a gentleman who 

 shot over his spaniels and went in a good deal for duck shooting and wanted 

 a strong dog. It cannot be gainsaid that much said in the standard was 

 afterward useless and misleading, for comparative terms are never any- 

 thing but that, and to say "somewhat wide," or "medium width," or "rather 

 narrow," is not in any one instance definite, but applies only to the time 

 being, when it is known what the expression means. If you start with 

 "rather narrow," when heads are anything but narrow, and get the average 

 to what in the old days would have been rather narrow, you still have the 

 standard suggesting something a little narrower than is ordinarily seen. 

 Judges that are worth putting into the ring never trouble themselves about 

 standards, but pick out what they like, what they consider typical, and 

 are only controlled by some arbitrary rule, governing weight, height or 

 colour. 



We will illustrate this by comparing the decisions made before and 

 after the cocker standard was amended in March, 1901, which we said at 

 the time of its adoption would not make the slightest change in anything 

 except the demarkation in weight, and that meant nothing, as all dogs 

 shown were below the top limit of twenty-four pounds. There has been 

 no sifting of selections to suit any preconceived idea, but the stud-book 

 record has been taken and every dog prominent prior to the change and 

 shown subsequent thereto has been accepted. Bay View Robin, third 

 Boston and second Pittsburg, afterward took six seconds. Bell Boy, 

 first limit and reserve winners New York, afterward took seven firsts, 



