Oct. 1, 1891.] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



SPANIELS USED FOR SPORT. 



BT EDWIN H. MOEBIS. 



THERE is an old lecrend referring to the spaniel which 

 attributes the landing of the Danes in England to the 

 sagacity of a dog of this variety. Lodebrooke, of the blood 

 royal of Denmark, and father of Humbar and Hubba, was 

 ont in a boat with his hawks and his spaniel, when a sudden 

 storm carried the boat away from the land and drove it on 

 to the coast of Norfolk. This unexpected visitor was quickly 

 secured, and together with his dog was taken before Ed- 

 mund, the King of the East Angles, and accused of being a 

 spy. 



Lodebrooke soon made himself known to the King, who 

 treated him very kindly, and when his skill in the chase was 

 known he became a great favorite. This aroused the jeal- 

 ousy of the King's falconer, who endeavored to get rid of 

 hini. but being iiusuccessfu), he waylaid and murdered Lo- 

 debrooke, concenling his body in the busbes. The court 

 soon missed the favorite, and although Edmund manifested 

 great anxiety ahoiitthe prince, nothing could be ascertained 

 until the spaniel, who had remained in the woods by the 

 corpse of his master, was driven away by hun.'?er, and sud- 

 denly appearing, he approached the King and commenced 

 to fawn, and then ran in the direction of the woods, to en- 

 tice him to follow, and on so doing the dog took him direct 

 to the dead body. 



On the crime being traced to the falconer, he was punished 

 by being placed in the prince's boat and committed to the 

 mercy of the sea, which has been described in the following 

 verse: 



"Then forth they dragged the falconer. 



As by iheir monarch told, 

 And they chained him down to the prince's boat, 



As soon 83 the tempest rolled; 

 Aad when a huge cloud in tiie sky 



Stood up with a giant's form. 

 On a wave, that rose to worship it, 



They hurled him to the storm." 



It seems that the boat was homeward bound, for it reached 

 the shores Lodebrooke had quitted; the boat was recognized, 

 and the assassin, in order to avoid punishment, said that 

 Lodebrooke had been put to death 'by order of Edmund. 

 This so exasperated the Danes that they determined on the 

 invasion of England. 



AVithout having any intention of trespassing upon debat- 

 able ground, 1t will be as well to remark that the "claims of 

 long descent" which have been urged in favor of this or that 

 variety of the spaniel family, geoerally commenced where 

 they should have finished, and where an unusual amount of 

 fervor has been displayed in favor of either variety, ignorance 

 or interested motives have invariably been the' prompter; 

 hence, instead of our being able to beeiu with the Eliza- 

 bethan period, we have traditional history taking us back 

 prior to the Norman conquest. We find some reference to 

 the spaniel in all the early hooks on sport, but none of them 

 give any good clue for the tracing of the different varieties, 

 they rather refer to them collectively as Shakespeare does in 

 "King Lear" (Act IV., Scene 6): 



'■Hound, or spaniel, hradi, or lym 

 Or bobtail tike or trundle-tail." 



It is generally admitted by all the early writers that Spain 

 was the home of the spaniel, as the name implies. When 

 that country was at the hdgbt of her glory, when her mari- 

 ners were renowned for their daring aad Columbus had 

 contributed to its lustre, the spirit of chivalry was strougiu 

 the breasts of those who remained at home, and this found 

 vent in the practice of knight-errantry, in the daring of the 

 bull fights, and was exhibited in a milder form in the pur- 

 suance of field sports. It was during this period that the 

 Spaniards brought to so high a degree of perfection both 

 the pointer and the spaniel, and as the wave of civilization 

 extended northward, on its crest was borne the spirit of 

 gallantry with the attendant love of the chase, and the dogs 

 of Spain being so much superior to those used by other 

 nationalities, it naturally followed that they were taken. 

 Although the pointer was frequently used in conjunction 

 with the spaniel by the falconer of those times in England, 

 the latter was generally taken alone, and hence do we find 

 reference to the spaniel as used for the lordly pastime of fal- 

 conry in many of the early English writings on sport; but in 

 none do we find the sport so charmingly referred to as in 

 "Frank Forester's" lines: 



"Lo! they muster, lord and ladj ; 

 Brow of pride and cheek of blooTH ; 

 Pointed heard and tresses shady. 

 Velvet robe and waving plume. 



"Housings gay and bits gold tl ashing, 

 Bells of falcons tinkling light; 

 Cbargers tall and palfrey prancing, 

 Meet for damsel, meet for knight." 



It is comparatively easy to thus demonstrate that the 

 spaniel was in general use and was highly esteemed many 

 years before most of the breeds which claim recognition to- 

 day were heard of, but it is more ditficult to explain the ex- 

 istence of several varieties, and perhaps the only good ex- 

 planation that can be offered is that these dogs came to 

 England through other countries, and not directly from 

 Spain; and the general characteristics, form and color, were 

 uudoubtedly the result of the blending of the blood of other 

 varieties of dogs common to those countries, through which 

 they passed, leading to types totally different from the de- 

 scendants of dogs of direct importation. 



From pictures, or from specimens brought direct from 

 Spain, or descended from such, it is clear that iu those early 

 days in his native country the spaniel was a dog of medium 

 size, probably about 30Ibs. in weight, standing about 14in. 

 at the shoulders, more resembling the modern cocker span- 

 iel in build, though more full in the muzzle, and more 

 square than round in skull, in which respects he may be 

 said to be nearer the field spaniel in type, although in gen- 

 eral character he did not resemble the modern excessively 

 long and low detachment. 



The color of these dogs was liver, white and black, lemon, 

 orange, sometimes with white patches, or a general mixture 

 of the colors, with occasionally solid hues. 



The condition of Spain for centuries has not been very 

 favorable to the retention of any great degree of excellence 

 in sporting dogs, and at present no dogs could be found in 

 that country resembling those of the present age, or their 

 prototypes of ages past. The nearest approach to them is to 

 be found in the province of Picardy, iu Prance. They were 

 used in conjunction with the Barbet Griffon, Basset-hound, 

 or Braque, and other dogs, to produce the "setting spaniel" 

 for the hunters with the net, prior to the introduction of 

 firearms, so that eventually true bred spaniels could only be 

 found in England. In that country different districts 

 selected such types as were particularly adapted to the 

 country they were worked over, or perhaps chance and color 

 had much to do with certain varieties being named after, 

 and becoming common to different counties. Hence we find 

 Sus.sex, Norfolk and Devonshire with types named after 

 them. Formerlj' there were only two distinctions, those 

 used for land, termed field spaniels, and those more generally 

 preferred for water, called water spaniels. After this came 

 the distinction of counties, color and uses, when the larger 

 varieties, common to Norfolk, Sussex and the Midlauds, 

 were called springers, and the smaller kind found in Devon, 

 the West of England and Wales were called cockers. 



The water spaniels wei-e sub-divided, and were formerly 

 known as the old English, common to the southern and 

 midland counties, which were liver in color, with occasional 

 white marks, they were of medium size, and were passion- 

 ately fond of water. The Northern or Tweedsdale was very 

 similar in color and instinct, but a trifle more resembling 

 the curly-coated retriever. There were also two kinds in 

 Ireland, the Northern, with much white, and not very thick 

 set, and the ancestors of the present Irish water spaniels, 

 which wei'e then chiefly found iu the South, and were liver 

 in color, more cobby in build, and so far superior to any of 

 the other varieties of water spaniels that tliey have been 

 vastly improved, and are now held iu high esteem, while 

 the other varieties have become extinct, leaving the field, or 

 rather the water, clear to the Irishmen. 



This is a brief outline of the distant past of the spaniel iu 

 Britain, and in order to bring it down to the present we 

 have but to record the introduction of dogs from France by 

 the Duke of Newcastle about two hundred years ago, which 

 were supposed to have been the result of a cross between 

 the Spanish smaller sporting dog and the French Basset 

 hound, these are now called Clumber spaniels, the first 

 name being taken from the Duke's residence in Notting- 

 hamshire, called Clumber House, and they were classed as 

 spaniels, because of their supposed origin, and their being 

 used for the same purpose as the ordinary field spaniel. 

 Still they were known by some as the pheasant dog, because 

 of the lack of a name, some doubt as to their being of the 

 spaniel family, and because at first they were almost en- 

 tirely worked on pheasants. 



The cockers were at this time generally used for woodcock, 

 and the springer or field spaniel, which now comprised all 

 the various strains, were used for all kinds of covert pur- 

 poses. 



The field spaniels being the original, it will be well to 

 adopt the Spaniel Club's order, and speak of this variety 

 first. 



The Norfolk spaniel has long since ceased to exist in its 

 old form. He was too heavy and sluggish for the sports- 

 men of a century since, and he was merged into the stock 

 common throughout England, then known as springers; 

 which perhaps accounts for the liver, and lemon and white, 

 of so many of the working spaniels of that country. There 

 is a probability that the first stock was imported from 

 France, and it may be that it was a prior importation of the 

 dogs which the Duke of Newcastle found in a more primitive 

 state, and which were afterward called Clumber's. There 

 was a decided resemblance in color, and they were much the 

 same in conformation and characteristics. 



As the black field spaniel is only a result of modern views 

 and bench show demands, and as the Sussex is the only 

 variety which has been kept without any mixture of the 

 blood of other varieties in earlier times, it will be right to 

 refer to them fully, and as they were greatly used in the pro- 

 duction of the black and tan, and solid black modern field 

 spaniel, it will not be out of place, nor can it be taken as an 

 instance of partiality, if the Sussex are taken fii-st, though 

 somewhat contrary to the order of things iu club matters. 



[TO BE CONTINUED.] 



NOTES AND NOTIONS. 



'"pHE English correspondence of a Western paper gives a 

 X most astounding statement as to the action "of the 

 English Kennel Club in the permanent disqualification of 

 Mr. Wm. Graham, and I cannot but feel that there must be 

 something unexplained that accounts for such an uuheard- 

 of course. As it stands, dense stupidity and intolerable 

 despotism strive for the pre-eminence. As stated, the 

 trouble arose in Mr. Graham's dog being second to two dogs 

 placed equal firsts, the full prize money for second being 

 paid to mv. Graham. The owners of the equal firsts being 

 dissatisfied with the amount they received appealed to the 

 Kennel Club, vyho ordered Mr. Graham to return the money 

 received "iu error," which he refused to do, and was there 

 upon disqualified for life. It seems pa.st understanding how 

 there could be any fog on what Mr. Graham's rights were 

 with any one commonly conversant with the English lan- 

 guage. "Equal'' is a word of most positive and exact mean- 

 ing, as definite as "better" or "worse," there is no possible 

 chance for ratiocination here. The meaning of two dogs 

 bein^ "equal" is so obvious that it would be an insult to 

 the intelligence of the readers of Forest axd Steeaji to 

 offer an explanation. As they were equally entitled to the 

 prize money there was but one way of settling it, an "equal" 

 division. The owner whose dog was second was clearly en- 

 titled to the prize offered, and it is evident that the equality 

 as to the first position in no way affected his rights. To 

 rival this intense stupidity, the Kennel Club is said to have 

 inflicted a penalty, properly incurred only by discreditable 

 or dishonorable conduct, and it needs no argument to show 

 that refusal to surrender a right properly belonging — in a 

 word, a right — can never be discreditable or dishonorable. 

 The assertion of the Kennel Club, as propounded in this 

 reported decision, is that refusal to comply with their be- 

 hests is disgraceful! This is too monstrous a doctrine to be 

 tolerated for an instant. The truth is that all such bodies 

 as kennel clubs are apt to lapse into absolutism; to admin- 

 ister the laws the body itself makes is a severe strain, and 

 any victim of oppression such as is asserted in the foregoing 

 case would do a service to clubs and the kennel public gen- 

 erally by taking his case into coin-t, where the outcome 

 would not be in doubt. Litigation is generally to be de- 

 precated, but there are times when no other weapon will 

 answer. 



A well-known gentleman^ for whom I have a great res- 

 pect, suggests to me a consideration as to the report of a 

 rude reception being given two American dog lovers at the 

 office of the London Stock-Keeper, although these persons 

 presented introductions to Mr. Geo. R. Krehl, the kennel 

 editor of that paper. It goes without saying that the report 

 must be very much overdrawn, circumstances might make 

 the reception a cool one, but that any approach to the rude- 

 ness described would be permitted at that office is out of the 

 question, nor would Mr. Krehl be described by the office 

 force as "a man who sometimes works for us." The affair 

 is paltry in the extreme, but it suggests atteutiou to the 

 almost criminal carelessness Americans display in giving 

 letters of introduction to parties resident abroad. Our easy 

 way of making acquaintances allows great latitude in sucti 

 matters in this country, and we all give !-uch letters with 

 very little thought, but in Europe the case is very dift'erent, 

 and an introductory letter there is taken as a thing of 

 weight. In this particular case the writer of the letter of 

 introduction could not have had any extensive knowledge 

 either of the bearer of the letter or the party to whom it 

 was addressed, and it certainly was rather stretching things 

 to give such a letter under the circumstances Think care- 

 fully when you give an introduction to an English party 

 and be sure that you clearly express the full eft'eet you 

 wish the letter to bear. 



Comical suggestions that English and American judges 

 should follow the lead of Russian judges in awarding prizes 

 to Barzois arise from the fact that one of this breed sent as 

 a return gift by a Grand Duke to Col. North, the distin- 

 guished greyhound owner, was summarily set aside as a 

 very bad one by English judges, and some references that 

 have appeared from time time to the odd mixture oi" meta 

 physics and dog show form in Continental show awards, 

 suggest that the root of the ridiculous ideas Continental 

 judges and fanciers so often display is in their attempt to 

 conuDiue form and use in one measure and to require that j 



the good-looMng dog should always be a good performer, 

 and as a natural sequence to this, that the successful per- 

 former be of the correct show form. Some such hazy idea is 

 very apt to befogthe brains of intellectual people everywhere 

 when they first tackle fancy in her own realms: but ceutu- 

 ries of practical success as fanciers by the British and our 

 inheritance of their traditions have furnished a smother for 

 the folly, both here and in England, and the outbreaks of it 

 that constantly crop up soon terminate simply by neslect 

 and lack of attention. But, as during their stage of incuba- 

 tion they worry intelligent beginners not a little, it is nofc 

 amiss to consider the practical method that dispels such 

 fogs. 



The proper and only "true'typ'e" of any breed is that which 

 most exactly subserves the purposes for which the breed is 

 designed. Any malformation which is likely to unfit the 

 dog for its use's is fatal to its being true to type, but it must 

 always be borne in mind that no amount of perfection of 

 form in.9ures real usefulness. No sensible man would ven- 

 ture heavily backing the very highest show specimen of a 

 greyhound in a coursing match when the animal had n^ver 

 run in one. It might have every detail of conformation to 

 make it a great performer, yet lose its first course and never 

 win another. Probably America never produced another 

 race horse so perfectly built and such a lovely specimen as 

 Montgomery, and very few, if any, uglier, more unlikely 

 specimens were ever seen than the great Fashion, yet had 

 they lived at one time and appeared in the same race, it 

 would have been thousands to one on Fashion. The London 

 Stoc/c- Keeper lately noted that the great Master McGrath 

 would have been put out of a show ring at sight, that the 

 crack Cooma.ssie was a miserable weed, and that another 

 celebrated animal that never lost a course was a mo.st indif- 

 ferent specimen. Now it by no means follows from these 

 examples that we are to aim at breeding -animals that look 

 like Fashion, Master McGrath or Coomassie. Nicholas I, 

 and Lexington, Memnon and Mother Demdike, are instances 

 of how the highest type can be united with the greatest of 

 performances. We should breed for type first and foremost, 

 and will find more instances of great performers among the 

 truly formed than among the untypical animals. This is 

 not only true of the specimens themselves, but of their 

 breeding value, the few odd instances of que?r and untruly 

 formed animals that were great performers do not contain 

 an instance of one that turned out of any marked breeding 

 value. 



The path out of this fog is a verystraight and obvious one. 

 Keep the two qualifications entirely distinct, a show ring 

 cannot demonstrate ability for actual performances, and 

 performances by no means involve true form. 



Mention of weasels reminds me of various references that 

 have appeared of late to a story of a dog being assailed by a 

 large number of weasels, three dozen, I think, was the 

 number mentioned — and with one exception, the references 

 have been in the nature of ridicule, dubbing it "a fish story." 

 ISTow, incredulity is almost as apt to go astray as the most 

 infantile credulity, and, in this case, it is by no means un- 

 likely that the doubting Thomases are the ones "off." The 

 congregation of three dozens of weasels is a very unlikely 

 thing, but very far fiom an incredible one. All kinds of 

 wild animais are subject to fits of congregating mania, when 

 they draw together in great numbers for no conceivable 

 reason. No theory of search for food will account for the 

 migration of animals in all instances, those of buffalo, lem- 

 mings, etc., for it has often been shown that the migrations 

 were from districts where food was abundant to others 

 where it was comparatively scarce. Why snakes gather in 

 lumps and knots, after the spring has opened, has always 

 been incomprehensible, warmth being out of the question, 

 they being cold-blooded animals. While therefore the con- 

 gregating of a large number of weasels is uncommon and 

 unexplainable, it will not do to laugh it away as impossible. 



The Onlooker 



ACCLIMATIZATION OF DOGS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Apropos of Dr. Niven's letter, I would Contribute my 

 experience, and draw no deductions from it, leaving that to 

 whoever wishes to do so. I have imported six mastiffs at 

 different times, four of them being bitches in whelp. In 

 every case the animals throve right along. All the bitches 

 whelped good-sized litters of healthy pups. My dogs run at 

 large over my ten acres without any restraint, are fed pretty 

 much whatever they will eat and all they want; in 

 fact, are pretty much left to themselves as far as other care 

 than clean, comfortable shelter is concei'ned. I have also 

 imported three adult and three bobtail puppies, all of whom 

 were kept under about the same circumstances as the 

 mastiffs and all did as well. 



Just what my experience teaches I hardly know, but I 

 always did maintain that if you gave dogs a decent chance 

 to do something like nature indicated, they would do pretty 

 well, and when it comes to fussing over a dog, measuring 

 its food, regulating its hours of feeding, etc., as though it 

 were a delicate baby you were caring for, I propose to go 

 out of dogs, Dogs are essentially and fundamentally wild 

 animals, and how they are to be kept under unnatural con- 

 ditions of confinement i do not pretend to know, although 

 there is no question that .some breeders do succepd in breed- 

 ing and keeping dogs in good health and condition, with 

 the vevy minimum of room and liberty. Dr. .T. S. Ttrrner, 

 the distinguished mastiff breeder, is an in.stance in point; 

 but very few are Dr. Turners. W. WADE. 



HtJLTOK, Pa. 



DEATH OF WATCH. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



1 write to inform you of the death of Watch on Sept. 21 of 

 inflammation of the lungs. He was sick but a few days. 



John Poau. 



T01,ED0, 0, 



DOG'S INSTINCT VS. MAN'S KNOWLEDGE.— Denver, 

 Col.— ^;cl?.tor Forest and Stream: A St. Bernard bitch of 

 mine while nursing a litter developed a cake in one of the 

 teats. I tried to grease and rub it out, but to no purpose, aS 

 it enlarged rapidly, suppui-ation setting iu. A physician 

 living near gave me an ointment to apply, telling me" to call 

 with her the next evening. After an examination at the 

 appointed time he said it was just ripe for the lancet, and he 

 would call around in a few minutes and open it. But it was 

 not necessary; on arriving home she began to gnaw at the 

 swelling and soon had it well opened, the pus flowing out 

 fi'eely. I did nothing, made no application to the sore, 

 which rapidly healed, and is now marked with a small scar. 

 As my medical friend remarked, "I knew dogs would take 

 good care of themselves, but never knew they would open 

 an abscess." — C. W. T. 



KENNEL NOTES. 

 Kennel Motes are inaereed without charge; and blanks 

 (farnlBb.ed free) will be sent to any address. 



NAMES CLAIMED. 

 Prepared Blanks sent free on application. 



8noo<lie. By H. Wurzhach. Midland Park, N. J., for beagle 

 hiM;li, whelped April 31, 1891, by champion Royal Krueger out of 

 Tri-sa W. 



OiUf of Tara. By H. G-. J. Hallowell, Oonshohooken, Pa., for 

 red Irish setter dog, whelped Jan. SL, 1891. by champion Chief 

 (Champion Berkley— champion Duok)otitof Bizreena (champion 

 [ Nimrod— Bizorah), 



