July 7, 1893 ] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



11 



SPANIELS USED FOR FIELD SPORT. 



[Continmi^ fmm Page SS.] 



THE IBISH WATER 8PAKIKL. 



The origin of the water spaniel has been a source of con- 

 siderable speculation, each variety having cliaracfceris- 

 tics foreign to the other kinds o£ spaniels, .and thore being 

 BO great resemblance between the three or four breeds of 

 water spaniels at one time found throughout England and 

 Ireland. 



It is scarcely likely that the Spanish pirates, wbo occa- 

 sionally landed on the west coast of Ireland, had sporting 

 dogs with them, although sometimes the serenity oE things 

 generally and the attractions and hospitality granted to 

 them very frequently turned foraging expeditions into 

 friendly visits. 



Besides the Irish vairieties of water spaniels did not arore 

 nearly reseiri hie spaniels of the orthodox kind, than those 

 found in if'nglaud. There wtm uo dog common to Ireland 

 that could be crossed witlj the land spaniel for the produc- 

 tion of a new variety, sncli as i Le present Irish water spaniel, 

 and hence there is no Hlti>rua(i\-e bnt to revert to the intro- 

 ductory remarls:s leaHrdlng the dilfereuce of type and char- 

 acter and the probable cause for such in the land spaniel. 



If we look to those countries tlirough whicli the spaniel 

 passed before getting to England we find thnt there is a 

 curly water dog called the Earhet, which hfis many points 

 in cominoQ with the water spaniels. The first point of re- 

 semblance is the unkempt appearance. Then there is the 

 inclination to curl in coat, the same instinct and ovei power- 

 ing fondness for the water, and nue feels disposed to ask 

 wby there should have been any question as to the origin of 

 the'water spaniel. Still the two kinds are not entirely alike 

 and it may he asked how they became classed as spaniels? 

 The b?st explanation that can be g'veu to the former query 

 is that it does not require much imagination to conceive 

 that the Barbet and land spaniel together are responsible 

 for this multiplication of the spaniel family. As to the 

 latter question it may be remembered that the word spaniel 

 was at one time far" more conqsrehensive than it is at pres- 

 ent, and as in the case of the Clumbers, it did not require 

 the marriage of two of the same family, for the transmis- 

 sion of a name. 



When there were three or four kinds of water spaniels 

 struggling for existence in Britain, Mr. MacCarthv took in 

 Land those more common to the south of Ireland, and suc- 

 ceeded in establishing a uniform variety, which is now the 

 only one worth V of attention. 



Mr. Justin McCarthy was very much 

 attached to bis kennel of water spaniels, 

 and nearly fifty years ago had so far 

 succeeded in securing a sporting dog 

 suitable for the boggy districts, whose 

 liking for the water, hardihood, hunting 

 instinct, and intelligence of no ordinary 

 nature, were just as essential as the 

 foundation, as retrieving and other 

 pioints were necessary accomplishments. 



In striving for the production of a 

 strain unrivaled in these respects, he did 

 not overlook uniformity, and he was 

 soon able to insure a dog, about 22in. 

 at shoulder, with a thick ^ set sturdy 

 build, supported by legs as straight as 

 gun barrels, and larger than other dogs 

 of his size, a coat of a dark liver, with a 

 short curl, not exactly like the negro's 

 head or that seen on one kind of French 

 poodle, nor yet similar to the tagging 

 of the other variety, but more of a 

 crinkle. The ears were pendulous and 

 rather well feathered like other spaniels, 

 but not excessively so, like the poodle. 

 The feet were webbed to the fttllest 

 extent, and the tail a few inches from 

 the stern, was not covered with more 

 than sufficent hair to cover the skin, and 

 tapered to a fine point. Tne face and 

 the front part of hind legs were simply 

 covered with short hair, and as the eyes 

 were a bright amber color, the McCarthy 

 spaniel presented almost a grotesque ap- 

 pearance, but sportsmen of those days 

 were sportsmen indeed, and though they 

 were ever admirers of beauty, it was 

 utility which they chiefly secured in 

 adopting this strain, that soon proved 

 its fitness to survive. 



Some of the chief patrons of the breed 

 were Capt. Edward Montresor. Mr. J. S. 

 Skidmore, Sir W. Verner, Mr. Tallico 

 Macarthy, Mr. J. M. O'Neil, Dr. Tuffnel, 

 Capt. Keyes, Mr. Tollemache, Sir H. 

 Mark, Lieut. Cole, Sir H. Massey, Mr. 

 Philip Hill and the Earl of Howth. 



After a time there was an attempt to 

 improve this dog to make him more at- 

 tractive for bench show puipoces, when 

 a cross with the French poodle was 

 tried, which resulted in what might 

 have been expected in attempting to cari- 

 cature the grotesque. It soon became necessary that the coat 

 should be ragged, and unless there was the necessary amount 

 of poodle blood this was unnatural, and could only be imi- 

 tated bj' allowing the growth of coat to remain, till at last 

 vermin collected, and as exhibitors dared not clean their 

 dogs properly without risk of spoiling their chances at the 

 shows, it became an evil which the Spaniel Club of England 

 was asked to remedy, and as Colonel the Honorable Le Poer- 

 Trench championed the cause, matters have been much im- 

 proved. 



To detect the poodle cross it is only necessary to examine 

 the parts which should only be covered with short hair, for 

 unless the dogs are tampered with they are found to be 

 about evenly covered on the front legs, which is not right; 

 to be thickly covered on the front part of the hind legs, and 

 less clean on the tail and face are also wrong, besides the 

 eyes are often a dark hazel instead of an amber. 



The Irish w'ater spaniel, like all kinds of spaniels, is an 

 excellent general purpose dog, good on all kinds of game, 

 all conditions of land, whether in marsh or upland. He is, 

 par excellence, a duck dog and a retriever, and in sport or 

 as a companion, he is very sagacious and obedient. It is 

 not surprising that in a country like America his usefulness 

 should .soon be appreciated, and there is no doubt that asthe 

 Eastern States get "cleaned up" and sportsmen have to 

 seek other grounds, a still greater value will be attached to 

 this variety of the spaniel family. 



shows a few years since. She was of course a great pet and 

 fancied herself entitled to all the luxtiries of this life. We 



Ghampio-\ 



:ifi725). 



had a fox-terrier, unknown to fame, still none the less a pet. 

 Sunny mornings in winter, because of a sunbeam that came 

 through the curtain.s on a certain spot on the hearth nip, the 

 sitting room was a favorite lounging lAme for the dogs, and 



puppies should be as near as possible of the age of those to 

 be adopted. In treating of diseases of the respiratory organs 

 the Doctor recommends at the moment of chill, among other 

 things, an ounce of whisky; this we should say is too much, 

 and would very likely cause vomiting. Tn treating the dis- 

 eases of the genital orgai^s the author might have men- 

 tioned chronic balanitis, a common affection accompanied 

 by a constant slight discharge from the sheath. 



Regarding rabies, Dr.Mills omits thefirst and an important 

 synis)toni — loss of appetite. In diseases of the skin several 

 prescriptions for ointments are given, two of which contain 

 morph. sulph.; but we should question the advisability of 

 their being freely applied. Ointments containing morphia 

 should be very sparingly applied. In .speaking of the causes 

 of rickets, the author upholds the heredity theory, bnt this 

 is far from being the generally accex)ted cause; it is largely 

 a matter of diet, and to be cured by dieting. Regarding dis- 

 temper. Dr. Mills remarks that the rii.sease is apt to break 

 out in kennels during wet or cold, or during muggy weather. 

 T'hi.s weather has little if anything to do with it, no, matter 

 what the weather is distemper will not break out in akeunel 

 unless the eoutaginn has been carried there by some means 

 ui other, in dealing with anaesthesia, the author asserts 

 that "dogs are extremely lialde to die under chloroform— so 

 much so that it may he laid down, as a rule, that its adminis- 

 tration is contra-indicated." This position we beg to ques- 

 tion, <3ur experience has been that dogs nve not so ex- 

 tremely liable to die under this ana'sthetic, but rather the 

 opposite. It is preferable to ether, as the latter is more ir- 

 ritating and aiso causes more struggling before an;esthesia 

 takes i)lact\ We quite agree that both should only be ad- 

 ministered by an expert. There is little else to criticise in 

 the work. Most of the principal diseases are accompanied 

 by illustrations showing the parts under discussion. 

 Altogether, the illustrations of the different breeds of dogs 

 are better than anything that we have yet seen in any sim- 

 ilar bonk as they represent dogs that are now winning on the 

 bench cither in England or this country, and of course go 

 far to enhance the appearance of the book. Altogether the 

 work is one of great use to the breeder and the vetei-inary 

 student, and one that should find a place in every dog man's 

 kennel shelf and library. The price is $3.25. 



HTJ NTING DOG-S, when they grow old, become rheumatic, 

 or at least debilitated with pains. We know, too, that they 

 crave heat, and get as near the fire as possible — a craving 

 which increases as they grow older. One such dog, older 

 than the others, and slower in getting into the lodge on re- 

 turning from the hunt, was often crowded away from the 

 fire by the other livelier dogs getting all the best places 

 before him. Finding himself thus turned out in the cold, he 

 would dash toward the door barking, when the others, sup- 

 posing it was an alarm, would rirsh away too, while the old 

 rheumatic went to the fire and selected a" place to suit him.— 

 Revue Soientific. A similar experience occurs to us on read- 

 ing theabove. Toy spaniel fanciers will remember Duchess, 

 fhat capital little Blenheim spaniel that went the round of 



Champion Harp (K. C. S. B. 3S578), A^tke .\ Dive. 



the Duchess usually appropriated this sunny foot of space 

 for herself. The fox-terrier also had an eye to its soothing 

 influences, and should he by chance be first on the spot and 

 Duchess find him there, she would walk round him a few 

 times pretending not to notice him, when all of a sudden 

 she would rush to the front door, barking vociferously until 

 Dick came out to see what was up. Then the Duchess 

 trotted cjuietly back to the sunbeam, and it would have 

 taken two fox-terriers and a host of possible beggars or 

 tramps to fool her out of the vantage ground. This did not 

 happen once, but many times, and the terrier never seemed 

 to grasp the situation. 



"THE DOG IN HEALTH AND IN DISEASE." 



This is the title of Dr. Wesley Mills's new work. In 

 this book the author explains that for the student or 

 breeder to form a correct idea of treatment in disease they 

 should have a knowledge of the dog in health, and to this 

 end he deals vpry extensively and minutely with the stand- 

 ards of the different breeds of dogs and explains all their 

 physiological characteristics. The standards of nearly 

 every breed of dog are given wdth intelligent explanations. 

 From this the author passes to the care and management of 

 dogs in health, breeding, rearing, and in fact everything 

 that pertains to the dog from puppyhood to old age. 



In describing the different diseases the dog is heir to, the 

 Doctor has treated the subject very elaborately, but at the 

 same time more with the view of it:^ being a "guide to the 

 breeder rather than the students of veterinary surgery. 



In glancing cursorily through the work there are several 

 points in which we would differ from the Doctor in general 

 treatment. On page 143 Dr. Mills says the bitch may be 

 washed the first week after whelping, but even "if all goes 

 well" we should say this is risky, especially with long- 

 haired dogs. In dealing with foster mothers the author 

 hardly lays sufficient stress on the foster mother being 

 healthy; attention should be drawn to the fact that she 

 must be free from mange a'nd distemper, and there should 

 be no risks of her carrying the contagion to the latter. 

 There is no mention made of cats as foster mothers. They 

 are very useful, especially for the smaller breeds of dogs. 

 Attention should also be drawn to the fact that the fester's 



JUDGE, REPORTER, EDITOR. SUPERINTENDENT 



EcUtor Forest and SWeam: 

 "And still the wonder grew that one small head could 

 carry all he knew." 



The quotation rises unbidden to the 

 lips as we regard the fourfold combi- 

 nation in our title and see one fallible 

 mortal attempt to fill all these oflices. 

 There is much discu.ssion now in the 

 papers anent shows, so it may be a 

 good time to toucli on what is a 

 veritable abuse of office, an anomaly, 

 almost an impossibility. 



The judge's work needs no detailed 

 explanation. His reasonable knowl 

 edge of the classes under his charge is 

 a foregone conclusion — or should be. 

 The reporter's province is simple, if he 

 will let it be what it should, but he 

 is apt to complicate it by acting critic 

 alsn, and in place of giving us an intel- 

 ligible account of the awards, and de- 

 scription of the dogs and their sur- 

 roundings, he makes himself a judge 

 of the judges and stabs with his pen 

 their "mistake.s," knowledge of which 

 too often he gleans from disappointed 

 exhibitors or interested spectators. 



How else should the reporter know 

 them unletis he be a man learned in 

 all classes of dogs, thoroughly posted 

 on "points" of the possible forty nreeds 

 represented at a large show? By the 

 time he has accumulated all that knowl- 

 edge his span of life must have .stretched 

 info one longer than that usually rep- 

 resented by the brisk knights of the pen 

 whom we see about the judging rings. 



But never mind knowledge, let us be 

 critics, say they; so the confiding public 

 is bewildered to learn that the beau- 

 teous bulldogs it has admired as first 

 prize winners are unworthy of notice 

 and that quite the worst pointers have 

 been given the best places. If Cato is 

 present in the catalogue, though absent 

 from the exhibition, it sometimes bap- 

 pens to that happy canine to be de- 

 scribed and criticised all the same, 

 while the catchy word, the meaning- 

 less phrase, does duty repeatedly, until 

 we wonder why "well-defined" applies 

 to a St. Bernard's skull as well as to a 

 ring on a turtle's back or a limit of a 

 boundary fence. 



If the reporter has also acted as judge 

 it is hardly in human nature not to 

 exalt his own awards, if not to decry those of other judges. 

 When he is judge, reporter and editor altogether the climax 

 is reached and he must be a remarkable"""all-round" man 

 who can fairly, intelligently and ably conduct himself in 

 the affairs of each. 



To bo judge and superintendent at once demands the im- 

 possible and in the effort to achieve it disaster must ensue 

 somewhere. To perform two different sets of duties at the 

 same time, to be in two places at once, to do and itndo simul- 

 taneously, he must be more than mortal who succeeds in 

 this. 



The club so poor as not to afford a superintendent to 

 superintend and nothing else may presently find none so 

 poor as to do it reverence. 



Who points out failings should at least suggest a remedy, 

 Some aids to present ills maybe in having each judge write 

 his own report of his classes briefly, but explaining difficult 

 decisions as space allows, and noting good and bad points 

 for the instruction of the inquiring reader. Signed with 

 his name it carries the weight of the writer's character, 



That this adds to his labors is true, but it would be worth 

 its cost in many ways. Let the reporter report, and also 

 sign his articles, that the public may know of his knowledge 

 and write, or not write, him down a Dogberry. 



And when the critic sharpens his pen and attacks the 

 error or misjudgment that stirs his reason r'itherthan his 

 personal feeling, let him too name his own name, that his 

 criticism may stand in full strength, audit "offien.?e be took" 

 it may be in the right quarter. Obsekveb. 



The Sheffield (Eng.) show is said to have been a great suc- 

 cess. Many of the best known dogs were on hand." The en- 

 tries numbered 1.053,an increafie of 277 over the last show held 

 in the "Cutlery" town in 1885. Mr. James Mortimer was 

 present and we are pleased to hear that Mr. George Helle- 

 well, the well known and deservedly popular English judge, 

 had so far recovered from his severe illness as to take part in 

 the judging. Among the specials given was one for the 

 "fattest fox-terrier." This is a novelty and hardly one to 

 be encouraged. It waa won by a poor brute that cottld 

 scarcely toddle. 



