688 
FOREST AND STREAM 
May 31, 1913 
The Cocker Spaniel 
By WALTER H. DEARING 
This stroke is the reverse of the first one 
described. Commence the stroke by bending the 
body far back and throwing the elbows as far 
back as possible, keeping the body straight, chest 
well out in front and bending only at the hips 
as in the first method. 
Push the hands and bend the body forward, 
at the same time exhaling the air from the 
lungs. This of course is done with the oars in 
the water. Return to the first position with the 
oars out of the water, and while doing so com¬ 
pletely fill the Jungs with air. 
Always remember to keep the chest well 
out in front and the shoulders and hips back, 
bending only at the hips. 
When pushing the hands forward, press the 
heels against a rib of the boat or have a strap 
fastened to the bottom of the boat for the heels 
to press against. This exercises the flexor mus¬ 
cles of the legs and materially helps in the row¬ 
ing. 
Do not forget the deep breathing. Breathe 
deep. Breathe deep at every stroke. 
The forward rowing should be varied in the 
same way as the backward rowing by alternating 
the strokes, pushing forward with one hand and 
pulling back with the other. 
Forward rowing strengthens the muscles of 
the abdomen, the extensor muscles of the arms 
and the pectoral muscles of the chest, muscles 
that ordinarily do not get as much exercise as 
most others. 
All these varieties of rowing, together with 
deep breathing which should always accompany 
them, bring into strong action nearly all the mus¬ 
cles of the body. By alternating the different 
strokes, one set of muscles is brought into action 
while another set is resting, thus enabling one 
to row a much longer distance without getting 
unduly fatigued. 
Beginners should be very careful not to over¬ 
do. Avoid much fatigue. As soon as you begin 
to feel tired, stop and take a complete rest. Too 
much exercise weakens the muscles instead of 
strengthening them, and also poisons the system 
by generating poisons faster than the excretory 
organs can eliminate them. 
The best speed for rowing in connection with 
deep breathing is eighteen strokes per minute. 
As an aid to deep breathing in connection 
with rowing, until the habit is fully established, 
repeat mentally at each inhalation the word 
‘ breathe,” and at each exhalation the word 
“deep.” This keeps the attention fixed on the 
deep breathing and makes it more effective. 
The Paramount Need. 
My house needs paint, my wife needs clothes, 
My boy needs shoes. 
Among their needs, you may suppose, 
It’s hard to choose. 
No man could be in a worse strait 
Between two fires. 
I guess they all will have to wait; 
My car needs tires. 
—Louisville Courier-Journal. 
I’ve bought the shoes for the car, instead 
Of the boy, who’ll walk on nature’s tread— 
And now my pocket is shy every bean, 
They have raised the price of gasoline. 
Editor Forest and Stream. 
A CHANGE in environment has often been 
the cause of a corresponding change in 
the vocation of men, and the effect of a 
changed surrounding upon the life habits of a 
dog is apt to be equally salutary in its effects. 
The difference in the two cases lies in the fact 
that the transformation in the first instance is 
usually more or less voluntary, while in the sec¬ 
ond it is more often than not inflicted upon the 
subject, often very much against his will and 
the natural bent of his inclinations. 
That something of this nature has happened 
to our cheery chum, the cocker spaniel, during 
the past few years appears to be almost indis¬ 
putable, as he has practically been removed from 
his favorite occupation as a field dog, and com¬ 
pelled to consume most of his time about the 
house amusing his master with his funny little 
pranks and winning ways. The popularity he 
has attained as a show dog has practically re¬ 
moved him from his natural element in the 
field, and in this instance the natural beauty of 
his silken coat and great merit as a bench dog 
appears to have cost him dear. 
The relegation of the cocker to the rear in 
the world of sport has been as rapid as it has 
been seemingly unnecessary, and the fact that 
a strong effort is being made to bring this sporty 
little fellow into his own seems to indicate the 
fact that the owners and breeders of the dog 
are recognizing the fact that he is too valuable 
an acquisition to the sport of hunting to be over¬ 
looked, and are bent upon restoring him to his 
former standing as a gun dog. 
The reduction in the weight limit of the 
cocker has been the principal reason for his 
withdrawal from the field in America, and it 
is with keen regret that many admirers of the 
breed have seen their favorite hunting dog re¬ 
duced in size through the enforcement of the 
twenty-five-pound limit decree which has neces¬ 
sarily produced a breed of dog averaging a trifle 
over twenty-one pounds. That even this more 
or less Draconic ruling has failed to eliminate 
the cocker from his natural calling is shown in 
the fact that th.ere are still a considerable num¬ 
ber of sportsmen who are using him to the gun, 
and finding ample proof that he has lost none 
of his old-time cunning and still retains the same 
exquisite delicacy of scent and persistency of 
purpose that has made him famous in days gone 
by. In England and France he is still recog¬ 
nized as a sporting dog of great merit, and the 
success that has invariably attended the efforts 
of the spaniel clubs in these countries at their 
annual field trials is a matter of record. The 
reaction in feeling against the reduced weight 
limit appears to be well grounded, as a dog of 
twenty-one pounds is hardly heavy enough to 
stand the wear and tear of swamp and field, and 
a return to a standard more nearly approximat¬ 
ing the one adopted by the American Spaniel 
Club (eighteen to twenty-eight pounds) years 
ago would seem to be in order. This standard 
met with universal approval at the time of its 
adoption. Many of the English breeders favored 
the American standard, although the recognized 
limit in England at that time was eighteen to 
twenty-five pounds. In former years all field 
spaniels were classified under the same heading, 
the only distinction made being that of weight. It 
is a notable fact that a very large portion of the 
prizes were carried off by the miniature spaniels, 
which would seem to indicate that the cocker 
