 Section 14 of the American Book of the Dog. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org, recording by Tom Mack, Tucson, Arizona. The American Book of the Dog, G.O. Shields Editor, Section 14, The Beagle Hound by Herman F. Schleuhass, Pius H. Through a mirey swamp and wooded veil, the beagles run the cottontail. The hounds give tongue, the welkin rings. Tis music fit for lords or kings. The beagle is undoubtedly one of the oldest breeds of dogs in existence. As in the case of most of the old breeds, its origin is unknown. In examining the various prominent works on the dog, we find frequent reference to the beagle during the times of George IV and Queen Elizabeth. And in one instance at least, Shakespeare mentions it. This breed is also spoken of in the Sportsman's Cabinet, an old English work published in 1803, and in other old works. And from the descriptions there, given it seems to have been in form and character, the same as it is today. While, as remarked, the origin of the breed is lost in obscurity, it was unquestionably derived by selection and evolved from the ordinary foxhound, the latter having been bred down until the desired size was obtained. The true beagle is, as designated in the standard, a miniature foxhound. Of all the breeds of field dogs used in this country, the beagle, the most musical of the hound family, has unquestionably advanced the most in favor and standing with the Sportsman. This is partly owing to the fact that comparatively few of our Sportsman had seen him at home on the trail of a rabbit, as we commonly call our hares, and as a result his good qualities and value as a field companion were unknown, and consequently could not be appreciated. His having advanced so fast of late in favor and appreciation is partly due to the natural order of events, in that as certain parts of the country become thickly settled, and the feathered game exterminated, lovers of field sports, who have here to forth devoted their time in the field to bird shooting over setters, pointers and spaniels, finding the game so nearly exterminated as to destroy the pleasure of seeking it, discard their bird dogs in favor of the beagle, for so prolific is the natural game of this hound, the rabbit and hare, that even in the immediate vicinity of the largest cities, one can usually find enough of it to furnish a joyous day's sport of field. The writer can cite several instances where, as stated above, the bird dogs have been discarded and a small pack of beagles taken in their place, for the reasons advanced. He also knows of a place nearly in the heart of the city of Brooklyn where some wild hares have found their way and located. He can name several spots within a half hour's walk of the above mentioned place, where hares are to be found and where by not hunting them with the gun, but by merely listening to the music of the hounds, he has been able to employ many an hour's sport and to break in his young puppies as at Dewey Eve. He has sat, watched and listened to them with their musically clear and flute-like notes and with ears that sweep away the evening dew and voices matched like bells, they trailed the little cotton tails. It is but a few years since any nondescript mongrel that would run a rabbit was called a beagle, and when we speak of rabbit dogs, we have to admit that, popularly considered, that includes all the small mongrel dogs in existence, whose owners imagine or have been told, will trail a hare. While, as remarked above, the beagle is an old breed, it cannot be said that, except in a few instances, we have bred this hound in our country systematically until within the last few years. The lamented late General Richard Rowett, a number of years ago, developed a strain so well and favorably known, both for their field and show qualities, that they came to be generally known as the Rowett Hound. The imported hounds, Sam, Dolly, and Warrior, were to the Rowett hounds what Ponto, Maul, and Pilot were to the famous Lavorac Setters, the foundation of the strain. Mr. N. Elmore, a number of years ago, also imported several good beagles, including his famous Ringwood, now dead, from which he bred many of our most prominent hounds. These two strains together with some other blood, to which Mr. Pottinger Dorsey has bred, form the nucleus of the blood we have in our beagle. It remained, however, for the American Beagle Club, formerly the American English Beagle Club, organized in 1884, to create an impetus among the admirers of the breed, and bring the merits of the little hound before such of the sportsman, as we're not aware of its value. Several of our most prominent beagle breeders met and formed the above-named club. A committee was appointed to draft a standard. Bent shows were requested to provide suitable classes where previously only one or two, and perhaps no classes at all, had been assigned the breed. Special prizes were offered by the club to stimulate competition, and show managers were requested to appoint as judges men who were especially interested in the breed, rather than men who perhaps had never seen a beagle at work, and consequently could not know from a practical standpoint what is required of one to make it an ideal working hound. The result is that the different shows have adopted the standard of the said club, invites its members to judge, and where the entries at the principal shows had previously consisted of one or two mediocre specimens, and perhaps as many nondescripts under the plea that they were rabbit dogs. The quality of the classes is now on fully as high a plane as that of any of the other breeds of field dogs exhibited, and our breeders are now breeding them as carefully and as true to type as any other breed of field dogs is bred. The entries at the prominent shows now number in the 30s and 40s, where formerly all types and sizes were represented, the classes now exhibit an evenness here to fore on scene. The scene at the Westminster Kennel Club New York show in 1888, when the open dog class of beagles was being judged, was such that it will not soon be forgotten by the writer, nor many other fanciers of the beagle who witnessed it. The class consisted of some fifteen or more hounds, every one of them I believe worthy of mention, and all of them hounds which a few years since would have been capable of winning first prizes or championship honors at any of our shows. They exhibited such a marked similarity of type and size that remarked to my friend Mr. S. T. Hammond while looking them over that one might well suppose they were representatives of a single pack which had been selected by their owner to represent his type, whereas the hounds present represented drafts from several different kennels. The manner in which they appeared is as vivid in the mind of the writer as though the scene was occurring at the present instant so fascinating was it. It was indeed a beautiful sight and one long to be remembered, as handsome a pack of beagles has ever graced a show ring, all of working size, and all looking as though thoroughbred workers and fielders, all showing as beautiful hound character as any pack of fox hounds could, in fact they looked and carried themselves like a pack of miniature fox hounds. Such is the style of the beagle one meets nowadays at our shows and in kennels of admirers of the breed. In contrast to the beagles of all sizes and types found a few years since in our shows and kennels. Several of our prominent sportsmen here in the east have packs of various sizes, while a large number have one or more hounds. To show how wonderfully the beagle has increased in popular favor with us during the last few years, it is only necessary to say that the writer has during the past four years collected a list of some 900 names of individuals owning beagles. Here follows approximately two and a half pages of the names of breeders and kennels and owners who were prominent at the time of the writing of this book. The writer also prides himself in his own kennel in which he usually has eight or ten or more beagles. It is scarcely possible to bestow too much praise on this little hound which has advanced more in popularity during the last few years among sportsmen in this country than has any other breed of field dogs. This is the natural result of our sportsmen becoming familiar by degrees with the value of this hound for field purposes. As civilization encroaches upon the haunts of the fox and the deer, causing them to decrease in numbers, sportsmen who have here to for hunted them with large hounds discover that as this game grows scarce it is better hunted with the beagle. Colonel F. G. Skinner, then whom no more ardent sportsman or hound man is to be found among us, always advocates the beagle in preference to fox or other hounds for foxes and deer in sections where they are scarce or are hunted to the gun. And for foxes when hunted with the gun as in the Northern and New England states, this is owing to the fact that not being so fast as larger hounds, they give better opportunity for shots. And particularly where the game is scarce, they do not frighten it so as to drive it far away to remain perhaps for days as the larger hounds do. Dr. Downey of Maryland and his friends always use their beagles in preference to larger hounds when they go on their annual deer hunt to West Virginia. Thus it will be seen that the beagle is not only growing in popularity as we become more intimately acquainted with his value, but it is also in the natural order of events for him to grow in favor with us as game becomes scarcer. Although the beagle is too slow for fox hunting in some parts of the country as for instance in the South, it is also used with success for that sport and preferred by many to a larger hound in localities where the foxes are hunted to the gun for reasons herein later explained. The writer was some time ago informed by an acquaintance residing in Virginia that in order to satisfy some friends of the ability of his beagles to kill a red fox he took his pack of hounds under 15 inches in height with an old foxhound to start them on the trail and soon started a fox. Being stationed himself on a hill he was able to watch the entire hunt and after a run of several hours the beagles caught and killed the fox while the old foxhound was not in at the death. I cite this instance because many claim that the beagle would be entirely useless in a foxhunt. The beagle is also used for hunting the large white hare Lepus virginianus which abounds in some parts of this country. A friend of the writer residing in Rhode Island who has one of the largest and best packs of beagles in the country hunted these hares with his pack last winter but says that while the sport is exciting it is not so much so as hunting the ordinary cottontail. Lepus americanus this is for the reason that the large hare circles much farther off than the latter running off in miles before returning and consequently taking the hounds a greater part of the time out of the hearing and sight of the hunters. Anyone residing in any of our large cities can if he have a sufficient amount of the instincts of the back woodsmen to make him worthy of the name of a sportsman find spots by prospecting as it were where he can almost any day take his beagles and give them a chance to do some trailing. If such persons will do as the writer does and not shoot these hares or allow their hounds to kill them but look upon them in the light of prized jewels they can have many an hours sport at dusk or after business hours with their beagles. The writer recently had marked down a small patch of woods within 50 minutes walk of his home which had a solitary hare in it nearly the entire season and which has afforded many an hours sport for him and his beagles. A few such hares carefully protected may afford sport for a whole season. While the customary way of hunting the hare with beagles is for the sportsman to stand at runways or likely places where the hare will come when brought round by the hounds and shoot it as it passes others again do not use the gun at all but let the hounds run the hare down and kill it. The beagle is the superior of the basset in that it can get over a rough country much easier and is not so extremely slow as the latter and being a smaller dog does not require the room or amount of food that the latter does. The same amount of room and cooking the latter no small item as far as inconvenience, work and expense are concerned that will keep a couple of foxhounds will easily keep five or six beagles where one has several hounds the latter points are of no little importance it will readily be seen that the beagle is undoubtedly the best general utility hound we have. While it is beyond the means of the average American sportsman to keep a large kennel of bird dogs and have them all broken as they should be it is but comparatively little expense to keep a pack of beagles all broken for field use. In some portions of this country particularly the south as well as in England large packs of beagles are to be found owned and maintained by sportsmen for their private enjoyment. One of the greatest pleasures of the practical sportsman is in showing himself a practical breeder for to possess the knowledge and ability to become such is no small honor. To do this one must have at least several dogs of the breed he is interested in in his kennel and as remarked above if he have such a kennel he has use for all his stock in the field. The amount of pleasure derived from his kennel by the rider is in proportion to the number of dogs or hounds in it and few sportsmen care to have in their kennel more dogs than they have use for. This as I say illustrates the advantage of ones being partial to hounds. Outside of his qualities as a field dog the beagle is a desirable house companion not over large short-coded and affectionate he is a most desirable and lovable companion. If educated to it he is an excellent watch dog. In my kennel I have always found them exceptionally quiet and peaceable. I have always allowed them to remain loose and sleep as they liked. Half a dozen or more in one bed and they were invariably quiet and friendly to one another while my neighbors setters pointers and other dogs are constantly noisy and frequently quarrelsome. It is claimed by some people who are not fully acquainted with their good qualities that hounds are lacking in affection and are given to fighting. As regards the beagle I am pleased to state that such is not the case. They are fully as affectionate and companionable as my setters spaniels or pointers. As I now write my chair is surrounded by several of these little hounds comfortably stretched out and repose. Every few moments one or another gets up places its feet on my lap and gazes at me pleadingly as it mutely seeks a kind word or slyly posts its nose against my elbow as a more efficacious way of attracting attention as some of the singular looking hieroglyphics on the manuscript will allow the printer to attest. At the same time another one jealous of the attention shown to the former is sure to come forward and endeavor to push the other one away in order to have all the attention shown itself and thus throughout the evening they are constantly making their presence known. My melody lies nestled beside me always insisting on her right to a place while I am constantly compelled to help the other hounds including trailer, riot, music, trinket, and others down time and time again as they claim their right to my attention. As for fighting while I have known setters to kill one another in a fight in their kennel I have never known of a single instance where my beagles have fought among themselves although they run together all day and sleep together in their kennel at night unchained. As to breeding is generally believed by beagle fanciers that the progeny usually have a tendency to grow larger than their dam. It is therefore considered advisable to breed to a dam smaller than the sire and smaller than the size it is desired to obtain in the progeny. Generally speaking, require but little training to make them good workers. They take to their work naturally and if given plenty of patience on game while young they will with experience become self-trained. If kept in the country where they may run loose and roam about by themselves as they grow up they are liable to wander off from their kennel and to hunt on their own account. They soon become accustomed to the ways and tricks of the bunny and learn to follow and circumvent him. If you do not let your puppies run loose but wish to train them yourself you may take them out with one or two steady well-trained old hounds and the youngsters will soon learn to follow and imitate them. Go out if possible about daylight or dusk when the dew is falling then you are more apt to find the hairs moving and as a result warmer trails will then be found then at other times. I lead my puppies to a spot where I think I will be most likely to find the hairs and then quietly take as comfortable a seat as I can find on a stump or fence rail or elsewhere and leave the puppies to their own resources. Being thus assured that you have no intention of moving away and not having their thoughts drawn from what is instinctively bred in them namely the desire to hunt they will devote their whole attention to the finding of game when thus giving the puppies their first experience allow the older hounds to catch and kill the hair as an incentive to the youngers to hunt more ambitiously for the next one. After taking your puppies out thus with a good working old dog a few times they will take readily to the work and will soon develop into efficient workers. It is believed by some breeders of beagles that they are more subject to worms than most breeds my experience have been that they almost invariably have them last year I bred and raised what was probably without exception the smallest grown beagle in this country it's standing in height only about 7 to 8 inches and weighing about 4 pounds this beagle was proportionally small before weaning when some 8 weeks old and before weaned it passed several large bunches of worms and nearly all the puppies I have ever raised have been afflicted with these pests I have always considered sentinine to be the most efficacious and at the same time the safest remedy for worms and puppies my motive administering it is to give a dose each morning a short time before feeding for 5 days dose for a puppy say 10 weeks old 2 grains it may be given in about a teaspoon fill of milk or in a little butter the former is more convenient and the puppy usually is more sure of swallowing the sentinine after the last dose I give a physique composed of about 1 teaspoon full of castor oil the same amount of syrup not extract of buckthorn with 2 or 3 drops of turpentine added it must be borne in mind that any treatment for worms is useless unless the medicine be administered on an empty stomach the plan being to have the worms feed on the drug which is poisonous to them regarding preparing beagles for the bench it should be remembered that as the standard calls for a course instead of fine coating texture the novice should not endeavor to get the coat as is done with most other breeds in as fine a condition as possible one of the characteristic faults of beagles is their tendency to being too slack in loin therefore if your hound is a newly slack in loin do not have it too low in flesh it would in such a case be better to have it over full in flesh the former condition aggravates in appearance the fault mentioned while the latter tends to cover it up I predict that as the worth of the beagle becomes better and more widely known and appreciated and as the natural order of events causes him to become the field dog best adapted to the circumstances that are sure to exist particularly in the southern localities of the east and the north he will grow greater in popular favor than any of the other breeds of field dogs as the ruffled grouse or partridge the woodcock bob white and the various other game birds become practically exterminated as they do in those parts of the country which become thickly settled our sportsmen find themselves compelled to go hundreds and even thousands of miles to find the amount of good shooting they had previously been accustomed to enjoy this requires a longer purse and a greater amount of leisure than the great majority of them possess and consequently they have to adapt themselves to the circumstances and either forego their sport or seek game which is not as great an antipathy to civilization thick settlements and man as our game birds have the eastern sportsmen will therefore in future have recourse to our little short-legged long-eared friend and will enjoy his outing just as well as erstwhile he did when his setter or pointer led him through the fields in selecting a beagle for field use one should of course look to those points of the most practical value probably the first matter to be considered is the question of size this of course the buyer must decide for himself whether he be governed by experience, fancy or the advice of others next to the question of size he should bear in mind that quality more important than speed endurance in order to obviate two great speed in a beagle the standard limits of size of them in height to 15 inches as in hunting the natural game of the beagle, the hare only a low rate of speed is desired and when using the beagle for fox and deer hunting the object partly is to avoid the greater speed of the fox hound or deer hound the weak points in the beagle which seem to be characteristic of the breed but which should be overcome by judicious mating and breeding are an inclination to snippiness and to being long cast in the loin the ideal beagle cannot be better described than by quoting from the standard a miniature fox hound solid and big for his inches with the wear and tear look of the dog that can last in the chase and follow his quarry to the death it is needless to say that a short or at least a strong loin is of far more importance in a hound than in a bird dog from the nature of his calling as stated above fully as important a point is the one of selecting a hound having good legs and feet this is very important point in a bird dog and much more so in a hound a beagle should be selected having well arched toes and the same close together with good hard pads underneath a foot after the model of a cat's foot is to be preferred to what is known as a hare foot so called from similarity to the foot of a hare in noting a beagle's feet and legs is also very important to get a good short and upright pasturn as the same is much stronger and can stand much more wear and tear than a long or sloping one besides the latter is usually indicative of a hare foot or more properly speaking a hare foot from its shape causes the pasturn to slope and be comparatively long in a setter or pointer a sloping pasturn is desired to avoid the great strain upon it in suddenly stopping on a point and which strain on a straight pasturn would cause the same to knuckle over but in a hound the short straight pasturn is greatly to be preferred as far stronger and more enduring the hound from the nature of his work not needing to subject himself to such a strain as mentioned regarding the bird dog next in importance I should consider a good coat which is coarse and of good length this is the most important factor as from the nature of his work the beagle is compelled to hunt almost entirely in the thickest of underbrush which unless he be well coated will tear his skin and flesh in a cruel manner and though he possesses the grit and pluck which causes him to apparently not mind it while keeping to his work the poor faithful servant suffers for days until he recovers and in the meantime is in no condition to hunt his desire to him to show how thoroughly and comb-like the briars and brush work through a beagle's coat in ordinary hunting one needs but to notice any beagle with a fair amount of white on him when he starts out to hunt and no matter how dirty and soiled his coat may be it requires but a short hunt to make his coat look as neat and clean as though he had a thorough washing when hunting I am often practically convinced my friends of the same using as an illustration a certain hound this dog which has a good deal of white on him keeps his coat always dirty after hunting some little time he will have the appearance of having just been washed I recently received a letter from a gentleman a stranger who had a short time previously become interested in beagles he informed me that he had theories of his own in regard to breeding why he thought he could breed a beagle for practical use and at the same time have it show more beauty points than the beagle bred to the standard of the American Beagle Club as given herein he wanted a short fine silky coat and asked for my views in the matter regarding a coat I gave them practically as above stated a short time afterward I received another letter from him from which I quote verbatim for the benefit of any such as maybe inclined as he was Dear sir, I thank you very much for your extended reply to my suggestion about breeding beagles a little finer my notion was that they could be bred to look more stylish without detracting from their field qualities but I have no more to say a hunt I had yesterday demonstrated the absolute correctness of the present standard I think I shall have to tell you of it an old hunting friend of mine here in Maryland has a strain of beagles he is very proud of and we had a pair of them one rough coated fellow and a pair of year old youngsters hardly broken he says his are scotch beagles whatever that may be they are very small say six pounds each and have fine short hair and their skin little beauties to look at in an open country they do very well yesterday we were on one of my father's farms near the river which is full of briar patches and briary thickets the rabbits are plentiful but the little scotch men were literally worthless in an hour they were caught up and came to heal absolutely refusing to work the one with a dense coat and a brush on his tail followed by the brace of puppies had to do all the hunting the rest of the day he dodged in and out of the briars without getting a mark while the blood from the rat-tailed brace made them look as if their throats had been cut here after I stand by the American Beagle Club standard my friend's faith was shaken and he wants a brush-tailed pedigree dog to try on his bishes as an experiment he lives in a better cultivated end of the country and had not tried as much in briars before since the briar farms are the natural refuge of the rabbits and afford the best sport he sees that a tougher hound is more useful the day's experience was so exactly a corroboration of your letter I quite enjoy giving it to you very truly end quote also to avoid having your Beagle cut up more than can be avoided it is well to select one having a low and well set ear and as called for by the standard quote closely framing and interned to the cheek close quote the best hung ears will spread out considerably when the hound is running and a poorly hung and high set one will be greatly exposed to all the briars within reach do not merely have in mind an ear of great length the shape of the nose or muzzle is of course no positive indication of the senting powers of its possessor but it is well to always choose the hound having a wide muzzle and good and open moist nostrils the same usually be indicative of fine senting powers a more important factor in a hound for rabbit or hare hunting than any other I cannot say that I agree with the standard in preferring a full and prominent eye as called for for the same reason that a fine soft coat and exposed ear is not desired personally I prefer an eye somewhat protected and not as exposed as the one called for as my experience has taught me that too full and prominent an eye is easily injured while personally as far as beauty is concerned I admire a black and tan coat as giving a beagle decidedly the appearance of being a miniature fox hound I consider it desirable and prefer for work a hound having plenty of white on him as this enables one to readily see him at a distance beagles like other hounds are not specially obedient as to coming in when called particularly when there appear any prospects of soon getting started on a warm trail and one can often locate his hounds if they possess a fair amount of white when otherwise they could not be seen and one can then get them if desired when otherwise he could not as I stated above the question of size is one on which there is a diversity of opinion I shall not argue the question here or give my views either for or against the large or small beagle but will say for the benefit of the novice or inexperienced who may contemplate purchasing beagles that it is usually a safe method when lacking practical knowledge or experience to be governed by the choice of what the majority would prefer or select the great majority of our practical beagle men who use their beagles for field purposes such as the late General Rowett Pottinger Dorsey FC Phoebus of the Somerset Kennels A. H. Wakefield Lewis Smith Dr. C. E. Nichols W. F. Rutter W. S. Clark George Lake and others prefer what is comparatively speaking the large beagle by that is commonly meant a beagle close in height to the limit allowed by the American Beagle Club standard 15 inches the writer himself prefers this last mention type of hound and contends that where a hound of a certain speed is desired it is preferable to obtain it in a comparatively large hound than in a smaller one as the former necessarily will be built more on the lines of endurance than those of speed while the latter will be built more on the lines of speed than endurance and while the desired speed is obtained in either the former will combine it with the greater endurance and staying powers a most important requisite in a hound thus if a 12 inch and 15 inch hound are bred to hunt at about a certain pace the latter must be a hound of more substance and bottom than the former or it will be the speedier and as a result while it has the desired speed it also combines the power to hunt longer than the former standards and points of judging the beagle skull value 5 ears 15 eyes 10 lips 5 neck 5 shoulders and chest 10 back and loins 15 ribs 5 4 legs and feet 10 hips, thighs and hind legs 10 tail 5 coat 5 total 100 points standard and scale of points adopted by the American Beagle Club and endorsed by all the leading shows head the skull should be moderately domed at the occupant with the cranium broad and full the ears set on low long and fine in texture the forward or front edge closely framing and in turned to the cheek rather broad and rounded at the tips with an almost entire absence of erectile power at their origin the eyes full and prominent rather wide soft and lustrous brown or hazel in color the orbital process is well developed the expression gentle, subdued and pleading the muzzle of medium length squarely cut the stop well defined the jaws should be level lips either free from or with moderate flues nostrils large, moist and open the flat skull narrow across the top of the head absence of dome ears short set on too high or when the dog is excited rising above the line of the skull at their points of origin due to an excess of erectile power ears pointed at tips thick or horny in substance or carried out from cheek showing a space between eyes of a light or yellow color muzzle long and snippy pig jaws or the reverse known as undershot lips showing deep pendulous flues disqualifications eyes close together small, beady and terrier like neck and throat neck rising free and light from the shoulders strong in substance yet not loaded of medium length the throat clean and free from folds of skin a slight wrinkle below the angle of the jaw however may be allowable defects a thick short clotty neck carried on a line with the top of the shoulder throat showing do lap and folds of skin to a degree termed throatiness shoulders and chest shoulders somewhat declining muscular but not loaded conveying the idea of freedom of action with lightness activity and strength chest moderately broad and full defects upright shoulders and a disproportionately wide chest back loin and ribs back short muscular and strong loin broad and slightly arched and the ribs well sprung giving abundant lung room defects along or swayed back a flat narrow loin or a flat constricted rib four legs and feet four legs straight with plenty of bone feet close firm and either round or hair like in form defects out at elbows knees knuckled over or forward or bent backward feet open and spreading hips thighs hind legs and feet hips strongly muscled giving abundant propelling power stiffles strong and well let down hawks firm symmetrical and moderately bent feet close and firm defects cow hawks and open feet tail the tail should be carried gaily well up and with medium curb rather short as compared with the size of the dog and closed with a decided brush defects a long tail with a teapot curve disqualifications a thinly haired radish tail with entire absence of brush coat moderately coarse in texture and of good length disqualifications a short close and nappy coat height the meaning of the term beagle a word of Celtic origin and in old English begel is small little the dog was so named from his diminutive size your committee therefore for the sake of consistency and that the beagle shall be in fact what his name implies strongly recommend that the height line shall be sharply drawn at 15 inches and that all dogs exceeding that height shall be dis qualified as overgrown and outside the pale of recognition color all hound colors are admissible perhaps the most popular is black white and tan next in order is the lemon white the blue and lemon models then follow the solid colors such as black and tan tan lemon etc this arrangement is of course arbitrary the question being one governed entirely by fancy the colors first named form the most lively contrast and blend better in the pack the solid colors being somber and monotonous to the eye it is not intended to give a point value to color in the scale for judging as before said all true hound colors are correct the foregoing remarks on the subject are therefore simply suggestive general appearance a miniature fox hound solid and big for his inches with the wear and tear look of the dog that can last in the chase and follow his quarry to the death note dogs possessing such serious faults as are enumerated under the heading of dis qualifications are under the grave suspicion of being of impure blood under the heading of defects objectionable features are indicated such departures from the standard not however impugning the purity of the breeding in this standard it will be observed that the head is scored 35 points which is the same number allowed for the body in the standards for the various breeds of bird dogs it has been deemed proper by all breeders to allow a much less number of points for the head than for the body as certainly a good body is of much greater importance in assisting a dog to be a good or successful hunter than a correspondingly typical head is in the hound the difference of importance between the head and the body should be more marked as not only from the nature of his work does a hound rely on his natural instinct to and kill his game and not require the mental faculties necessary in a bird dog but it is of more importance that his running and staying powers should be superior as his work admits no rest or let up until the game is captured I do not mean to convey the impression that I do not consider a typical head of importance as in no breed more than a beagle does the head give character to the dog and no one can admire hound character in a beagle more than I do I further claim that in assigning the numerical value of points in the standard symmetry should be considered and allotted a certain number of points the same is illustrated in the fact that there were two hounds to be taken and scored both scoring the same number of points and one hound should happen to be very nicely and symmetrically built and the other out of proportion say for instance short on the four legs and long in the loin the former would be undoubtedly selected even if scoring a point or two less than the latter as it would be evident as far as appearances went that the former would be able to stand more work while the sentiments expressed in the foregoing article are those of the writer individually I may add that they are the same as have appeared in former articles by myself and which I have submitted to several of our most prominent practical authorities on the breed and they tell me they are practically the views held by themselves end of section 14 recording by Tom Mack for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org the American book of the dog G.O. Shields editor section 15 the Irish Water Spaniel by P.T. Madison one of the greatest if not the greatest retrievers of which we have any knowledge is the Irish Water Spaniel especially as this true of the species from the south of Ireland the breed consists of two distinct varieties peculiar to the north and south of Ireland the northern dog has short ears with little feather either on them or on the legs but with a considerable curl in his coat in color he is generally liver but with more or less white which sometimes predominates so as to make him decidedly white and liver the south country Irish Water Spaniel is on the contrary invariably of a pure liver color ears long and well feathered being often 24 inches from point to point and the whole coat consisting of short crisp curls body long low and strong tail round and carried slightly down but straight without any feather almost all the importations to America are from the latter named species the importers and breeders of America have endeavored to keep the breed pure and through their efforts this country can now boast of as fine specimens as can be found anywhere in the world the writer has in his kennel a dog now three years old by Count Bendingo out of foam which is pronounced by persons well posted on this breed a typical specimen therefore in the absence of anything better I will use the measurements of this dog in giving a description of my ideal of the breed height 24 inches at the shoulder weight 55 pounds head capacious forehead prominent face from eyes and ears down perfectly smooth ears 21 inches from point to point of leather and 25 inches from point to point of feather the head is crowned with a well defined top knot which stands erect and is not struggling across like that of the common rough water dog but comes down in a peak on the forehead giving the head and face much of the appearance of a merino sheep his body is covered with small crisp curls which extend along the tail about three inches from there to the sting the tail is smooth his color is pure liver the standard as adopted by the English Spaniel Club here and after given meets my approval except as to the top knot which in my judgment should not fall over the eyes but should stand erect Mr. J. S. Skidmore a noted English breeder of Irish Water Spaniels pays this well-deserved tribute to the good qualities of the breed to a sportsman of limited means or one who is not prepared to keep a team of dogs the Irish Water Spaniel is the most useful dog he can have in as much as he can be made to perform the duties of pointer, setter, retriever and spaniel but as his name implies he is peculiarly fitted by temperament and by a water-resisting coat for the arduous duties required by a sportsman whose proclivities lie in the direction of wild fowl shooting in this branch of sport they have no equal being able to stand any amount of hardship this combined with an indomitable spirit leads them into deeds of daring from which many dogs would shrink many are the feats recorded of their pluck, sagacity and intelligence for a well-bred and trained specimen no sea is too rough no pier too high and no water too cold even if you have to break the ice at every step he is not discouraged and day after day will repeat the arduous task as a companion for a lady or gentleman the Irish Water Spaniel has no equal while a well-behaved dog of the breed is worth a whole mint of toys to the children he will allow the little ones to pull him about by the ears will roll over and over with them will fetch their balls as often as thrown for him and will act as their guard in times of danger so good an authority as Mr. J. H. Whitman of Chicago says I have no hesitation in saying to the sportsman who desires a really first-class retriever for wild fowls that there is none superior if equal to the Irish Water Spaniel for retrieving ducks, brant, geese, etc from land or water I never saw a dog that seemed to enter into the sport with more zeal and on whom cold water had so little effect I have seen them retrieve ducks when ice would form on their coats reaching shore still they were always ready to go I never saw more intelligence in any breed of dogs they can be taught tricks as easily as a poodle they soon learn that a duck shot dead and falling in the water can be retrieved at any time and where two are dropped one dead and one wounded the Irish Water Spaniel invariably goes for the wounded one first there is no dog that is so natural a retriever or so easily broken as the pure Irish Water Spaniel I would advise parties owning one of these dogs that they expect to use as a retriever on game not to teach him any tricks as I have always observed that a trick dog was good for nothing else in training the Irish Water Spaniel for shooting purposes you should first instill into his mind obedience and when that is fully accomplished your dog is broken as it is as natural for him to retrieve from land or water as it is or a pointer or setter to point I have my dog broken to go as soon as the shot is fired in this way I lose few if any wounded birds while on the contrary if the dog is broken to drop to shot your wounded duck or snipe often gets away before the dog is ordered on in quail shooting a dog is trained to drop to shot because other birds often remain within shooting distance after the gun has been fired and if the dog were allowed to break shot he would likely flush many of them while your gun was empty as all ducks and snipes take wing as soon as they hear the report of a gun you run no such chances in that class of shooting hence in order that you may secure all your wounded birds I advise you to teach your Irish Water Spaniel to break shot on the subject of training the Irish Water Spaniel Mr. Whitman says commence if the puppy is precocious at three months old first throw a ball or roll of cloth or any soft substance calling his attention to it as it passes from your hand if he does not bring it the first time he may the second or third if he does not let him go for that time he is too young to force but we'll soon begin to understand what is wanted and perform more to your wish try him twice a day but not long at a time teach him to come to you when called at first he may not come put a cord round his neck or if he wears a collar attach cord to that now call him if he does not come pull him to you, pet him let him go and call him again come to you again with the cord by following this course he will soon learn that you are his master and will obey you now make him charge or lie down say charge, drop or any word you like but invariably use the same word and raise the hand as at first he neither understands the meaning of the word nor the uplifted hand you should take his four legs and pull them from under him with one hand while you press down his hind quarters with the other using at the same time the word at which you desire he should lie down when he will remain in the position in which you have placed him looking toward you raise the hand and repeat the word as often as he offers to move in a short time he will do this seemingly well but as this is a very important lesson continue it for days and weeks until he becomes so perfect that at your whistle or word of command he will look at you and drop instantly at uplifted hand many dogs want to come to you before they drop but insist on their dropping where they first get the signal to do so easy enough said but how shall it be done my way is to take the dog back to the place where he was ordered to charge walking backward from him with hand raised returning him to the spot from which he started every time until he remains as desired having taught him to do this well take a well trained dog out with him charge both the older one in the rear of the puppy walk away from them as before call the older one by name when he will come and undoubtedly the puppy will come too but he must be taken back until he is perfect in this the importance of this is should you be hunting with some friend whose dog is not well broken and runs in at the report of the gun your dog if so trained will not move even if he is passed by the other dog or you may see game to which you desire to creep you can then leave the dog behind you to teach him to follow at heal attach the cord to the puppy say heal carry your whip in hand when he attempts to get in front of you touch him lightly on the nose say at the same time heal another way is to couple him to a broken dog using the same means and word should he try to get ahead having taught him to retrieve anything you may throw for him when he can see it now throw it in high grass or weeds or in fact any place where he cannot see it and bid him fetch he will begin to look for it and unless you should find it at once you should encourage him to find it by if necessary going with him and follow you with it in his mouth it is better to do this with a bird say a pigeon or a duck as I have seen dogs that would bring a ball roll of cloth etc. well that at first would not touch a bird I prefer a bird with which to teach them to retrieve having now taught him to charge, retrieve, heal and come at whistle you should take him to some stream where the water is not too deep to start with throwing into the water the object he is in the habit of retrieving on land and sending him for it I have not seen one puppy that would not go for it at once especially if the water were warm it is better to teach the puppy this work in the summer or early fall before the weather is too cold your dog is now ready for a lesson in duck shooting get on some point of land where birds pass and shoot one having it fall as near shore as possible send him for it and encourage him if he brings it nicely you should endeavor to have him watch birds as they fly past it will soon teach him to watch them as they fall and mark well the spot so he can go direct to them I would advise you to accustom him to the sound of the gun from his youth until you begin to work him on game commencing with percussion caps or a small charge of powder, no shot when he shows that for him the report of a gun has no terror you are all right he will not be gun shy if he is a little timid don't despair for he finding he is not hurt by the report if properly handled will come out all right if you go with him in boat have him charge and do not allow him to rise until ordered if he will not mind promptly the word charge tie a rope across the boat from rollock to rollock and fasten him in center so that he cannot get out now shoot if possible some ducks while he is so confined when the gun is fired should he attempt to move say charge and compel him to go down promptly repeat this until he is perfect and not attempting to leave the boat until ordered he must be kept in strict obedience do not allow him to disobey without correcting him at once in your order to secure the game don't forget you have a dog for that purpose I have never seen the weather or water too cold for my dog to take great pleasure apparently in his work I have worked him from early morning to late at night in slush ice and he would not suffer in the least the undercoat of this breed is similar to that of the beaver on muskrat and is saturated with an oily substance that almost literally protects them from wet and cold to fully appreciate the pleasure of duck and snipe shooting the sportsman should have a well broken irish water spaniel I would take just as much pleasure in quail shooting without my setter or pointer as I would in duck or snipe shooting without my retriever I predict for the irish water spaniel a bright future as he has only to be known to be appreciated and he is becoming better known every year this is a noble dog and should be developed to the greatest possible perfection and in order to stimulate effort in this direction I believe that a retriever club should be formed in America for the purpose of holding field trials on some of our numerous lakes, rivers or marshes to which all members of the retriever family should be eligible it would be as easy to formulate rules for the government of trials of this character as it was for the originators of field trials for pointers and setters to evolve their rules while our first efforts in this direction would doubtless be crude experience would soon teach us by bringing all the different breeds together we could in a short time determine which is best fitted to perform the various kinds of work one breed might be found far superior to another in working in open rough and large bodies of water while another would excel in the weeds and grasses of the marsh these questions can only be settled by actual competition and I am satisfied that great good would result from frequent trials as the breeders would take great pride in possessing a field trial winner and in the future would breed with the sole object of producing the best performers by this means the value of each breed would be greatly enhanced I can remember when $5 was a big price for a pointer or setter puppy and $25 an enormous price for a broken dog perfection in breeding brought about largely by field trials has enhanced the value of the setter and pointer so much that often we hear of a fine performer bringing a thousand dollars or more I hope to see a retriever club organize and will gladly assist in the good work I will devote as much of my time as I can spare from my business to organizing such a club, formulating rules and conducting trials the standard and scale of points of the Irish Water Spaniel are as follows positive points head and jaw 10 eyes 5, top knot 5 ears 10 neck 7.5 body 7.5 four legs 5, hind legs 5 feet 5 10, coat 15 general appearance 15 total 100 negative points cording or tags of dead or matted hair 20 moustache or poodle hair on cheek 10 length open or wooly coat 10 a natural sandy light coat 15 furnishing of tail more than halfway down to sting 5 setter feathering on legs 15 white patch on chest 15 total 90 disqualifications total absence of top knot a fully feathered tail any white patch on any part of dog except a small one on chest or toe head capacious skull rather raised in dome and fairly wide showing large brain capacity the dome appears higher than it really is from its being surmounted by the crest or top knot which should grow down to a point between the eyes leaving the temple smooth highly intelligent amber colored dark is generally preferred nose dark liver colored rather large and well developed ears set on rather low in a full-sized specimen the leather should not be less than 18 inches and with feather about 24 inches the feather on the ear should be long abundant and wavy neck should be pointer like i.e. muscular slightly arched and not too long it should be strongly set on the shoulders body including size and symmetry height at shoulder from 20 to 24 inches according to sex and strain body fair sized round barrel shaped well ribbed up when wet would resemble in contour that of a sporting looking pointer shoulders and chest chest deep and not too narrow shoulders strong rather sloping and well covered with hard muscle back and loin back strong loins a trifle arched and powerful so as to fit them for the heavy work of beating through seji muddy sides of rivers hindquarters round and muscular and slightly drooping toward the set on of the stern stern a whiptail thick at base and tapering to a sting the hair on it should be short straight and close lying except for a few inches from its route where it gradually merges into the body coat in some short curls feet and legs four legs straight well boned they should be well furnished with wavy hair all round and down to the feet which should be large and round hind legs stifle long hawks at low they should be well furnished except from the hawk down the front coat neither woolly nor lank but should consist of short crisp curls right up to the stern top not should fall well over the eyes it and furnishing of ears should be abundant and wavy color dark rich liver or pews to be judged by its original color a sandy light coat is a defect total absence of white desirable any except a little on chest or a toe should disqualify general appearance that of a strong compact dashing looking dog with a quaint and very intelligent aspect the light rim around the eye objected to by some frequently adds much to their intelligent knowing expression they should not be so leggy as power and endurance are required of them in their work noisy and joyous went out for a spree but mute on game the following may be mentioned among the many prominent owners and breeders of Irish water spaniels in this country Charles L. Griffith 82 Front Street, New York City John R. Daniels 151 Ontario Street Cleveland, Ohio Hornell Harmony Kennels Hornellsville, New York Joseph Lewis Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania Milwaukee Kennel Club Milwaukee, Wisconsin Anderson and Kilpatrick 229 Park Avenue Chicago, Illinois C.B. Rhodes, Moberly, Missouri James Dell Hewitt 134 Second Street Milwaukee, Wisconsin George H. Hill Madeira, Ohio Dr. James F.W. Ross Toronto, Ontario J.H. Whitman Passenger Department Grand Trunk Railway, Chicago Andrew Laidlaw, Woodstock, Ontario Devinshire Kennels Attica, Indiana T. Donahue LaSalle, Illinois John D. Alcott Milwaukee, Wisconsin P. Tindolph Vincennes, Indiana C.H. Hampson, Denver, Colorado End of section 15 Section 16 of the American Book of the Dog This is a LibriVox recording All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Roger Maline The American Book of the Dog G.O. Shields Editor Section 16 The English Water Spaniel English Water Spaniel by William A. Bruett By many, the old English Water Spaniel is considered extinct. But this claim I cannot allow, for scattered throughout Great Britain as well as in a few instances in America are perfect specimens of the breed in the hands of sportsmen who know their true worth and who use them extensively in their private shooting. Were the good qualities of this dog better known they would be very popular among our inland duck shooters. The English Water Spaniel is historically older than the Irish and all writers on canine histiology since the 14th century have described him with more or less care. Dr. Kias says quote, the Water Spaniel is that kind of a dog whose service is required in fowling upon the water, partially through a natural towardness and partially by diligent teaching is in dude with that property. The sort is somewhat big and of a measurable greatness having long, rough and curled hair not obtained by extraordinary trades but given by nature's appointment end quote. In the gentlemen's recreation a similar description occurs in the sportsman's cabinet written about 1802 this dog is described as having the hair long and naturally curled not loose and shaggy and the engraving by Scott from a drawing by Rhinagale which accompanies the article represents a medium sized liver and white curly coated spaniel with the legs feathered but not curled. Uat in his book of the dog has a woodcut showing a similar type but says quote, the water spaniel was originally from Spain the pure breed has been lost and the present dog is probably descended from the large water dog and the English setter end quote. All authorities agree that the spaniel came originally from Spain but it is generally admitted that there none exist as imported without alteration by mixture with allied varieties. It is generally agreed that the English setter sprung from the land spaniel and very likely the dogs referred to by Uat were in greater part, if not all water spaniels. From the earliest times the English water spaniel is described as differing from the land spaniel Edmund de Langley in the Master of Game writes of the land spaniel quote, white and tawny in color and not rough coated, end quote whereas nearly all other writers describe the water spaniel as rough and curly coated but not shaggy. All the earlier writers speak of a large and small water spaniel and I can easily conceive that two houses would naturally result from the requirements of sportsmen living in different localities. The bay or sea shooter requires a larger and more powerful dog than the inland sportsmen who shooting is confined to the smaller lakes and streams where a dog weighing from 25 to 40 pounds can work the willows, reeds and rice to much better advantage easily carried and concealed. I have found the English water spaniel extremely intelligent particularly fond of the water which he will enter by choice in all weathers. His powers of swimming and diving are immense. He works through mud, rice and weeds seemingly with as much ease as on land while his keen nose enables him to scent the dead duck at marvelously long distances. He will work out the hiding place of a wounded bird with a perseverance and intelligence that can only be born of a genuine love of the sport. He requires little if any training and seems to have inherent a desire to please his master as well as to gratify his own love of the sport. He will frequently mark the fowl before the hunter sees it will crouch down till he hears the report of the gun when he is all animation to mark the fall of the dead or wounded duck. He is of a much handsomer appearance than either the Irish or Chesapeake Bay dogs and makes an excellent companion at home as well as in the field. The points of the English water spaniel are general appearance strong compact of medium size leggy by comparison with the clumber, sussex or black field spaniel and showing great activity. The head is rather long the brow apparent but not very prominent jaws fairly long and slightly but not too much pointed. The whole face and skull to the occiput covered with short smooth hair and no forelocks as in the Irish water spaniel. The eyes fairly full but not watery clear brown colored with an intelligent beseeching expression. The ears long rather broad soft pendulous and thickly covered with curly hair of greater length than that of the body. The neck short thick and muscular the chest capaceous the barrel stout and the shoulders wide and strong the loin strong the buttock square and thighs muscular The legs rather long straight strong of bone well clothed with muscle and the feet a good size rather spreading without being absolutely splay-footed. The coat over the whole sides thick and closely curled flatter on the belly and under the legs which should however be well clad at the back with feathery curls. The prevailing color is liver and white but whole liver black and black and white are also described by some writers. The tail is usually decked rather thick and covered with curls. Appended is the standard and points of judging the English Water Spaniel as adopted by the English Water Spaniel Club. Head, jaws and eyes value twenty ears value five neck value five body value ten fore legs value ten hind legs value ten feet value five stern value ten coat value fifteen general appearance value ten total one hundred negative points feather on stern ten top knot ten total twenty head long somewhat straight and rather narrow muzzle rather long and if anything rather pointed eyes small for the size of the dog ears set in forward and thickly clothed with hair inside and out neck straight body including size and symmetry ribs round the back one's not very deep nose large shoulders and chest shoulders low and chest rather narrow but deep back and loin strong but not clumsy hind quarters long and straight rather rising toward the stern then drooping which combined with the low shoulder gives him the appearance of standing higher behind than in front stern docked from seven inches to ten inches according to the size of the dog carried a little above the level of the back but by no means high feet and legs feet well spread large and strong well clothed with hair especially between the pads legs long and strong the stifles well bent coat covered either with crisp curls or with ringlets no top knot but the close curl should cease on the top of the head leaving the face perfectly smooth and lean looking color black and white, liver and white or self-colored black or liver the pied for choice general appearance sober looking with rather a slouching gate with minimal independence of manner which is thrown aside at the sight of a gun. End of Section 16 Recording by Roger Moline Section 17 of the American Book of the Dog this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org read for you by Michelle Fry Baton Rouge, Louisiana The American Book of the Dog Geo Shields Editor Section 17 The Clumber Spaniel by FHF Mercer of Clumber We begin this section with two extracts in Middle English the first from The Master of Game by Edmund de Langley born AD 1378 Another another manner of hounds there is that been called hounds for your hawk and spaniels for your nature of him come from Spain not withstanding that there been many in other countries and such hounds having many good customs and evil also a fair hound for your hawk should have a great head and a great body and a fair hue, white or tawn for these been your fairest and of such have there been commonly best a good spaniel should not be too rough but his tail should be rough the good customs of such hounds have been these they love and well their masters and follow him without losing though they be in great press of men and commonly he goes before his master running and playing with her tail and raisin or starton fowls but her right craft is of you partridge and of you quail it is a good thing to a man that have a good goose hawk or tearsel or spar hawk for your partridge to have such hounds and also when they been taught to be careful they been good for to take partridge and you quail with a net also they been good when they been taught to swim and to be good for your river fowls when they been dived but in that other side you have many evil conditions after the country that they been common of for a country draw to two natures of men to call of beasties and of fowls and as men to call greyhounds in ends of Scotland of Britain just so your alamantees and your hounds for your hawk come without spain and they draw on after your nature hounds for your hawk been fighters and great buffers and if you lead them on hunting among running hounds what beast that you hunt to she shall make her come out for the fallen as when they gonna write and letting your hounds about and making them overshoot and fail also if you lead greyhounds with two other hounds for your hawk that is to say a spaniel if you see geese hound or horse oxen or other beasties he will run and on and begin to bath fat them and because of him your greyhounds shall run there too for to take your beast through his egg for he will make all your riot and all your harm the hounds for your hawk have so many other evil touches that but if I had a goose hawk or a falcon or hawks for your river or a spar hawk for your net I would never have none there as I should hunt end quote and here comes an extract from Dogs by Dr. Johannes Caes written during the reign of Queen Elizabeth the first in the 1500s the spaniel is so named from Spain once they come the most part of their skins are white and if they are marked with any spots they are commonly red end quote and now for the main article it has ever been my belief that the dog described in the foregoing extracts from the works of these the two oldest writers on the canine species is identical with that variety of the genus spaniel now known as the clumber when we consider the crudeness of all writings descriptive of men and things in those early days it must be conceded that the Langley's description of the best hand hawking and for the reverie fits the patrician of his family with the most remarkable exactitude the spaniel he writes should have a large head and a large body with not too curly or wavy a coat that a coloring should be white and tawn, lemon and that the tail should be rough he goes on to enumerate many traits of clumber character though this old aristocrat has during a lapse of four centuries arrived doubtless at the conclusion that to play with his tail is beneath such dignity as his and therefore has given over the practice of so frivolous a pastime the baffling barking propensity with which he charges them has certainly not been transmitted to their presumed descendants the clumbers as they are the most silent of dogs and in fact are entirely mute when at work still nothing can be more probable than that their patrons the dukes of Newcastle finding this noisiness to be an objectionable feature as it undoubtedly is bred out the noxious habit by judicious matings of the more silent specimens Dr. Kayas still further strengthens their claim to great antiquity for though the markings nowadays recognized are not red in hue the darker shades displayed by some individuals might certainly be so denominated as a matter of fact the writer when accompanied by clumbers of the exactest shades of lemon and orange has overheard passersby remark on their being white dogs with red ears then again does any other variety of the genus answer the here and before quoted descriptions of the spaniels given by both Delangley and Kayas from the former's remarks it would appear that this presumed clumber is not only the original land spaniel but also the progenitor of the year in Daniel's rural sports we learned that the immediate ancestors of the present race were given by the French nobleman the Duke to new allies to the Duke of Newcastle probably about two centuries ago the name is derived from a seat of the Dukes of Newcastle situated in Nottinghamshire clumber where they were domiciled from the outset to those who value things for their associations the clumber is a fit object for appreciation as from the outset his associations have been aristocratic the kennels of Dukes marquises urls barons baronettes knights and the leading country gentry of great Britain and Ireland not to mention those of royalty having been the cradles of the breed specimens are but rarely met with in America and until of late years were scarce even in England where they were almost entirely in the hands of no woman and country gentlemen who kept them on their estates for shooting purposes these were chari of disposing of surplus stock to any but their immediate friends who in turn maintained them for their private uses did any outsider therefore desired to obtain a specimen he could procure it clandestinely from the gamekeeper only who would report a puppy as having been destroyed whereas he had sold it and pocketed the proceeds of his honesty it is therefore not difficult of comprehension that under conditions such as these but few were disseminated among the general public but all this is changed now and the purebred clumbers are easily to be got in England though high class animals are few and far between in that country as elsewhere that they were prized by the highest class of sportsmen is born witness to by Colonel Hamilton in his recollections which are of shooting incidents in the early days of the century he writes quote a spaniel known as a clumber breed his grace always shooting over them in his woods is much sought after by sportsmen end quote then he enumerates their many excellences this extract from the dog the work of the late lamented in stone will be of interest quote the best pictures of the dog extant perhaps are those of the clumbers for from bewick to Abraham copper we had few if any painters except moreland who could make anything better than a map of the dog and moreland's dogs are generally clumbers and first rate specimens I have no doubt that some good English spaniels existed in his day for I have seen a good picture by this artist of snipe shooting in the snow where English or colored spaniels are employed but evidently the clumber was a dog of his time as it will be of all time somewhere about 1868-69 a fine picture by F. Wheatley A. R. A. of the Duke of Newcastle was exhibited in the portrait gallery in London and was attributed by several persons to moreland who seldom if ever finished so highly as a former painter the Duke is represented on his bay shooting pony surrounded by a group of clumbers which a writer in a sporting magazine of 1807 when an engraving of the picture or a part of it only appeared in that serial called springers or cock flushers William Mansel at that time had had the care of them for 30 years and made it his study to produce this race of dogs unmixed and they were at that time known as the Duke or Mansel's breed it is no easy matter to breed clumbers successfully they will allow of no cross but they often improve ordinary field spaniels and it is difficult to produce thick short legged ones without an infusion of the blood it will be evident from my foregoing remarks that all the clumbers in the kingdom sprung from one family and one place and therefore there can be no change of blood and although an interchange of puppies from the few kennels scattered up and down the country does good it cannot refresh the constitution like a new strain from this lack of infusions of new blood the clumber has been constitutionally weakened but only during puppyhood to the ills of which he is peculiarly susceptible on the attainment of full growth however no more hardy dog exists and no further trouble on this score need be apprehended non-converts to the belief that this breed is the original land spaniel and as pure a one as any can be advance the number of theories as to how it was evolved of these the most credible is that it is derived from a union of the French basset hound and the nondescript spaniel of the time yet another faction hold out that it originated in a cross between the turn spit a very long short legged dog so named from his being used to turn the spit on which the meat roasted the breed if indeed there ever was a breed is now extinct and the land spaniel but it seems so highly improbable that a sportsman should invoke the aid of the kitchen in breeding a sporting dog that outside of every other consideration I consider the contention untenable after much research and inquiry the writer has arrived at the conclusion that the first specimens brought to America were imported by lieutenant afterwards major venables of Her Majesty's 97th Regiment then in garrison at Halifax Nova Scotia Canada in 1842 he obtained his dogs from the kennels of Mar Wood Yateman Esquire the stock house Dorset whose ownership of excellent clumbers this especially mentioned by idstone in his book the writer has three of the direct descendants of these dogs in his kennels and Mr. George Peers also is the owner of two bitches of the same breeding but his old dog smash the second was accidentally poisoned last year the initial importation into Nova Scotia was supplemented by many others the breed having at once risen to the pinnacle of high favor and Halifax now undoubtedly numbers more clumbers in its canine population than any other city on the continent later some exceedingly well bred clumbers were imported by a gentleman in Ohio whose name I for the moment do not recollect several were bought by parties in Baltimore Maryland and Mr. Jonathan Thornt Jr of Pennsylvania for some years had things all his own way on the show bench with his imported dogs especially Trim Bush whose portrait is given in Pope's series of colored lithographs of dogs within the past seven years a powerful colony has been founded in Ottawa Canada the best clumbers ever seen in America have been there as a matter of fact states bred specimens have always had to succumb to the Kenucks champion Johnny Drake champion Newcastle, Tine John Halifax etc. all being Canadian born and bred the year 1889 will ever be a red letter one with the American clumber lovers for in it the importation of leading English prize winners was inaugurated in 1887 the writer secured the celebrated champion psycho and his kennel companions snow clover sherry cynic and two others to come to this country but the negotiation unfortunately fell through since then no notoriety so crossed the Atlantic until Mr. Cameron Bate of Ottawa pluckily purchased the English champion boss three damper lotus winner of an immense number of prizes on the other side this dog while deficient in several attributes notably in head and coat is wonderfully low on the leg and all together a decided gain to the clumber interests of America shortly after the same gentlemen on the recommendation of the writer purchased the bitch bromine tower Leda a winner of three first prizes in England and who defeated several leading winners there besides being highly eulogized by the kennel press the writer has now on the seas the beautiful all white bitch snow champion John O'Gaunt foxley beauty a winner of many first prizes including the kennel club jubilee show at Barn Elms and Birmingham twice that both from her form and splendid breeding he expects will prove an invaluable addition to his kennel Ottawa however is not singular in enterprise of this description for Mr. Al Weston of Denver, Colorado having laid the foundation of a good kennel of the breed by purchases in this country has bought from the Duke of Westminster at a very long price his grace his first prize winning bitch at Birmingham but the show bench much as he adorns it by his presence is not the clumber's sphere to appreciate them at the full one must see them silently questing for their game I am of the firm that there is no prettier sight than a team of good clumbers stealing ghosts like through forest or covert not a sound is to be heard save now and then the breaking of the omnipresent dry twig mark to the right Drake is feathering now to has caught the scent Johnny who has been questing to the extreme left now comes up to them and by his manner at once betrays the proximity of the game the bodies now are sunk until they seem to sweep the ground they look to have no legs their heads point towards some matted fallen hemlocks and with every now and then a backward glance for fear of advancing too quickly for the gun they swiftly steal along now they are within a yard of the Grouse's lair and their aspects change with a bound in a frantic waving of sterns they are in her a fine old cock is flushed at once bang one down whir whir two more up and only one barrel charged a hen this time presents the easier shot and to the report drops but only wing tipped no more birds being there to flush the dogs are on the alert to retrieve whatever may fall if two birds or more are down both Johnny and Drake retrieve the others not being allowed to interfere though if given an opportunity they will retrieve with alacrity in this instance Drake brings in a dead cock while Johnny pursues the runner flying and running together a wing tipped Grouse can encompass space with marvelous celerity and the object of Johnny's pursuit is not an exception to the general rule the bird doubles and twists in its effort to escape thereby causing the heavy dog to lose ground but its wiles are of no avail and soon it grasps it by the wing the prisoner administering heavy punishment about his head with the free one and brings it to bad from this a conception of the clumber's manner of land work may be had and surely every sportsman will admit that such silence and stealth in the pursuit of game is the sitter atom it is killing certainly and in an eminently sportsman like way their scent is simply marvelous and is scarcely subordinate in excellent to that of the pointer and setter indeed one gentleman in particular takes me to task for in a former article placing them on a par at all so high is his opinion of the clumber's keenness of scent they are all round dogs good alike in water and on land to quote a 60 year old sportsman friend writing in our leading sportsman's paper some two years since quote for snipe woodcock and partridge roughed grass shooting and for retrieving ducks I consider them unequaled by any breed of dogs and I believe that they would also be excellent dogs to shoot quail over they hunt so close to the gun that they're flushing the birds without pointing would not be of any consequence and in finding scattered birds after the babies have been flushed and marked down I believe they would not be excelled by the very best pointers and setters end quote in all of which I fully coincide keen scented obedient and with all passionately fond of his work he is the bow ideal of the sportsman's companion among his many good qualities is one that should especially recommend him to the average sportsman who has but little time to spend a field much less in breaking a dog he is a natural worker and needs but little training while on game he is entirely mute which is of course a great recommendation as nothing disturbs game more than the yapping of a noisy dog he is quite the fashion among sportsman to decry the columbar's working capabilities to say they're too big or too clumsy and frequently to conclude by informing you gravely that they're no good anyway but happily their dictum with the cognoscenti does not carry much weight no one that would speak in such a strain could have seen a good columbar at work the writer has tried them very high and has never known them to fail he has worked one champion johnny a 70 pound dog for 17 consecutive days without visibly affecting him also a team on roughed grouse for 16 days they were weary at the end and foot sore but by no means tired out and probably the insufficiency of strengthening food was most to blame I could fill pages with citations of instances in which columbars have not tired out but cannot recollect a single instance of their having done so basil an eminent english authority on shooting wrote in a london publication two years ago an article on columbar spaniels with particular reference to their superiority over pointers and setters at all work save that of grouse shooting on the moors the following is an extract quote for any man who does not shoot on moors and who wants a general dog I say take a columbar there is no sort of low country he cannot do I may go even further and say that he will do grouse ground too and I believe he would well especially in those districts such as Yorkshire and Derbyshire where birds are wild and where the ordinary sportsman has to go gruffing as it is called to get game i.e. stealing up the gruffs or gullies and undulations in the ground and trying all the clumps of long old twisted heather and broken bogs of course my lord may bob who can command an army of men can drive his grouse I talk of the men who enjoy more sport than he i.e. the men who as I say wants a general dog a good retrieving columbar taught as they mostly are to drop to hand, fur, wing and shot and to keep at heel when desired is the most useful dog you can have on partridge and low ground shooting he is any dogs equal I say his master and by walking across the open places on the moor and thus driving the birds forward to deep lying bogs and gruffs similar tactics to partridge shooting you will find him a very satisfactory animal to fill the bag and in scotch cover for woodcock black cock and pheasant shooting in the long old ling ferns and juniper which is the undergrowth in highland woods he is fully in his element being perfectly mute, sagacious and killing for any man who wants a general dog and a general gun I should say take a good cylinder 12 bore and a handsome well bred and well broken retrieving columbar and you will not regret it in my country the lord nae bobs keep their pointers and setters for the moors and columbars for partridge shooting experience has taught them that that is the right course and that is the course pursued with a hill from 1,000 to 3,000 race of birds in a season the advantage which the columbar has over the pointer for partridges is he goes much quieter and when he flushes is within range again birds when they scatter in turnips often run very much with the pointer roding and roding them they frequently run all over the field especially in windy weather and thus steal away out of shot or at long distances spaniel when he comes across game does not give it leisure to play these tricks he pounces on it and it must rise at once pheasants also in turnips often tease a pointer or set her terribly when a good spaniel would have them up directly I've explained that his range is close therefore he rises them within shot and a columbar can always be kept to his range end quote it's stone in his here to for mentioned work on the dog remarks as follows regarding the columbar quote owing to his strong frame and sober disposition the columbar lasts longer than most dogs he also gains wisdom by experience and attains value with age thus at 7 when your setter is slow your columbar is an adept and you are the envy of all your acquaintances who provided they are really fun of sport will feel as much pleasure in the work of your dog in the variety and abundance of sport you offer them during the spring of 1888 I had occasion to search attract of several square miles of land most of it densely covered with timber in search of a columbar belonging to me that had escaped from the train at a neighboring station and terror stricken at the strangeness of the surroundings had taken to the brush on the first day's search I took with me a pointer and set her and was much with the apparent scarcity of game the second day I was accompanied by my columbar and in the same woods he flushed an abundance of game he nosed out what the gallopers had passed by for duck retrieving from the water they are superb being swift and powerful swimmers and always intent on coming up with the game they will dive after a bird like a chesapeake bay dog this accomplishment it will be observed is mentioned by the Langley and catch it underwater the color is objectionable for this work but a light cotton cloth dead grass in color thrown over him will prevent his being seen no bird can escape them by hiding in reeds or rushes yet the transcendent merits of this grand dog are unknown to the vast majority of sportsmen and those who know of him through hearsay and stone hinge are strongly prejudiced against him that rider by his utterly unjust statements that they quickly tire and are but the rich man's dog has done great injury to the breed for stone hinges books are far more widely circulated than any other publications treating of the dog I am often asked if columbars are such wonderful dogs why are they so unpopular my answer is that they are the victims of ignorance and prejudice it may be pertinent to remark that I know of no one who has taken up columbars who is not more than pleased and satisfied with them nay in nearly every instance they are enthusiastic in their praise columbars as bred in America are much higher on the leg than the general run of English dogs consequent upon their having been bred until the last few years for shooting only and without reference to bench show points of excellence a working spaniel must have a certain amount of leg but then again leg can be overdone just as lowness can be and many of our columbars are far too abundantly supplied with understandings but while I dislike extreme leggingness greatly I also abhor the exaggerated long and low type whose bellies nearly sweep the ground it is purely a fancy fad that construes short in a standard to mean shortest and low lowest why we should rush to extremes instead of following a midway course for the life of me I cannot see in breeding columbars this tendency to extreme leggingness is to be guarded against another general fault is the un-columber like ear and few specimens have really well shaped and well hung ones the ear is so distinctive a mark of the breed that this is to be deplored expression of the true kind too is seldom seen and heads are far too apt to be misshapen in England I learn the breed is fast deteriorating from its old time excellence but I hope that the proverbial American push and intelligence will in time succeed in resuscitating the clumber spaniel probably the best clumber ever seen was Mr. Bullock's old Nabob, sometimes since dead I have repeatedly endeavored to secure a portrait of him but without success English spaniel owner writes to me I do not think there is a photograph of Nabob in existence I knew the dog and the gentleman who owned him during nearly the whole of his showtime Mr. Bullock was awfully jealous of his dogs and hardly liked people looking at them when at exhibitions the best of late years was champion Psycho who is 16 years old champion John O. Gaunt too was a good clumber at present there is no dog that stands prominently out from his fellows among the best are Holmes Tower, Mr. Farrow's Faust, Ralph, Fireboss and Hotpot in America the best native bred dogs have been champion Johnny champion Newcastle, Drake and Tyne all side by one dog Mr. Palmer's imported Ben a dog of direct clumber house descent the leading clumber owners and exhibitors are Mr. Wilmer Ding and Kitchell of New York Mr. Hill of Ottawa who is associated with the writer Mr. H. W. Wendrum of Boston and Mr. Bate and Gettys of Ottawa an important newcomer is Mr. A. L. Weston of Denver, Colorado the few clumbers in this country are owned for the most part by sportsmen scattered far and wide over the continent who do not care to go to the trouble and expense the exhibiting of dogs in tails as to preparation for the show bench little can be said for the lesson can only be learned in the school of experience and even when learned may happen will not apply some dogs cannot be properly conditioned plenty of brushing and judicious feeding and exercising are the only means by which the desired end may be attained every sportsman takes pride in the ownership of a handsome dog and the gift of beauty a clumber possesses in a high degree they are with all imminently aristocratic in appearance handsome is as handsome does is a time honored adage but when we can combine beauty and utility in one body surely it is as well to have it so its stone goes so far as to characterize the clumber as decidedly the handsomest dog ever bred for the sportsman dog stories of late years have been so much overdone that I will not weary the reader tales of the miraculous performance of my pets but this emission must not be construed as being due to a paucity of instances of clumber sagacity for me to elaborate upon there is no more intelligent dog in existence than he whom I champion the noble clumber to their masters they are the most faithful of friends and no stranger need expect this aristocrat to take the least notice of his caresses if indeed he tolerates them at all they are splendid watchdogs and no intruder can come about their masters residence without notice being given of his presence my clumbers prevented one burglar that I know of from burgling he was seen and a gentleman writes to me of his clumber that quote he is the most vigilant watchdog I have ever known and I have owned many he does not bite but will bark persistently on two occasions he prevented the entrance of burglars many of the houses in the neighborhood being entered but he never barks unless there is a noise around the house this describes their methods very well though my experience has been that they will bite at a pinch and an ugly wound they can give I should certainly not care to have a stranger happen in my kennels at night there would be a badly used up man to comfort I fancy of ancient and high lineage useful strong enduring faithful watchful and beautiful surely the clumber spaniel is deserving of popularity it is therefore most gratifying to those of us who know and love this noble dog to observe that he is becoming more and more popular in America every year that he is being sought after today by sportsmen who a few years ago either knew or cared nothing for him that good specimens of the breed now sell readily at prices that a few years ago would have been thought by every American exorbitant it is gratifying to know that notwithstanding the wide distribution of clumber owners already noted each year's entry of this breed at our bench shows an increase over the preceding year all these facts indicate that the clumber is a coming dog and it is safe to predict that in time he will become almost as numerous and as generally popular in this country as is the setter today a representative pedigree and one tracing back to the best strains in Great Britain is that of the fine young dog Johnny II bred by the writer whose pedigree is shown on these pages he is brother in blood to Quester of whom an illustration is given on page 310 subjoined is the standard for judging clumber spaniels as drawn up by me and adopted by the American Spaniel Club general appearance in size value 10 head value 15 eyes 5 ears 10 neck and shoulders 15 body and quarters 20 legs and feet 10 coat and feather 10 color and markings 5 total 100 points general appearance in size general appearance a long low heavy looking dog of a very thoughtful expression should have the appearance of great power sedate in all movements but not clumsy weight of dog's averages between 55 and 65 pounds bitches from 35 to 50 pounds head head large and massive in all its dimensions round above eyes flat on the top with the furrow running from between the eyes up the center a marked stop and large occipital protuberance jaw long broad and deep lips of the upper jaw over hung muzzle not square but at the same time powerful looking nostrils large open and flesh colored sometimes cherry colored eyes eyes large soft and deep set and showing ha hazelnut color not too pale with dignified and intelligent expression ears ears long and broad at the top turned over on the front edge vine shaped close to the head set on low and feathered only on the front edge and there but slightly hair short and silky without slightest approach to wave or curl neck and shoulders neck long thick and powerful free from do lap with a large rough shoulders immensely strong and muscular giving a heavy appearance in front body and quarters body very long and low well ribbed and long in the coupling chest of great depth and volume loin powerful and not too much arched back long broad and straight free from droop or bow length and important characteristic the nearer the dog is in length to being two and a half times his height at shoulders the better quarters shapely and very muscular neither drooping nor still the legs and feet four legs short straight and immensely heavy in bone well in at elbow hind legs heavy in bone but not so heavy as four legs no feather below hocks but thick hair on back of leg just above the foot feet large compact and plenty filled with hair between toes coat and feather coat silky and straight not too long extremely dense feather long and abundant color and markings color lemon and white and orange and white fewer markings on the body the better perfection of markings solid lemon or orange ears evenly marked head and eyes muzzle and legs ticked stern set on level and carried low this ends section 17 the number spaniel