one cannot say
that the Labrador compares favourably with either the flat or the
curly coated Retriever, but that is immaterial so long as he continues
to work as he is doing at present.

CHAPTER XXV

THE SPORTING SPANIEL

I. THE SPANIEL FAMILY.--The Spaniel family is without any doubt one
of the most important of the many groups which are included in the
canine race, not only on account of its undoubted antiquity, and,
compared with other families, its well authenticated lineage, but
also because of its many branches and subdivisions, ranging in size
from the majestic and massive Clumbers to the diminutive toys which
we are accustomed to associate with fair ladies' laps and gaily-decked
pens at our big dog shows.

Moreover, the different varieties of Setters undoubtedly derive their
origin from the same parent stock, since we find them described by
the earlier sporting writers as "setting" or "crouching" Spaniels,
in contradistinction to the "finding" or "springing" Spaniel, who
flushed the game he found without setting or pointing it. As time
went on, the setting variety was, no doubt, bred larger and longer
in the leg, with a view to increased pace; but the Spaniel-like head
and coat still remain to prove the near connection between the two
breeds.

All the different varieties of Spaniels, both sporting and toy, have,
with the exception of the Clumber and the Irish Water Spaniel (who
is not, despite his name, a true Spaniel at all), a common origin,
though at a very early date we find them divided into two
groups--viz., Land and Water Spaniels, and these two were kept
distinct, and bred to develop those points which were most essential
for their different spheres of work. The earliest mention of Spaniels
to be found in English literature is contained in the celebrated
"Master of Game," the work of Edward Plantagenet, second Duke of York,
and Master of Game to his uncle, Henry IV., to whom the work is
dedicated. It was written between the years 1406 and 1413, and
although none of the MSS., of which some sixteen are in existence,
is dated, this date can be fairly accurately fixed, as the author
was appointed Master of Game in the former and killed at Agincourt
in the latter year. His chapter on Spaniels, however, is mainly a
translation from the equally celebrated "Livre de Chasse," of Gaston
Comte de Foix, generally known as Gaston Phoebus, which was written
in 1387, so that we may safely assume that