This variety of the Spaniel, born of the dog shows, has achieved great prominence since their establishment, the principal breeders and exhibitors in the earlier exhibition days having been Mr. Burdett, of Birmingham; Mr. Jones, of Oscott, near Birmingham; Mr. Phineas Bullock, of Bilston, Staffordshire ; and Dr. Boulton, of Beverley, in Yorkshire; and the strains of these gentlemen's kennels have since spread into the hands of a considerable number of exhibitors and others throughout the country. The general appearance is that of a long, low-set dog, legginess being looked on as a great fault.

Dr. W. W. Boulton, of Beverley, author, conjointly with Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier, of a pamphlet on "Breeding for Colour," set himself the task of producing a strain of jet-black Spaniels, in which that colour should be so firmly established as to be always reproduced in the puppies, generation after generation. How well he succeeded is seen in the family of Spaniels recognised as the Beverley strain, which was kept up, after Dr. Boulton ceased to be a breeder, by Mr. A. H. Easten, of Hull, and later by Mr. W. R. Brydon, of Buxton.

Many of the Beverley and other strains of Black Spaniels furnished both large-sized Field Spaniels and also small Black Cockers; but the formation of the Field Spaniel by no means gives that activity which should characterise the Cocker.

Of course this Spaniel, quaintness and sortiness being his principal charms, is at a great disadvantage where the undergrowth is thick or the ground rough; and he is precluded by his shape from doing much retrieving of dead game, while a strong-running bird will naturally escape from him. He would be greatly improved, from the sporting point of view, if he were bred with a powerful, arched loin; but this at present is forbidden by Fashion. Those specimens that have very long, flat loins, crooked, unsound limbs, and superabundance of feather are, of course, remote from the province of the sportsman.

If many of the show strains are not saturated with Basset or Dachshund blood, not only does their appearance but also their demeanour belie them, as in many cases sunken, blood-shot eyes, narrow, peaked skulls, crooked legs, splay feet, and gay tails are accompanied by such stubborn disobedience as demands a servant with a hunting-whip to circumvent; they are inclined, also, to throw their tongues without reason, and to babble in anything but a Spaniel key.

Field Spaniels can have but little chance at trials in competition with the longer-legged breeds, and in the writer's opinion they should have a stake exclusively for them, so that they might gain efficiency at work, and not drift into the condition of being mere curiosities.

Concerning this variety the opinion of Mr. Farrow is certainly of interest, from his experience as a breeder and judge; as, also, he has associated himself with the exhibition of Spaniels almost from the commencement of shows, his reminiscences of winners will always command attention. It is only wisdom, therefore, to append his remarks on the early show specimens of the breed, as written for the last Edition of "British Dogs" about fifteen years ago: -

"The Black Spaniel, or perhaps I should say the black variety of Springer, is, if one may judge from the entries at our dog shows, the most popular, and is a very useful dog for general work in the field, but certainly no more so than some of the other varieties of Spaniels. Some sportsmen object to his colour for field work. I must say, however, that I have never found any difficulty in this, and I think a Black Spaniel is every bit as easily seen when at work as a Sussex or a liver-coloured one; indeed, I give the black colour the preference. In head properties the Black Spaniel of to-day, in my opinion, has much deteriorated, when compared with the Black Spaniel of some dozen years ago. The head of so many of those now seen is a something between the Sussex head and the beautiful head of the Black Spaniel of years ago, being too heavy in one part or the other, too wide and short in many instances, coarse, and, indeed, not the quality in head throughout as of old. If, for instance, asked now to name a Spaniel with the head and expression or character of Nellie or Flirt, two Black Spaniels bred by Mr. Bullock, and exhibited so successfully about a dozen or fifteen years since, I certainly could not do so. In fact, we have, in our black-coloured Springer, lost the beautiful head of old, and it is a question with me if the gentlemen who have only taken an interest in Spaniels, say, during the last four or five years will ever know what it was like; for to explain (so as to be perfectly understood) the heads of such Spaniels, for instance, as the two mentioned is an impossibility. This change in the head of our Black Springer, in my opinion, has been brought about to a very great extent by the using to our Black Spaniel bitches, directly and indirectly, such grand dogs as the Sussex Champions Buckingham (4,400) Batchelor (6,287), Rover III. (5,249), and others. The loss of head by this cause has, however, improved other important points in the variety of Spaniel in question, notably bone and straightness of coat, and perhaps, to a certain extent, shortness of leg. In body, speaking generally, I do not think our Black Spaniels are so good as twelve or fifteen years ago. We have so many now that are tucked or cut up under the loin, without a good middle, which is a bad fault in a Spaniel. In the action or carriage of the stern we have not improved. I, however, do not think we have deteriorated in this respect much, as from some cause or the other twelve years ago down to the present date certainly 50 per cent, of our exhibition Spaniels have not the correct carriage or action of stern. It is a great pity, for a Spaniel with his tail put on and stuck up like a Fox-terrier's, however good in all other respects, is a bad one, the beautiful outline of the Spaniel being simply destroyed by this fault. It is a fact, I believe, that more Black are registered than any other variety of Spaniel. This being so, it is somewhat strange how few good ones are produced : and to-day, judging from the results of recent exhibitions, Solus, a dog whelped in July, 1880, is still at the top of the tree in the dogs, and Squaw, a bitch whelped in April, 1879, is the best in the bitches; and if these two old Spaniels can be kept in form, they look like still winning. Solus improved somewhat late in life, and he has done and looked better in Mr. Royle's kennel than in that of his breeder, Mr. Schofield. At Warwick this year (1887) Mr. Jacobs brought out a very nice young dog, Newton Abbot Shah, whelped February, 1886, and I think I may mention my own young dog, Gipping Sam, whelped March, 1886. These two young dogs are certainly above the average, and I have seen nothing from Mr. Jacobs's kennel so good since the Crystal Palace Show in June, 1870, when that gentleman brought out Kaffir (10,452) and Zulu (10,459). Gipping Sam is, I think, the best large Black Spaniel I ever bred, and in the opinion of more than one of our very oldest Spaniel breeders and exhibitors Sam is the best Black Spaniel dog seen for many years. The best young Spaniel in the bitch division is, perhaps, Cloisonne, whelped in 1885, and bred by an old Spaniel breeder, Mr. Dexter. She, however, was easily beaten at Warwick this year by Squaw. Mr. Bryden brought out a nice young bitch, and which he was very unfortunate to lose so early, in Beverley Domino, whelped July, 1885. This bitch was considerably above the average, and must have done a lot of winning had she lived. She beat Cloisonne, under Mr. Shirley, at the Kennel Club's Summer Show last year (1886). Kingston Jet, whelped May, 1885, bred and owned by Mr. Fred Smith, is a useful young bitch; and the same may be said of Staley Belle, whelped July, 1885, bred by Mr. Bryden, and now owned by Mr. W. Dyson. Gipping Floss, whelped November, 1885, and bred by Mr. P. P. Phelps - present owner of the small Black Spaniel Champion Miss Obo, bred by myself, and selected and drawn by Mr. R. H. Moore, the Strand, at the request of the Kennel Club, for an illustration for the Kennel Gazette - is a Black Spaniel possessing extra Spaniel quality. She is, however, a little undersized. I bought her off her dam, Coy (15,840). Coy died a young bitch - a great pity, as she was the best Black Spaniel ever sent out from the famous Northampton kennel of Spaniels owned by Mr. H. B. Spurgin. The three young bitches I have named - i.e. Kingston Jet, Staley Belle, and Gipping Floss - although above the average, must have some luck if either of them win the title of champion.