The head from the apex to the eye is large and capacious, giving the appearance of being short, which is by no means the case, only appearing so from its being so heavily furnished with topknot; the dog, which looks long as a puppy, loses it as he gets older. The topknot is one of the chief characteristics of the breed, and it does not arrive at perfection as a rule until the dog attains the age of about two and a half years; it should not grow straight across the face to between the eye like a wig, but from the front edges of the ears should form two sides of a triangle, meeting in a point between the eyes; the head should be well covered with this topknot, the hair of which should be in a dog in full coat 4in. or more long, the forelocks hanging gracefully down the face, but I very much admire the topknot when about half grown, and when standing straight up all over the head in a most wild Irishman kind of manner.

The face is long, and is the most remarkable feature of the breed to my mind, being in a good specimen quite smooth; the hair no longer than that upon a smooth terrier - this short hair should extend to the cheeks. I know of no other dog which carries the same quantity of hair on its head, legs, ears, that has not also a rough face, and however remote may be the cross of poodle or Russian retriever, it will show itself upon the face and cheeks as moustachios and whiskers. This is a point which judges should specially make a note of. I have named it to several, who all have made light of it; not so, however, with Mr. M'Carthy and other breeders. The nose is large and with a slight squareness of muzzle. The eyes, too, I have never seen taken into account by any judge, and yet it is the eye that gives character to the face; this should be a deep rich brown, which in the dark or shade is beautiful, not to be described, but seen; a light yellow, or gooseberry eye, is my detestation, and is always accompanied by a coat which before moulting time assumes a very light sandy hue, whilst the dark-eyed ones are many shades darker at the same period of coating.

The ears are about 18in. long in the flesh, lobe shaped, not pointed, and when well furnished with hair should be from 26in. to 30in. from tip to tip, when measured across the head. Old Doctor measured, when he won the last time at the Crystal Palace, 31 in.

The chest should be deep and the ribs well sprung, so that the body appears round, rather than deep. The shoulders are inclined to be a bit thick, as the dog all over should appear cobby.

The back and quarters are as strong as those of a waggon horse.

The legs should be straight, with good feet, well clothed with hair, both over and between the toes; the fore legs are heavily feathered at the sides and behind, with a curled or rough appearance in front. The hind legs are smooth in front, from the hocks downwards, whilst it is essential that they should be feathered behind down to the foot. In crossing with certain breeds, such as the retriever, this is one of the first points lost.

The tail is, like the face, a sure indication of the breeding; and at the risk of repeating myself, I assert that no other breed of dog exists with a smooth tail which carries as much hair elsewhere as does the Irish spaniel. These characteristics - viz., tail, face, and topknot - stamp him, in my opinion, as the purest of pure bred dogs. The tail is shorter than in most other dogs, thick at the root, and tapering to a sting at the point. For about 3in. from the body it is covered with small curls, the remaining portion being smooth.

The coat should consist of innumerable hard short curls, free from woolliness. These curls get felted, or daggled, before moulting time. A woolly coat shows the poodle cross, which may also be detected in the head. A silky coat, with an inclination to waviness instead of curl, indicates a cross with land spaniel or setter; this cross also shows itself in the quality of the leg-feather. The colour is that dark shade of liver called puce, having a rich plum-coloured hue when seen in the sun. The best coloured dog of the breed I ever saw was my old champion Duck when she was in the prime of life. A patch or star of white is often seen on the chest, and should not be regarded as fatal to a dog's winning, as it is met with in the best strains; in fact, in a litter of "puppies, if there is one with more white on than the rest, it, as a rule, is the largest. Whether white is a sign of strength or not I am not prepared to say.

In respect to symmetry - by which I mean the general appearance of the dog, his carriage, style, etc. - he should be judged as you would judge a cob. Many of the dogs of the present day are too leggy. A leggy spaniel of any breed I detest. The best dogs we have seen of late years of this breed have been: Doctor and Rake, bred by Mr. Robson, Hull; Pilot and Sailor, breeder Rev. A. L. Willett; Blarneystone and Chance, bred by Mr. Salisbury; Mr. P. J. D. Lindoe's Blarney, Mr. Engelbach's Pat, Mr. Fletcher's Young Doctor, Mr. Morton's Paddy and Shamrock, Mr. C. Pilgrim's Barney, and Bridget and Patsey, all bred by myself. The portrait represents Patsey, a son of Young Doctor and Bridget, who possesses the characteristics of the breed in a remarkable manner, especially when it is taken into account that he has been kept chained to a kennel all his life without any attention being paid to his toilet.

Measurements of Irish spaniels:

Mr. H. E. C. Beaver's Irish Spaniel Captain: Height at shoulder, 20½in.; length from nose to set on of tail, 37½in.; length of tail, 13in.; girth of chest, 27½in.; girth of loin, 23in.; girth of head, 17in.; girth of forearm, 7½in.; length of head from occiput to tip of nose, 8in.; girth of muzzle midway between eyes and tip of nose, 8½in. This dog has been twice round the world with his master. Captain is a very good specimen of the breed.

Mr. W. Beddome Bridgett's Young Buck (K.C.S.B., 8337): Age, 5 years 3 months; weight, unascertainable; height at shoulder, 20in.; length from nose to set on of tail, 38in.; length of tail, 14in.; girth of chest, 25in.; girth of loin, 19in.; girth of head, 15in.; girth of forearm, 6in.; length of head from occiput to tip of nose, 9½in.; girth of muzzle midway between eyes and tip of nose, 8½in.; length of ear in leather, 18in.; length of ear with feather, 25in.