Toy Spaniels are, like all Spaniels, so liable to skin disease that I cannot write on general management without dealing with the question, as an outbreak of spots ruins their appearance entirely for a long while.

In the "Book of Falconrie or Hawking," 1611, M.

Francesco Vicentino speaks of the diseases of Spaniels, especially the "Mangie"; for "a good Spanell is a great jewel." A "Spanell" with "the Mangie" is, however, anything but a jewel.

Remember that, roughly speaking, all skin disease should be considered extremely contagious and be treated as such. There is such a thing as non-contagious eczema, but let me entreat owners of Toy Spaniels not to say: "Oh, he's only got a touch of eczema," but to deal with all irritations and eruptions as their mostly deadly foes. Owners of these dogs should keep by them the following preparation: Oily dressing - 1 pint castor oil, olive oil, and paraffin, mixed in equal quantities, 2 ozs. sulphur, 1/2 oz. turpentine, 1/2 oz. saltpetre. Oxide of zinc dissolved in hot water to a saturated solution and mixed with half the quantity of a similar solution of boracic acid is a good lotion. Before treating for skin complaints, treat for worms, and then give a dose of castor oil once a week as long as the eruption lasts. Rub the dog well over with dry boracic powder. You may, if you prefer it, give one teaspoon-ful of cattle salts twice a week instead of the castor oil.

The dogs should be carefully looked over every day, and the slightest redness or irritable spot or roughness immediately touched with one of the mixtures. The favourite places for spots are on the forehead (this is the most disfiguring, and should be instantly checked), under the arm pits and joins of the legs, and between the toes. A young dog never scratches persistently without cause, though old ones that have had eruptions sometimes continue the habit after the eruption is gone. If a young dog scratches continually, he is either troubled with insects, fleas or lice, or he has skin trouble or worms. In any case it is well to begin by treating for worms, and to make sure that there are no external parasites. In case of general eruption, the dog must be dressed all over from nose to tail with the oily dressing, which must be left on for twenty-four hours and then washed off and repeated. In long standing cases of the worst kind it will be necessary to shave the dog completely before treatment. The strongest contributing cause of skin disease is damp.

Dogs kept on a low, damp, clay soil will always be breaking out, and it must be remembered that both fleas and rats will convey mange.

Another excellent remedy for skin disease is oxgall and sulphur. Above all, however, remember that your dogs will always be breaking out unless you cure them of canker in the ear. Cure the canker with dry powders, such as boracic acid or oxide of zinc worked well into the interior of the ears, and clean out with spirals of cottonwool. Never wash the inside of the ear with soap and water - it is deadly. Canker in the ear, if not actually the same microbe as mange, appears to be its twin brother. Cure the canker, and the skin disease will go, too, as long as the dog is free from worms.

The best skin lotion of all, which I have found a certain cure, though the smell is something fearful while it is being made, is made up as follows:

Slake the lime in a little water. Stir in the sulphur, adding water gradually until it is as thick as cream, then add the rest of the water and boil down to one gallon.

Let the mixture stand till cold. Pour off the clear liquid and make the quantity up to five quarts with cold water.

For Toy Dogs, half fill a six-ounce bottle with the lotion, add two teaspoonfuls of oxide of zinc, and fill the bottle with lime water.

Shake well before use. This is Miss Todd's recipe.

It should be used with great care, as it blisters if too strong. If the dog blisters apply olive oil immediately, as it arrests the action of the dressing. The blisters never destroy the roots of the hair, so if one should accidentally be caused by too strong a solution, do not be alarmed but apply the oil.

It is a great pity that some show veterinary surgeons are so lax in admitting to the shows dogs which are suffering from skin disease. I do not refer to a few heat spots, which sometimes break out on the stomach of healthy and thrifty dogs, but to long standing cases of what the owners call "eczema." I defy the cleverest vet. alive in a few seconds when the dog passes through his hands at the entrance of the show, to pronounce certainly that eczema is not mange. This is, in fact, often only possible with a microscope. Therefore, all cases of skin eruption, over the head and face, elbows and thighs, ought to be turned back at the doors. It is not fair to the other exhibitors that one of these erupting dogs should be handled by the judge, who immediately passes on to the next dog and conveys any germs directly to it. A dog which is so bad that it cannot stop biting and scratching itself even in the ring is not fit for show. The surest sign of a contagious form of skin disease in Toy Spaniels is the appearance of the forehead and eyebrows. If these look moth eaten, and especially if the skin appears wrinkled and scaly or pink and the dog has a certain mousy smell, you may stake your reputation on the disease being contagious. This is just the kind that many vets, pass into the shows.

It is more necessary to be careful with Spaniels than with any other breed of dog, as they are liable to be a particularly persistent and desperately contagious kind of mange which does not often affect other breeds.