The sportsman's Spaniel--which is not commonly the show-bench animal--is of hardy constitution, taking the water in the coldest of weather, doing his eight or ten hours' work in a day, and roughing it in the matter of food and kennelling. The progeny of the working dog are not any more trouble to rear than those of a rough-and-tumble Terrier. The "soft" constitution of so many black and Sussex Spaniels is due to that foolish system (in breeding) having been carried beyond all sense of reason. All are water-loving dogs, and, when properly trained, retrieve their game tenderly. _Coat._--Either flat, wavy, or curly, a flat coat being typical of the up-to-date Spaniel. Many of the older type have a strong tendency to show a "top-knot," and even now and again (Water Spaniels excepted), in a litter of well-bred ones there is a reversion towards this type. All have an abundance of feather on both fore and hind limbs, Irish Water breed excepted. _Colour_ Irish Water Spaniel Liver. English Water Spaniel Liver and white, black and white, black, or black, white, and tan. The Clumber Spaniel White, with red, lemon, or orange patches. The Sussex Spaniel Golden liver. Field Spaniels(?) Black or tri-coloured, also liver and white, or tan. Cocker Spaniels Black, black, white and tan, liver, roan, liver and white, black and white, red and white, etc., etc. English Springers Variously coloured. Welsh Springers Do. do. Liver, liver and white, black, and black and white, are by far the most frequent colours of the Spaniel. Tan markings are very common in Welsh Springers. The Irish Water and the Clumber Spaniel are really the only two varieties free from the introduction of blood from other varieties of the breed. Except in rare instances, the show-bench Sussex contains a lot of Field Spaniel blood, the result of crossing a typical Sussex Spaniel with a black bitch, over twenty years since, and its perpetuation until the present day. _Head and Ears._--They all agree in the anatomical outlines of their skulls, the greatest breadth being in the head of the Clumber. Heavy facial expressions are characteristic of the pure Sussex, the half-bred, or Jacobs' strain of Sussex, and the Jacobs' strain of Black Spaniels. Many Cockers also show it. Long ears, not only long in the cartilage, but heavily feathered--excepting the Northern Irish Water--are very characteristic of Spaniels, but this large amount of hair in this region can hardly be a recommendation for work, knowing that it is very liable to become entangled in brambles, etc.