EARLY KENNELS.

How much we are indebted to the Labrador may be inferred from some remarks of General Hutchinson in his classic work on dogbreaking. “The best land retrievers are bred from a cross between the setter and the Newfoundland, or the strong spaniel and the Newfoundland. I do not mean the heavy Labrador, whose weight and bulk is valued because it adds to his power of draught, nor the Newfoundland, increased in size at Halifax and St John’s to suit the taste of the English purchaser; but the far slighter dog reared by the settlers on the coast, a dog that is quite as fond of water as of land.” Clearly the general is alluding to the dog which we now call a Labrador. Although the Labrador had been unknown to the general public until within recent times, certain noble families have appreciated his worth, and we have to thank them for his survival. One of the earliest to establish a kennel, several years before Queen Victoria ascended the throne, was the Earl of Malmesbury, at Heron Court, where they were maintained in great strength up to the Seventies, after which their numbers began to decline. Fortunately, some of the strain passed into the hands of the Duke of Buccleuch, who has bred them true to type from 1882 onwards. The late Sir Richard Graham’s kennel was started in 1860, from which sprang the Earl of Verulam’s dogs at Gorhambury. The Hon A Holland Hibbert, who has done so much to make the breed known, obtained his original dogs from Lord Verulam, and most of the present day pedigrees trace back to some of the kennels mentioned. One of the most famous dogs of this generation, Mr Maurice Portal’s Flapper, combined the Malmesbury, Verulam, and Hibbert blood. Unexcelled himself as a worker, he transmitted his admirable qualities to a number of other field trial dinners. A distinctive peculiarity of the dog is his coat, which is short, wiry, and so thick that no wet seems to penetrate it. As a short cut to the attainment of quality, some breeders have been crossing with the flat-coated retriever, but, although the looks may be improved, the characteristic nature of the coat suffers, and it is almost certain that the constitution does not benefit.

In patronising a dog show King George is but following the example set by his father and mother, and two of his grandparents before him. At the Home Farm at Windsor Queen Victoria and the Prince Consort owned numerously-populated kennels, many breeds having enjoyed their favour, and King Edward and Queen Alexandra were frequent exhibitors, notably of borzois, basset hounds, Clumber spaniels, and fox-terriers.