Recently there has been a great revival in numbers of the close and thick coated, featherless dogs called Labrador retrievers. Their ancestors, or some of them, were, as the name implies, originally imported from Labrador. They were not Newfoundlands when first brought over any more than they are now. But it is rather difficult to say which sportsmen had one sort and which the other when both first began to be used for sporting purposes, or to be crossed with setters and water spaniels, to make the ancestors of our present races of retrievers. The Labrador, as we know him now, probably had no setter or spaniel for ancestor, and there is every reason to believe that the Lord Malmesbury of the Diary, and later the Duke of Buccleuch and Sir R. Graham’s family, maintained the breed in its original form. But probably in-breeding told the usual story: a cross had to be resorted to, because the dogs were getting soft, and one cross was introduced at Netherby, and of all strains to select for a cross one would think that chosen the worst. It was a keeper’s night-dog that was chosen.

It has been said that Mr. Shirley’s original strain and also Zelstone of Mr. Farquharson’s strain were descended from Labradors. This is probably not quite correct. Their coats did not indicate this blood, but that of the Newfoundland.

The latter’s was always a long, loose, wavy coat with more or less tendency to feather; the Labrador had no more feather than a pointer, but a thick close coat with little or no wave. There is no doubt the purest blood has come from the Duke of Buccleuch’s kennel of late years, but the author would not like to affirm that crossings between that and the Netherby kennel did not introduce the night-dog cross into the whole of the race. The short round heads and wide jaw-bones in these dogs seem to bear physical witness to ancestry competent to take care of itself. This statement of a fact is not intended to carry a slur with it, for it may be said that the big shooter and enthusiastic dog man who found out these particulars, and gave me the modern history of the breed, has himself used the Labrador recently as a revival to his flat-coated strain of retrievers.

Judged from the point of view of an admirer of a good flat-coated retriever, the present race of Labrador dogs appear common. But it would be altogether wrong to say definitely that they are so. Make and shape is very much a question of fashion and taste, and when a certain section of the population can admire the bulldog it is not within the province of anybody to lay down the law as to what is canine beauty. At any rate, they have one great point seldom observed in the flat-coated dogs. Their loins are usually strong enough to enable them to be active. A dog with a loin too small for his weight may be fast, but he never can be active, and as one might expect from this formation the Labradors are remarkably quick in their movements.

Mr. Holland Hibbert has a big kennel of these dogs, and has exhibited their work at the retriever trials two seasons. His Munden Single was given first beauty prize at the 1905 trials, and was placed for looks over the heads of some very good specimens of the flat-coated sort. Still, it is not supposed that breeders of the flat-coated sort are likely to try to breed their dogs to the model then set up; and the author has always regretted the giving of beauty prizes at field trials. We go to these meetings to learn from Nature what form she chooses shall embrace and contain her best internal handiwork. Having found that out with much expenditure of time and trouble, we must needs read Nature a lecture before we separate, and instruct her what form she ought to have chosen for her best. We do not hold a mirror, but a model, up to Nature, and seem surprised she does not adopt the work of our creations as her best. This is surely all wrong, for it was obviously the selection of the best workers for hundreds of generations that evolved the forms that we call setters, pointers, and spaniels, and made them different from any other dogs, but did not make them like show dogs of the present time. If the latter had been the most fit form for the work to be done, it would assuredly have been evolved by the selection of the best workers.

On these grounds, it seems to be unwise to place on a pedestal for imitation and admiration the Labrador that was beaten.

If Darwinism has a spark of truth in it, selection of the fittest for the acts of life has evolved every form in the world except just the trivialities, the abnormalities, and distortions that man has bred as a fancy, not to improve, but only to alter. Fancy poultry has been one of the chief fields for fancy operations in breeding, but, amongst all the new forms and characters produced, there is only one that would survive a state of nature for a couple of generations. That one is the old English game fowl, which was evolved, not by fancy selection, but by fighting—that is, by the most severe and discriminating form of selection and survival of the fittest.

Just in the same way will the forms of gun-dogs take care of themselves, provided selection of the fittest for work is severe enough. The pointer and setter trials have neglected stamina. If they had not done so, our working setters would have had backs like iron bars, as theirs have in America, where stamina has been the first consideration at field trials.

When Mr. Holland Hibbert ran Munden Single, the Labrador, in the 1904 retriever trials, there is not much doubt she would have been high up in the prize list had it not been that the last runner she got was brought back dead. It was a wing-tipped cock pheasant that Single roded out and then chased. But the cock could almost beat the dog by the help of its wings, and no doubt the Labrador was pretty much blown when she got hold. Then she had to cross a brook to get back, and it is likely enough that a stumble, or perhaps jumping against the bank, led to the pinching of the bird. However, excuses are not admitted in public competitions, and indeed none was made. In 1905, Single appeared to be quite tender in the mouth, and although she is admirably broken, and has no excitement or nervousness, but lots of love of the game, she was not as fortunate in her opportunities as had been the case the year before, and got no prize for work although she has lots of merit. Another Labrador at this meeting got a certificate of merit, so that, as only three entries have been made all told at retriever trials, the breed has taken a much better position with spectators than is indicated by its want of success in gaining stake money.

The private character of the breed for work is very good indeed, although some of them are reported to turn out rather hard in the mouth. But then the same thing can be said for every breed of retrievers. The author remembers Labrador retrievers forty years ago. The pair he first knew were kept as pets by a rural parson who did not shoot. It was commonly reported that either of these dogs would dive to the bottom of a well and fetch up a fourpenny-piece; but this was hearsay evidence, and was never seen by the present witness. However, these dogs had just the coat of the present Labradors, and distinctly not that of the Newfoundland. The only dog of the sort that the author ever had was death on cats, but this accomplishment did not make him hard-mouthed with game, as it probably would nine retrievers out of ten.

[Since the above was written, the 1906 retriever trials have passed, but as the winners all failed with runners the author finds nothing to add to his general survey.]