THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA

PRESENTED BY

PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND
MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID

MODERN DOGS.
SPORTING DIVISION

A

HISTORY AND DESCRIPTION

OF THE

MODEEN DOGS

(SPORTING DIVISION)

OF

GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND,

BY

RAWDON B. LEE,

n

KENNEL EDITOR OF "THE FIELD," AUTHOR OF THE HISTORIES OF

"THE FOX TERRIER," "THE COLLIE," ETC.

THE ILLUSTRATIONS BY ARTHUR WARDLE.

LONDON :

HORACE COX,

FIELD " OFFICE, WINDSOR HOUSE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS,
CHANCERY LANE, E.G.

1893.

LONDON :
PRINTED BY HORACE COX, WINDSOR HOUSE, BREAM'S BUILDINGS, E.C.

PREFACE.

IN the following pages an endeavour has been
made to summarise the progress, and describe the
varieties, of the dog as they are at present known,
and, I believe, appreciated, in the British Isles.
Without losing any of the early history, my wish has
been to introduce matter bringing the subject up to
date ; not only so far as the work of dogs in the
field is concerned, but as they are found as com-
panions, and when winning, or attempting to win,
prizes in the show ring.

One or two new features have been introduced,
or rather revived, the most important change
being in connection with Mr. Wardle's illustrations.
With two exceptions these are not portraits, although
originally drawn from living examples. They are
to be taken as typical specimens of the various

vi Preface.

breeds they represent. The reasons for this de-
parture from modern custom will be obvious ; and
no doubt, for future reference, such pictures must be
more useful than any portraits of individual dogs
could be — dogs whose prominence before the public
is more or less ephemeral.

The exceptions are the drawings of the Grey-
hounds and of the Kerry Beagles. For the former,
the extraordinary work of the two great grey-
hounds, " Master M'Grath " and " Fullerton," could
not be passed over; besides, they form an admirable
example of how two hounds, totally different in
make and shape, can be equally good in the field.
This is the first occasion upon which an illustration
of the Kerry Beagle has been published in a work
of this kind. The drawing that faces page 97 is
taken from a photograph kindly lent me by Mr.
Clement Ryan, of Emly House, Tipperary, and is,
I believe, quite successful in conveying an idea of
what a Kerry Beagle is like.

Following the precedent of other writers, a point
scale is included in the description of each breed of

Preface. vii

dog. This is done, not with an idea that such
figures are of the slightest use in proving the excel-
lence, or otherwise, of any animal, but because
some readers, accustomed to such tables, might
think the book somewhat incomplete without them.

I thank all who assisted in providing subjects for
illustration, and in giving valuable information that
could not have been obtained, except from owners
who have made individual varieties of the dog a
special study. To them I dedicate this work, as a
slight return for their kindness and the interest
they have taken in its publication.

RAWDON B. LEE.

Brixton, London, March, 1893.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.
THE BLOODHOUND

CHAPTER II.
THE FOXHOUND

4I
CHAPTER III.

THE STAGHOUND

CHAPTER IV.

THE HARRIER 81

CHAPTER V.
THE BEAGLE 9I

CHAPTER VI.
THE OTTER HOUND 107

CHAPTER VII.
THE DEERHOUND I2I

CHAPTER VIII.

THE GREYHOUND ....

b

Contents.

CHAPTER IX.
THE WHIPPET . l67

CHAPTER X.
THE GREAT DANE ... • lll

CHAPTER XI.
THE IRISH WOLFHOUND iQ5

CHAPTER XII.
THE BORZOI OR RUSSIAN WOLFHOUND .... 207

CHAPTER XIII.
THE POINTER 233

CHAPTER XIV.
THE SETTER 275

CHAPTER XV.
THE ENGLISH SETTER 295

CHAPTER XVI.
THE BLACK AND TAN OR GORDON SETTER ... 327

CHAPTER XVII.
THE IRISH SETTER 343

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE RETRIEVER 369

CHAPTER XIX.
THE SPANIEL V . , 399

Contents. xi

CHAPTER XX.
THE IRISH WATER SPANIEL 409

CHAPTER XXI.
THE ENGLISH WATER SPANIEL 427

CHAPTER XXII.
THE CLUMBER SPANIEL 433

CHAPTER XXIII.
THE SUSSEX SPANIEL 453

CHAPTER XXIV.
THE BLACK FIELD SPANIEL 467

CHAPTER XXV.
THE NORFOLK SPANIEL 477

CHAPTER XXVI.
SPANIELS OTHER THAN BLACK 481

CHAPTER XXVII.
THE COCKER 487

CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE BASSET HOUND 497

CHAPTER XXIX:
THE DACHSHUND 525

ILLUSTRATIONS.

POINTERS AND SETTER Frontispiece.

BLOODHOUND Facing page \

FOXHOUNDS ,, 41

HARRIERS „ 81

BEAGLES „ 91

KERRY BEAGLES ,, 97

OTTER HOUNDS „ 107

DEERHOUNDS . . „ 121

GREYHOUNDS „ 143

WHIPPETS ,, 167

GREAT DANE ,, 177

IRISH WOLFHOUND „ 195

BORZOI „ 207

POINTER „ 233

SETTERS (English) » . ,, 295

,, (Black and Tan) ,, 327

(Irish) ........ „ 343

xiv Illustrations.

RETRIEVERS (Curly-Coated) ... . Facing page 373

,, (Flat or Wavy-Coated) . ,, 381

SPANIELS (Irish Water) „ 409

(Clumbers) „ 433

(Sussex) „ 453

(Black) „ 467

(Cocker) „ 487

BASSET HOUNDS „ 497

DACHSHUNDS •„ 525

fpokrtt §035 of drnit

CHAPTER I.
THE BLOODHOUND.

THE origin of the bloodhound cannot be traced
with any degree of satisfaction, but we believe that
no modern breed of dog is so like that progenitor
of his that may have lived three or four hundred
years ago, as is this well-favoured variety. Although
repeatedly used as a cross to improve the olfactory
organs, and the size and strength of other hounds,
especially of the otterhound, he has always had
admirers, who kept him for his own sake — because of
his handsome and noble appearance, because he was
a good watch and guard, and because he bore a
vulgar character for ferocity not attained by any
other dog.

The name " bloodhound," or sleuth hound, had
something to do with this, and he always bore
the reputation of being able to find a man, be he

[VOL. I.] B

Modern Dogs.

thief or otherwise, by scent, and either run him to
ground, as it were, or bring him to bay in such a
manner as to make his capture speedy. He does
this without biting or worrying his " human chase "
in the manner writers have often told us he was in
the habit of doing.

The natural instinct of this hound is rather to
hunt man than beast. As a puppy he may put his
nose to the ground and fumble out the line of any
pedestrian who has just passed along the road.
Other dogs will, as a rule, commence by hunting
their master, the bloodhound finds his nose by
hunting a stranger. There are old records of his
being repeatedly used for the latter purpose, whether
the quarry to be found were a murderer or poacher,
or maybe only some poor gentleman or nobleman
whose politics or religion was not quite in conformity
with that of those bigots who happened to be placed
over him.

Early in the seventeenth century, when the Moss-
troopers (but a polite name for Scottish robbers)
invested the border counties of Cumberland, North-
umberland, and Westmoreland, it was found that the
ordinary means of arrest and punishment were
insufficient to stop the raids of the thieves, so special
provision was made that should, if possible, put an
end to their depredations. The Scots were fleet of

The Bloodhound.

foot and active, and it was believed that the
employment of bloodhounds would strike terror
into the hearts of the marauders. The latter
.were to be pursued " with hot trod fragrant
delect, with red hand (as the Scots termed it),
with hound, and horn, and voice." Surely such
a hunt as this would be exciting enough, and
the hard-visaged borderers would have little com-
punction in allowing their hounds to give full vent
to their savagery.

The following is a copy of a warrant issued in
September, 1616, to the garrison at Carlisle, giving
orders as to the keeping of " slough dogs : "

Whereas upon due consideration of the increase of stealths, daily
growing both in deed and report among you on the borders, we
formally concluded and agreed, that for reformations therefor,
watches should be set, and slough dogs provided and kept according
to the contents of His Majesty's directions to us in that behalf
prescribed ; and for that, according to our agreement, Sir William
Hutton, at his last being in the country, and appoint how the
watches should be kept, when and where they should begin, and
how they might best and most fitly continue. And for the
bettering of His Majesty's service, and preventing further danger
that might ensue by the outlaws in resorting to the houses of
Thomas Routledge, alias Balihead, being nearest and next
adjoining to the Marshes (he himself having also joined them —
as is reported), order and direction were likewise given, that some
of the garrison should keep and reside in his the said Thomas
Routledge's house ; and there to remain until further directions
be given them, unless he the said Thomas Routledge shall come

B 2

Modern Dogs.

in and enter himself answerable to His Majesty's law, as is most
convenient .... and that you see that slough dogs be pro-
vided according to our former directions, as this note to this
warrant annexed particularly sets down.

The slough dogs to be provided and kept at the
charge of the inhabitants, were as follows :

Beyond Eske, there is to be kept at the foot of the Sarke one
dog; by the inhabitants the inside of the Sarke to Richmond
Clugh, to be kept at the Moate one dog ; by the inhabitants of
the parish of Arthured, above Richmond's Clugh with the Bayliffe
and Blackquarter, to be kept at Baliehead one dog.

Without quoting the whole of the warrant, it
may be stated that six other " slough dogs " were
ordered to be provided and kept at the expense of
the following parishes, one dog in each : Newcastle,
Stapleton, Irdington ; Lanercost and Walton ; Kirk-
lington, Scaleby, Houghton, and Rickarby ; and
Westlinton ; Roucliff, Etterby, Staunton, Stanix and
Cargo, to be kept at Roucliff.

No doubt there was considerable difficulty in
obtaining the levy or tax from the inhabitants to
keep these hounds in condition fit to run down a
man, and not hungry enough to eat him when they
had caught him. In case of refusal to pay their
dues to the sheriff or bailiffs appointed to collect the
same, the defaulters were to be put into gaol till the
amount due was forthcoming. It would be quite

The Bloodhound.

interesting to note whether such imprisonment was
ever enforced. Whether this was so or not, I have
not found any record to show, but it was said that
the hounds proved very useful for the purpose for
which they were provided.

The utilisation of bloodhounds in the above
manner did not escape the notice of Sir Walter
Scott. A King of Scotland, Robert Bruce, threw
hounds off his track by wading down stream, and
thus without touching the river bank contriving
to ensconce himself, squirrel-like, in a tree. The
great Wallace, too, was so sorely pressed by sleuth
hounds that to save himself he slew a companion
whom he suspected, so when the creatures came
up, they remained with the dead man whilst the
living one escaped. Later the ill-fated Duke of
Monmouth, who sought concealment in a ditch, after
his defeat by the Royal troops at Sedgemoor, was
discovered in his ignoble position by bloodhounds.
Happily this was the last battle fought on English
ground, and it seems strange that its cause, " King "
Monmouth, should be so captured by means of a
British hound. In 1795, two hundred bloodhounds
were, under British auspices, landed in Jamaica for
the purpose of subduing a rising of the Maroons.
Fortunately this canine importation struck such
terror in the hearts of the rebels that they at

Modern Dogs.

once laid down their arms and the war came to
an end.

However, long before Sedgemoor and the time of
the border forays the bloodhound was used in this
country. Gratius Faliscus, and Strabo, about the
Christian era, mentioned the importation of dogs of
this kind from Britain to Gaul, and Oppian im-
mortalises in verse the Agassaeos for their exquisite
power of scent and great courage. These big dogs
were obtained from Britain for the ignoble purposes
of war. Afterwards they came to be used for
hunting the stag and other large game, and from
them are no doubt descended many of the fine
hounds, still to be found in the possession of our
Gallic cousins.

Dame Juliana Berners, writing in her " Book of St.
Albans," published in 1486, does not appear to
mention the bloodhound, or sleuth hound, but the
Lemor or Lymer is no doubt the same dog, and so
called because it ran the line of scent, and not, as it
has been asserted, because it was the custom to run
it in a leash. Dr. Keyes (1570), mentions them as
having lips of large size, and ears of no small length.
The learned doctor tells us how these hounds ought
to be chained up in the daytime in dark places, so
that they become bolder and more courageous in
following the felon in the " solitary hours of dark-

f

The Bloodhound.

ness." He likewise describes them as being run
in a leash which is held in the hand of the man
in charge of the dogs. This was to enable the
huntsman, shall I call him, to be up with the hounds
when his services would be required. It seems from
the same writer, that, in addition to hunting the foot-
steps of the felon, these dogs were also trained to
hunt the cattle that might have been stolen, a
purpose for which he says they were much used on
the borders. This may have been so or not, most
likely the latter, for a drove of stolen cattle would be
easy enough to track without the aid of a keen
scenting " slough dog," though he might be able to
be of assistance, should the thief be ambitious to try
the strength and powers of his would-be captor.

From that period down to the present time, the
bloodhound was mostly kept as a companion, and
only occasionally has he been trained to " man-
hunting," to the terror of the poacher and the evil-
doer. For the latter purpose, he has repeatedly
proved of great service, and many stones are told of
the extraordinary power a skilful hound may possess,
in its faculty for sticking to the old scent, however
it may have been crossed and re-crossed by either
man or beast. Colonel Huldman mentions the
capture of some poachers through the instru-
mentality of bloodhounds, who hunted the men fully

8 Modern Dogs.

for five miles from the plantation, in which they were
committing their depredations. Another case is
mentioned, where a sheep-stealer was discovered by
similar means, though the hound was not laid on the
man's track until his scent was at least six hours
old. Another hound is said to have hunted for
twenty miles a fellow who was suspected of having
cut off the ears of one of his former master's horses,
and the scoundrel was captured and treated accord-
ing to his deserts.

The Field had the following not long ago :

In 1854 Tom Finkle, an old superintendent of police,
was stationed at Bedale, in Yorkshire, before the rural force was
established. He was the owner of a bloodhound named Voltigeur.
Old Tom was fond of company, and at that time sat for many a
night in the public-houses along with the farmers and tradesmen.
When he was wanted for anything particular at the police station,
Mrs. Finkle would let Voltigeur loose with, " Go and fetch master,"
and, no matter where " master " was, either in Bedale or the
neighbourhood, the hound was sure to find him ; and the moment
Finkle saw Voltigeur, the old superintendent knew he was
required at the station.

In the winter of 1854, or early in 1855, certain burglars broke
into a house at Askew, and stole a quantity of silver plate and
linen. The burglars, heard by the inmates of the house, had
to decamp rather hurriedly, and a messenger was immediately
sent to the police station to report the outrage. Old Tom was, as
usual, with his companions at the Royal Oak, whilst his wife was
in bed. The latter immediately got up and turned Voltigeur loose,
with the order, " Go and fetch master." The hound was not long
in doing his duty, and Tom, jumping off his seat, said to his

The Bloodhound.

friends, " I am wanted at home," and hurried there as quickly as
possible. His wife reported the circumstances of the robbery to
her husband, who at once called his constable, and saddled
his horse.

The two then started off to the scene of the robbery, and after
visiting the house and learning all particulars, they went outside.
When in the grounds, Finkle said to Voltigeur, " Where are they ?
Seek ' em," and Voltigeur, putting his nose to the ground, took
up the scent and went away at a nice pace, every now and then
giving tongue. The night being calm, Voltigeur's voice was heard
by many. The hound made out the line of the robbers on to the
High-street leading from Boroughbridge to Catterick, and after
going about three miles on the High-street he stopped suddenly
at a small watercourse that ran under the road. The superin-
tendent dismounted and looked under the bridge, where he found
a bundle containing a quantity of linen and silver plate, part of
the proceeds of the robbery. He waited there for a time until his
man came up, then, remounting, ordered his hound on again".
Voltigeur put his nose to the ground, and went back along the
same road he had come for about a mile. Then through a gate
he made his way to an outbarn and buildings.

Here the bloodhound became more excited, and was baying
and giving tongue freely as his owner and his man got up. The
superintendent went to one door, and the constable to the other.
The former demanded admittance, but all was still as death, and
the doors fast. Tom looked about the buildings and found a
crowbar, and was then soon into the barn, where he discovered
two men concealed in the straw. They appealed for mercy, and
prayed him to keep the dog off, and they would yield themselves
up quietly. The prisoners were then secured and searched, and
upon them was found the remainder of the stolen property.
They were taken to Bedale, locked up for the night, next day
brought before the magistrates and committed to the assizes,
where they were sentenced to five years' penal servitude each,
there being previous convictions against them. Voltigeur was of

io Modern Dogs.

the Duke of Leed's strain of bloodhounds, some of which were at
that time kept at Hornby Castle, Yorkshire.

But dog stories, like the yarns of fishermen and
shooters, are apt to become rather monotonous
than otherwise, to say nothing of the exaggerations
that creep into them occasionally. However, the
authenticity of the above interesting account is
beyond reproach, hence it. was deemed worthy of
reproduction here.

Captain Powell, wnriting in 1892 on the convicts
of Florida (London : Gay and Bird), gives some
interesting information as to the dogs used there in
tracking such criminals as may attempt to escape.
He says that, although bloodhounds were first used,
they were found quite useless, and at the present
time foxhounds were used for man-hunting in all
the southern convict camps. These hounds are
trained when young to follow the track of a man
who is sent to run a few miles through the woods ;
and there is no difficulty whatever in so training
them. Indeed, the author tells us that he has had
hounds that were " natural man-hunters/' He gives
an instance where some puppies he was carrying at
the time a convict tried to escape were put on his
trail, and followed it until he was captured. Captain
Powell corroborates what I have already written,
that it is a popular error to suppose that hounds

The Bloodhound. u

attack a prisoner when they run up upon him.
When once the man is brought to bay, they are
a great deal too wary to venture close enough to
their chase to run the risk of a blow ; in fact, they
merely act as guides to the men who follow closely
on horseback.

Some six years or so ago, at Warwick, in 1886, an
attempt was made to hold trials of bloodhounds in
connection with the dog show held there. These
were, however, a failure, excepting so far as they
afforded an inducement to owners of the variety to
give a little time and trouble to working their
favourites, which hitherto had only been kept for
fancy purposes. A little later, similar meetings were
held at Dublin, in the grounds of the Alexandra
Palace, London, and elsewhere, but in no case could
they be called very successful.

I had the good fortune to be present at two
particularly interesting gatherings, that took place
during the wintry weather of January, 1889, and,
maybe, the following particulars, written at the time,
give a better idea of the modern capabilities of blood-
hounds than could be written now. It must be
noted that the hounds mentioned were of the so-
called prize strains, were " show dogs " in the
modern acceptation of the term, and, excepting
perhaps in ferocity, they would no doubt compare

12 Modern Dogs.

favourably with any hounds of the kind that lived
fifty, a hundred, or more years ago.

Readers will no doubt be aware that, about 1889
and a little earlier, considerable commotion had
been caused in the metropolis by the perpetra-
tion of some terrible crimes. The police arrange-
ments were quite futile, and the murderers still
remain at large. The attention of the authorities
was drawn to the fact, that bloodhounds might be
of use to them in such a case. Mr. Hood Wright
offered the loan of his hound Hector, but, owing to
the fact that he required some indemnity in case his
dog was killed or injured, Hector remained at home.

Mr. E. Brough was then communicated with, and
he brought from Scarborough to London a couple of
his hounds, when they had several " rehearsals " in
St. James's Park, where they acquitted themselves
to the satisfaction of the Chief Commissioner of
Police ; but it may be said, that, though repeatedly
the line of scent was crossed by a strange foot,
without throwing off the hound, when the same was
done in the streets and on the pavement hounds
were quite at fault. Indeed, to be useful in tracking
criminals in a town very special training would be
needed, and, personally, I believe that bloodhounds,
even with that training, would be useless in our
large centres for police purposes.

The Bloodhound. 13

Under fair conditions any bloodhound will, in a few
lessons, run the trail of a man a mile or two, or more,
whose start may vary from ten minutes or a quarter
of an hour, or longer. Some of the more practised
hounds can hunt the scent even though it be an hour
old, and we know that a couple of Mr. Brough's
bloodhounds, early one summer's morning, hunted
for a considerable distance the footsteps of a man
who had gone along the road eight hours before.

This is, of course, exceptional, but, with a proper
course of training during three or four generations,
there is no reason to doubt that bloodhounds would
.be able to reliably make out the trail of a man who
had gone three or four hours previously — so long, of
course, as his footsteps have not been crossed and
recrossed by others, or foiled in any other way.

That hounds will ever be got to track a criminal,
or anyone else, on the cold, damp flags continually
passed over by pedestrians, as in the streets of
London and other large towns, no one who under-
stands them will believe. Such work they never have
done, and never will do ; nor do the owners them-
selves aspire to such excellence for their favourites
In country districts they may be of aid, but in towns,
so far as appearances are at present, the apprehension
of criminals must be left to the mental sagacity of
the official biped.

14 Modern Dogs.

Bloodhounds might be of use in smelling out any
secreted article or a man in hiding ; but an equally
well-trained retriever, or even terrier or poodle,
would do this description of work equally well.

The bloodhound stands alone amongst all the
canine race in his fondness for hunting the footsteps
of a stranger ; any dog will hunt those of his master
or of someone he knows, and of a stranger, probably,
whose shoes are soaked in some stinking preparation
to leave a scent behind. The bloodhound requires
nothing but the so-called " clean shoe," and, once lay
him on the track, he hunts it as a foxhound would the
fox, or the harrier or beagle the hare.

To proceed with the following description of man-
hunting with bloodhounds:

The storm of Sunday had passed, and how deep
the snow lay in the streets and in the country places
on the Monday, are now a matter of history. The air
was keen and sharp, made so by a brisk north wind
which blew on the Monday morning, when we left
Euston station for Boxmoor, where we were to see
two couples of Mr. Brough's bloodhounds run in the
open country without assistance of any kind, and
under any conditions which might prevail at the time.
Surely the surroundings could not well have been
more unfavourable unless a rapid thaw, immediately
following the snow, had made them so. At Boxmoor

The Bloodhound. 15

the country was thoroughly white. The snow lay on
the ground to an uniform depth of about eight inches ;
where it had drifted, occasionally we were almost up
to our knees. For a time the sky was fairly bright,
but later a blinding shower of snow fell, which
happily cleared off in about an hour's time. At our
terminus we were joined by Mr. Holmes Pegler, who
brought with him a dog hound named Danger, by
Maltravers out of Blossom. This hound a few
generations back can claim some of the old southern
hound blood ; but he shows not the slightest trace of
this, being a good-looking black and tan animal,
though not in the best of form, so far as health is
concerned. He had very little preliminary training,
and thus afforded fair evidence of what a bloodhound
will do under adverse circumstances. Our small
party — which included, in addition to the gentlemen
already mentioned, three ladies in a sleigh, Dr.
Philpot, and Mr. W. K. Taunton — made the best way
along the lanes to the Downs, and, ascended them,
on to the Sheep Hanger Common. Towards the
summit we found ourselves on one side of a pretty
valley, which even under its wintry garb looked quite
charming, and afforded some idea of the beauty of
the locality when summer blooms. However, before
quite reaching the hill top it was decided to give
Danger a trial.

1 6 Modern Dogs.

A man was selected for the purpose, and the
course he had to run was pointed out to him. The
thickly lying snow made locomotion very difficult,
and as even now there came a recurrence of the
storm, a comparatively short start was given. In
seven minutes from the time the man had set off,
Danger was laid on his track, and, picking up the
line in an instant, went away at a quick rate along the
hillside. We tried to run with the hound, but to do
this in the deep snow and keep Danger in sight was
impossible. After following him some six hundred
yards or so, we had to make our way to the tiny knot
of spectators on the hilltop, and once there saw that
he had lost the line, after running it well for some-
thing less than half a mile. In making a cast round,
he unfortunately struck the wind of the spectators,
and came back to them. Nor did he seem very
persevering in attempting to regain the scent, giving
us the idea that in previous trials he had not been
allowed to depend upon his own exertions to recover
a lost trail.

Mr. Brough's hounds included Barnaby (one of
the couple brought to London at the instance of the
late Commissioner of Police), and Beeswing, with
Belhus and Blueberry, their offspring. The two first
named are well-known hounds on the show bench.
Barnaby had run at the Warwick trials ; the younger

The Bloodhound. 17

animals are fairly good looking, and their work was
quite satisfactory. Blueberry was afforded the next
trial, a stranger to him acting as the quarry, taking
a course down the hill over sundry fences, making
one side of a circle, a distance of about a mile.
After eight minutes' law the hound was un-
leashed, and had no difficulty in hitting the line,
though snow was falling heavily. She carried it
along at a good pace, quite mute, and, a little at a
loss at one fence in the hollow, cast well around,
refound the line, and, without more ado, ran it out up
to the man.

At one portion of this trial a labourer crossed the
track, but the bitch stuck to her line, and was not
thrown out for a moment. Without resting, the two
couples of the Scarborough hounds had a quarry
provided in Dr. Philpot. For some distance he made
his way along the hillside, through scrub and stunted
bushes, down to a hedge at the foot of the vale.
Here there was a road, and, crossing this and a fence,
the quarry made up a bare field to a plantation.
Skirting the wood for three hundred yards, another
fence was reached, across this, along some bare
ground, by the side of another hedge, to the foot of
the hill where we stood. No better view of such a
trial could be had. This course was quite a mile.
As the four hounds were to start, they were slipped

[VOL. I.] C

1 8 Modern Dogs.

ten minutes after their quarry had gone. Barnaby,
a little slow in commencing, was not long behind,
and, with a fresh and cheerful burst of music, the
little pack raced along at an extraordinary pace, con-
sidering the depth of the snow. A little hesitancy
in the bottom, and Barnaby cast forward a little, had
" it" again, "his wife and children" flew to his note,
and away they rattled up to the plantation.

The old dog's size and strength were useful in this
deep going, and he led the way ; but scent must
have been good, for, without losing it again, they
raced down the hill, and fairly caught their man
before he reascended from the valley. A good trial
in every way.

Possibly the prettiest hunt of the day was afforded
by Beeswing and Danger, with Master Pegler to be
hunted, and a ten minutes' start given him. These
hounds did not at the first hit off the line, but, when
fairly on the track, went through the scrub, down the
hill to the foot road, and over the fence without a
check. Some nice work was done in the bare field,
especially where the quarry struck off at a sharp
angle, and along by the fence of the plantation.
They had no difficulty in making out the whole of
the course, which we would take to be about three-
quarters of a mile

The final trial was run by the entire two couples

The Bloodhound. 19

and a half of hounds, and, with fifteen minutes' law
to the quarry. Now that the snow had ceased, the
pack quickly went along the right line down the hill
and over the first fence. In the middle of the second
field, some quarter of a mile from the start, Danger
seemed at a loss, and, turning back to his owner who
was following as fast as the deep snow would admit,
somewhat disconcerted the other hounds, as they
turned round to the voice of Mr. Pegler, who called
his hound up. Higher up the field Beeswing
appeared to be the one that struck the scent again,
her voice attracting her kennel companions, who
rattled along the correct track up to a hedge which
lay to the left. The quarry had skirted this
boundary line, and made his way down hill to a couple
of hay stacks, or, at any rate, stacks of some kind.
He had doubled along the road here, but hounds
found him without the slightest difficulty.

As all hunting and shooting men know, scent is
one of the mysteries of nature. Here we were out
on a day when one might reasonably expect that
hounds would be unable to run a hundred yards with-
out a check. Still, all these bloodhounds, with their
quarry given from seven to fifteen minutes' start, hit
the line, and took it along at a " racing pace/' it may
be called, when the ten or eight inches of snow are
taken into consideration. The keen north wind, too,

C 2

20 Modern Dogs.

must have been against scent, and one of the best
trials of all was run in a blinding snowstorm. Surely,
then, these bloodhounds have olfactory powers of
more than average excellence ; at any rate, that
Monday they proved to us their possession of such.
The men who acted as quarry had no knowledge of
these hounds, no strongly smelling concoctions were
smeared over their boots ; and, indeed, they had
been standing over the shoe tops in snow during the
whole of the time the trials were taking place. So
the " clean shoe " must in the end have been sadly
water soaked. These bloodhounds did all we
expected them to do, even more, and we are quite
prepared to see the same hounds, under more favour-
able circumstances, hunt a man's trail or footsteps
though they be two hours old. Running singly,
each hound was mute ; together they gave tongue,
and their voices were very fine. It may be interest-
ing to state that, in their earlier training, all Mr.
Brough's hounds ran silently, whether hunting
together or separately; but, working them with a
noisy basset, they were tempted or encouraged to
throw their voices, as they now do when hunting in
company.

The trials arranged by the Kennel Club were
advertised to take place on the racecourse adjoining
the Alexandra Palace on Wednesday morning, at

The Bloodhound. 21

10.30. As it happened, when that hour was reached,
the only one of the three judges present was Colonel
Starkie, who a little later was joined by Lord Alfred
Fitzroy. Then snow began to fall, few of the stewards
were in the dog show, and the prospects seemed to
favour an abandonment of the trials altogether. Up
to 11.30 o'clock nothing had been decided upon, so
Mr. Craven, with his couple of entered hounds, went
home. Next it was officially stated that a decision
would be come to at twenty minutes to one, when it
was resolved to hold the trials. The snow had by
this time given place to rain ; a cold, chilly wind
blew from the south-west ; and these combinations,
with the addition of the wet, damp ground, upon
which old snow lay three inches or more in depth,
made the surroundings of these trials as unfavour-
able as they well could be.

Mr. Lindsay Hogg, in addition to the gentlemen
already named, judged, but the duties were almost
sinecures. Several tracks had been marked out by
small flags, and, although these courses were said to
be six hundred yards in length, they appeared con-
siderably more — probably that distance straight
away, with the run home additional. Each hound
was allowed a track of his own, which extended along
the racecourse for several hundred yards on the flat,
over sundry lots of railings, winding round in the

22 Modern Dogs.

direction of a small plantation. The hounds had to
pass this, and then enter the road on the run home.

The latter portion of the track was along the
same line by each man who acted as the quarry,
thus making the trials more difficult tests for the
hound ; though those that ran first must necessarily
have had the advantage, as the latter part of the
road was less foiled by one or two men than it would
have been by half a dozen. Two stakes were pro-
vided, the one for the " clean boot," the other for
the " not clean boot." The latter in this instance
meant that the shoe soles of the man acting as
quarry had been rubbed with horseflesh, the only
material at hand for the purpose. As a fact, the
second stake never ought to have been arranged,
and it is by no means to the credit of a bloodhound
that he should require such assistance ; the status of
the trials was thus reduced to the commonplace
" hound dog" trails, so popular in the rural districts
of the North of England. As matters progressed,
the bloodhounds actually hunted the clean boot
better than they did the soiled one, and we would
suggest that in future, when the " not clean boot"
is to be run, terriers rather than bloodhounds should
be utilised for the work.

However, in due course one of the keepers out of
the show was despatched as quarry, with a start of

f

The Bloodhound. 23

ten minutes, during which time he traversed more
than three-fourths of the course. Then the first
hound, Mr. B. C. Knowles's Koodoo, was slipped.
He struck the line immediately, but lost it after going
about a hundred yards, and, casting round, struck
the wind of some of the spectators, and, failing to
persevere, was called up.

Mr. W. J. Scott's Hebe III., a smart bitch, likewise
picked up the line quickly, and, running it a little too
much to windward, was at a loss for a moment. She
cast well, and without assistance struck the scent,
and kept it until she turned the corner at the planta-
tion and out of sight of the spectators. For a time
Hebe tried to regain the lost line, and looked like
doing so until catching the wind of a labourer, and
rather startling him by making his passing acquaint-
ance. She failed to finish her task.

Mr. R. Hood Wright's well-known Hector II.,
who had performed well at the trials in the grounds
of Warwick Castle two years before, and now nearly
eight years old, was, after the stipulated five
minutes, put upon the line. He did not start with
so much dash as the bitch had done, carried his
head nearer the ground, and ran the exact line the
quarry had taken. This he did well, and the manner
in which he leaped those railings the man had
climbed, and ran under those he had crept through,

24 Modern Dogs.

interested the spectators not a little. There was no
mistake as to the correctness of his nose up to the
plantation ; but here, where the quarry had turned,
the hound was at fault. He cast about till striking
the line again, and was hard on the track of the man
on turning into the road home. This he stuck to
until near the goal, when he became somewhat dis-
concerted, no doubt striking the wind of the crowd
as he approached them. His trial was very well
run.

Mrs. Danger's Jaff was absent, and Mr. E. Brough's
Blueberry strangely refused to run, though what we
saw of her work on Monday proves her an excellent
bitch, and her owner considered her about his best.
Mr. Brough's Barnaby, mentioned earlier on, went
quicker along the line the runner had taken than
Hector had done, and, like him, cleared or went
under the railings according to the mode the quarry
had adopted. Just before reaching the plantation
Barnaby lost the scent, but cast to the right and left
until it was struck again. He, too, was a consider-
able time out of sight behind the plantation, but on
reappearing in the road he was running the line of
the man, which he continued much as Mr. Wright's
hound had done, failing to quite come up to the
winning post for similar reasons.

Dr. Hales Parry's Primate was absent, so the

The Bloodhound. 25

end of the stake was reached, there being four of
the nine entries that failed to meet their engagement.
The judges awarded the prizes as follows : First,
Mr. R. H. Wright's Hector II. ; second, Mr. E.
Brough's Barnaby ; third, Mr. W. J. Scott's Hebe
III. ; the fourth, of course, being withheld. There
was little to choose between the first two, for both
ran excellent trials, considering the unfavourable
surroundings, and afforded ample proof, even to the
incredulous, that the bloodhound will hunt a man
without even smelling any part of his person or
clothes until laid on the track of his footsteps.

The second stake is of no account whatever,
being that already alluded to, where the men acting
as quarry had their shoe soles smeared with raw
horseflesh. It was, however, thought that three
competitors of the five entries would run well, so the
time was taken, and Koodoo, who did badly on the
" clean boot," now ran a brilliant course at a good
pace, going the distance, including a check behind
the wood, in five minutes. Hebe III. and Hector
II. both began well, but, losing the line at about
three-fourths the distance, failed to regain it, and
were called up. They were awarded equal seconds,
Mr. Knowles's Koodoo taking premier honours.

So much for the bloodhound trials ; and now,
when writing in 1892, they appear to have been

26 Modern Dogs.

entirely discontinued, at any rate so far as public
exhibitions of them are concerned.

With the introduction of dog shows the general
public were enabled to see howfar the bloodhound sur-
vived, and the early exhibitions held at Birmingham
always included two nicely filled classes of this dog,
which many persons believed to be almost extinct.

" Stonehenge," writing in 1869, says :

Until within the last twenty-five years, or thereabouts, the blood-
hound has been almost entirely confined to the kennels of the
English nobility; but at about that distance of time Mr. Jennings,
of Pickering, in Yorkshire, obtained a draft or two from Lord
Faversham and Baron Rothschild, and in a few years, by his
skill and care, produced his Druid and Welcome, a magnificent
couple of hounds, which he afterwards sold, at what was then
considered a high price, to Prince Napoleon for breeding purposes.
In the course of time, and probably from the fame acquired by
these dogs at the various shows, his example was followed by his
north-country neighbours, Major Cowen and Mr. J. W. Pease, who
monopolised the prizes of the show bench with successive Druids,
descended from Mr. Jennings's dog of that name, and aided by
Draco, Dingle, Dauntless, &c., all of the same strain. In 1869,
however, another candidate for fame appeared in Mr. Holford's
Regent, a magnificent dog, both in shape and colour, but still of
the same strains, and, until the appearance of Mr. Reynold Ray's
Roswell in 1870, no fresh blood was introduced among the first-
prize winners at our chief shows. The dog, who died in 1877,
maintained his position for the same period almost without
dispute, and even in his old age it took a good dog to beat him.

About 1860, Lord Bagot, of Blithefield, near Tarn-
worth, had some very fine hounds, and was success-

The Bloodhound. 27

ful with both the dogs and bitches he put on the
benches at the National Show in Curzon Hall.

Coming down to the present time, there are
perhaps more admirers of the bloodhound than at
any previous period of its history. Dog shows have,
no doubt, popularised him ; and, well cared for and
well treated, made a companion of, instead of being
kept chained in a kennel or in a dark cellar, he has
lost most of his natural ferocity, and is quite as
amiable as any other variety of the canine race.
Colonel Cowan still keeps a hound or two at Blaydon,
near Newcastle; Mr. E. Brough, near Scarborough, is
perhaps our greatest breeder ; but good bloodhounds
are also to be found in the kennels of Mr. Tinker,
near Birmingham ; of Mr. F. B. Craven, Bakewell ;
of Mr. M. H. Hill, Birmingham; of Dr. Reynolds
Ray, Dulwich; of Dr. Parry, Norfolk; of Mr. C.
Garnett, near Bolton ; of Mr. R. H. Wright, Newton-
le-Willows ; of Mr. H. C. Hodgson, Lichfield ; of
Mr. E. Nichols, South Kensington ; of Mr. Morrel,
Mr. M. Beaufoy, Mr. J. E. Wilby, and others.

Here mention must be made of the pack of
bloodhounds, kept about sixteen years ago, by the
late Lord Wolverton, who hunted the " carted " deer
with them in Dorsetshire and in the Blackmore Vale
Country. They were sold by him to Lord Carring-
ton, who had them but a single season, during

28 Modern Dogs.

which he showed sport in Buckinghamshire. From
here they went into the kennels of Count Couteulx
de Canteleu, in France, where they have been useful
in hunting both wild deer and wild boar.

Prior to this Mr. Selby Lowndes had several
couples of bloodhounds, in Whaddon Chase, where
occasionally they had a run after deer. One of his
hounds, named Gamester, bore a great reputation as
a man-hunter, and on more than one occasion was
useful in capturing thieves. This hound appears
to have been a waif from some other kennel, for he
was purchased from a hawker for ten pounds, the
latter using him as a protection, and to run under
his van.

Then it is said, bloodhounds have been owned by
the verderers in connection with the New Forest in
Hampshire, but they were known as Talbots, and
most of these hounds were smaller than our modern
hounds. Mr. T. Nevil had a small pack at Chillend,
near Winchester, dark coloured hounds — black St.
Huberts they were called ; a well-known writer in
Bailey's Magazine^ gives a long description of
them, which, he says, were descendants of the pack
of which William Rufus was master. It was said
they would hunt anything, from " the jackal and the
lordly stag, to the water-rat and such ' small deer.' '
At the present time there is no pack of bloodhounds

The Bloodhound. 29

kept in this country for hunting purposes, still, with
the many admirers of the race, there is little fear of
the strain being allowed to become of the past.

As already hinted, our bloodhound has, in reality,
suffered less from a craze to breed for certain
exaggerated features, than some other dogs have
done. He is still a fairly powerful and large hound,
with great thickness of bone, well sprung ribs and
considerable power behind. I rather fancy that, like
most large sized dogs, he fails more in his loins,
and hind legs, than elsewhere, nor does he, as a
rule, carry so much muscle as a foxhound. No
doubt in head and ears he has much improved since
the time he was kept for the public good at the
expense of the inhabitants of the Scottish borders.

Some of our modern hounds, have been simply
extraordinary in what are technically called " head "
properties. Perhaps the finest hound in this respect
was Captain Clayton's Luath XL, a fawn in colour,
a huge specimen of his variety, weighing over io61b.,
but unfortunately spoiled by his execrable fore legs
and feet. On the contrary, Mrs. Humphries' Don,
that once did a considerable amount of winning,
excelled in legs and feet, and loins — a plain-
headed hound, always much over estimated. Mr.
E. Nichols had a dark coloured hound, called
Triumph, that excelled in head and ears, and perhaps

30 Modern Dogs.

there has been no better hound in this respect than
Cromwell, owned by Mr. E. Millais, but bred by Mr.
W. Nash in 1884, by Nestor — Daisy. The head
properties of this hound were so fine that on his
death, in 1892, a model was taken of them by Mr.
Millais. But here a list cannot be given of all the ex-
cellent bloodhounds that have made their appearance
of late years, the dog-show catalogues afford a better
selection than I could supply here, and the owners
of the kennels named above are certainly to be com-
plimented on the progress they have made with the
bloodhound, notwithstanding the difficulty to be sur-
mounted in rearing the puppies.

Mr. Edwin Brough, no doubt the most experienced
breeder of the present day, believes the modern
bloodhound to be much speedier on foot than in the
old days of the Mosstroopers, and there are now,
in 1892, certainly more really good bloodhounds to
be found in this country, than has ever been the
case. Perhaps Bono, Bardolph, and Burgundy,
from the Scarborough kennels, generally have never
been excelled, and now, in 1892, the two latter,
as Bono had done earlier on, often win the special
cup awarded to the best dog in the show.

The pedigree of our present bloodhounds has
been well kept during the past generation or so, and
their reliability in the Stud Book is undoubted.

The Bloodhound. 31

The late Mr. J. H. Walsh (" Stonehenge "), in a
previous edition of this book, appears to have ob-
tained a prejudice against the temperament and
character of the bloodhound, formed evidently by a
very savage and determined dog of Grantly
Berkeley's, called Druid. Whether modern dog
shows have been the means of improving this hound's
temper, and making him as amiable and devoted a
friend as any other dog, I cannot tell ; but, that he
is so, no one who has ever kept the variety will doubt.
Bring a bloodhound up in the house or stable and
use him as a companion, and he will requite you for
your trouble. He is gentle and kind, less addicted
to fighting than many other big dogs ; he is sen-
sible, cleanly, of noble aspect, and in demeanour
the aristocrat of hounds.

Of course, there are ill-conditioned dogs of every
variety, but the average bloodhound will develop
into as good a companion as any other of his race ;
he may be shy at first, but kindness will improve
him in this respect. In hunting, he is slower than
the foxhound, but more painstaking than are the
members of the fashionable pack. He dwells on the
quest a long time, seemingly enjoying the peculiar
sensation he may derive through his olfactory
organs, and will cast well on his own account.
The latter, a faculty that ought not to be lost,

32 Modern Dogs.

though in many hunting countries, where a good
gallop is considered more desirable than observing
hound work, the master or huntsman assists the
hounds, rather than allows them to assist them-
selves.

The lovely voice the bloodhound possesses need
not be dilated upon by me, and moreover, he has a
power of transmitting that " melody " to his offspring
to an unusual extent. I fancy that our modern otter-
hound owes something of his melodious cry to some
not very remote crosses with the bloodhound; and if
I mistake not, Major Cowan has found his strain of
" Druids " useful in his well-known Braes o' Derwent
foxhounds.

If asked to recommend a large dog as a com-
panion, I should certainly place the bloodhound
very high on the list, possibly on a level with the
St. Bernard, and only below the Scottish deerhound.
And in one respect he is better even than the latter;
he is not nearly so quarrelsome with other dogs.
Not very long ago, a bloodhound was running
about the busy streets of Brixton daily ; he never
snarled at a passing cur or terrier, and was the
favourite of every little boy and girl in the neigh-
bourhood. Had their parents known that the big
black and brown creature their children were petting
and stroking on the head was a bloodhound, the

The Bloodhound. 33

ferocious dog of story books and history, what a
scene there would have been.

Sir E. Landseer, the animal painter, thoroughly
appreciated the bloodhound, its staid manner, its
majestic appearance. He, with Mr. Jacob Bell, kept
hounds of his own, and all know how he immortalised
them on canvas. His " Sleeping Bloodhound," now
in the National Gallery, was a portrait of Mr. Bell's
favourite Countess, run over and killed in a stable
yard ; and it was after her death she was painted
forming the subject, " A sleep that has no waking."
Graf ton, in the popular picture, " Dignity and
Impudence" was a bloodhound considered to be of
great merit in his day, now he would be regarded
as an ordinary specimen.

Mr. Brough, writing in the Century Magazine,
about three years ago, goes at considerable length
into the training of bloodhounds, which is best done
by allowing the hound to hunt the " clean boot,"
rather than one smeared with blood or anything else.
He says :

Hounds work better when entered to one particular scent and
kept to that only, Mr. Brough never allows his hounds to hunt any-
thing but the clean boot, but begins to take his pups to exercise
on the roads when three or four months old, and a very short time
suffices to get them under good command. You can begin scarcely
too early to teach pups to hunt the clean boot. For the first few
times it is best to let them run some one they know ; afterwards it

[VOL. I.] D

34 Modern Dogs.

does not matter how often the runner is changed. He should caress
and make much of the pups and then let them see him start, but
get out of their sight as quickly as possible and run in a straight
line, say two hundred yards up wind on grass-land, and then hide
himself. The man who hunts the pups should know the exact
line taken, and take the pups over it, trying to encourage them to
hunt until they get to their man, who should reward them with a
bit of meat. This may have to be repeated several times before
they really get their heads down ; but when they have once begun
to hunt they improve rapidly and take great delight in the quest.
Everything should be made as easy as possible at first and the
difficulties increased very gradually. This may be done by hav-
ing the line crossed by others, by increasing the time before the
pups are laid on, or by crossing roads, &c. When the pups get
old enough they should be taught to jump boldly and to swim
brooks where necessary. When young hounds have begun to run
fairly well it will be found very useful to let the runner carry a
bundle of sticks two feet or two feet six inches long, pointed at
one end and with a piece of white paper in a cleft at the other end.
When he makes a turn or crosses a fence he should put one of
these sticks down and incline it in the direction he is going to
take next. This will give the person hunting the hounds some
idea of the correctness of their work, though the best hounds do
not always run the nearest to the line. On a good scenting day I
have seen hounds running hard fifty yards or more to leeward of
the line taken. These sticks should be taken up when done with,
or they may be found misleading on some other occasion. The
hounds will soon learn to cast themselves or try back if they over-
run the line, and should never receive any assistance so long as
they continue working on their own account. It is most impor-
tant that they should become self-reliant. The line should be
varied as much as possible. It is not well to run hounds over
exactly the same course they have been hunted on some previous
occasion. If some hounds are much slower than the rest it is best
to hunt them by themselves, or they may get to " score to cry," as

The Bloodhound. 35

the old writers say, instead of patiently working out the line for
themselves.

It is a great advantage to get hounds accustomed to strange
sights and noises. If a hound is intended to be brought to a
pitch of excellence that shall enable him to be used in thorough-
fares, he should be brought up in a town and see as much bustle
as possible. If he is only intended to be used in open country,
with occasional bits of road work, this is not necessary. Blood-
hounds give tongue freely when hunting any wild animal, but
many hounds run perfectly mute when hunting man. This is,
however, very much a matter of breeding. Some strains run man
without giving tongue at all ; others are very musical.

The points of the bloodhound are numerically as
follows :

Value.

Head 20

Ears and eyes 15

Flews 5

Neck 5

Chest and shoulders i o

55

Value.
Back and ribs ............ 10

Legs and feet ............ 15

Colour and coat .........

Stern ........................ 5

Symmetry .................. j

45

Grand Total 100.

i. The head (value 20) is the peculiar feature of
this breed ; and thus it is estimated at a very high
rate. In the male it is large in all its dimensions
but width, in which there is a remarkable deficiency.
The upper surface is domed, ending in a blunt point
at the occiput ; but the brain case is not developed
to the same extent as the jaws, which are very long

D 2

36 Modern Dogs.

and wide at the nostrils, hollow and very lean in the
cheeks and notably under the eyes. The brows are
moderately prominent, and the general expression
of the whole head is grand and majestic. The
skin covering the forehead and cheeks is wrinkled in
a remarkable manner, wholly unlike any other dog.
These points are not nearly so fully developed in the
bitch ; but still they are to be demanded in the same
proportionate degree.

2. Ears and eyes (value 15). — The ears are long
enough to overlap one another considerably when
drawn together in front of the nose; the "leather"
should be very thin, and should hang very forward
and close to the cheeks ; never showing the slightest
tendency to " prick," they should be covered with
very short, soft, and silky hair. The eyes are
generally hazel, not small, though seeming so because
deeply sunk, showing the third eyelid or " haw,"
which ought to be of a deep red colour. This red-
ness of the haw is, as a rule, an indication of blood-
hound cross wherever it is observed in other breeds,
whether in the mastiff, Gordon setter, or St. Bernard,
though occasionally it is met with in varieties in
which no trace of the bloodhound can be traced.

3. The flews (value 5) are remarkably long and
pendant, sometimes falling fully two inches below
the angle of the mouth.

The Bloodhound. 37

4. The neck (value 5) is long, so as to enable
this hound to drop his nose to the ground without
altering his pace. In front of the throat there is a
considerable dewlap.

5. Chest and shoulders (value 10). — The chest
wide and deep, forming a sort of keel between the
fore legs ; shoulders sloping and muscular.

6. The back and back ribs (value 10) should be
wide and deep, the size of the dog necessitating
great power in this department. The hips, or
11 couples," should be specially attended to, and they
should be wide, or almost ragged.

7. Legs &h&feet (value 15). — Many bloodhounds
are deficient in these important parts, owing to
breeding from bad-constitutioned and sickly hounds,
and, no doubt, from lack of exercise. The legs must
be straight and muscular, and the ankles of full size.
The feet also are often flat, but they should be, if
possible, round and catlike.

8. Colour and coat (value 7-5-). — The colour most
general is black and tan, the legs, feet, and all or
part of the face being a tan colour, and the back
and sides and the upper part of neck and stern
black. There is sometimes a white star on the
chest, and a little white on the feet is admissible.
Some fifteen years since it was not at all uncommon
to see white flecks on the black and a white tip to

38 Modern Dogs.

stern. The former peculiarity seems unfortunately
to be quite lost, but the white tip to stern is still
sometimes met with. A brown red with tan
markings is common now, much more so than it
was once. The most beautiful colour of all is a
tawny shade more or less mixed with black on the
back. This is, however, rare.

9. The stern (value 5) carried less gaily than in
most hounds ; it should not be raised beyond a right
angle with the back, and usually wrhen the hound is
not working, it is carried rather low in a somewhat
slovenly fashion. The lower side is fringed with hair
about two inches long, ending in a point.

10. The symmetry (value 7^-) of the bloodhound
as regarded from an artistic point of view should be
examined carefully, and valued in proportion to the
degree in which it is developed.

The average height of a bloodhound is about
26 inches at the shoulders for a dog, and from one to
two inches less for a bitch, and 85lb. to 9olb. is a
fair weight for a well grown specimen in good con-
dition, though some few hounds have been bigger.
Mr. Brough's Bono, one of the best all round
hounds I ever saw, is 881b. ; he stands 25^- inches
at the shoulders, and girths round the chest 32^
inches. Bono on several occasions, after winning
premier honours in his own division, has been

The Bloodhound. 39

awarded a special prize as the best dog of any
variety in the show.

However, an all-round better hound than Bono is
the same owner's Burgundy, who, like Bono, is a
black and tan hound of lovely colour. When little
over twelve months old, Burgundy weighed iiilb.,
was 26f inches in height at the shoulders, girthed
35 inches round the chest, and his head measured
13 inches, exactly an inch longer than Bono's.
There is little fault to find with this extraordinary
bloodhound, for in ears, type of head, wrinkle,
shoulders, legs and feet, loins and general symmetry,
his like may not be seen again. His demeanour
and disposition are characteristic of his race ; he
has been trained to hunt " the clean boot," and is
certainly a credit to his breeder. His brother
Bardolph is pretty nearly as good — not quite so big
nor long in head. The latter was shown at Man-
chester in March, 1892, where, after winning the cup
in his division, he was awarded the more honourable
one given for the best sporting dog in the show.
These grand young hounds, no doubt the very best
that have been seen of late years, are by Beckford
(26,188) from Bianca (28,374).

It seems rather strange that at this same Man-
chester show a peculiarly good bloodhound bitch
should be shown for the first time, this being Mr.

40 Modern Dogs.

F. B. Craven's son of Cromwell, Constance, she
being the sole survivor of a litter of extra merit in
every way. As a bitch Constance, I should say,
would have stood at the head of her sex had
she not succumbed to an attack of distemper a few
weeks after she had made so favourable a debut.

CHAPTER II.
THE FOXHOUND.

THE most perfect of his race is the foxhound —
perfect in shape, in pace, in nose, in courage. Not
one of his canine companions is his equal, for in
addition to his merits as a mere quadruped, as a
hound he is the reason for the maintenance of
expensive establishments, for the breeding of high
class horses, and generally for giving an impetus
to trade and causing a " turnover," without which
the agriculturist might starve and the greatness of
our country be placed in peril. Our bravest soldiers
have been foxhunters ; our most successful men
in almost every walk of commerce have had their
characters moulded in the hunting field, or later in
life have regained their shattered health by gallops
after hounds across the green meadows of the
Midlands or along the broad acres of Yorkshire.

At the present time there are over 190 packs of
foxhounds hunting regularly in the various districts of
Great Britain, and I am well within the mark when I

42 Modern Dogs.

estimate the cost of keeping up the kennels, in-
cluding hounds, food, wages of hunt servants,
masters' expenses, &c., at over three million pounds
per annum. Nor do these figures attempt to cover
the ordinary expenses disbursed by those hunting
men who have not hounds of their own, the cost
of their horses, their keep, and other items. What
in addition these amount to cannot well be ascer-
tained, but he will be a bold man who attempts
to deny that foxhunting, as one of our national
sports, possesses a place in the economy of the
State. Special trains on our great railway system
are repeatedly run to fashionable meets of fox-
hounds. Some large hotels are to a considerable
extent supported by customers who visit them
because of their contiguity to foxhound countries
We have been called a nation of shopkeepers
—a nation of foxhunters would have been more
appropriate. One way and another the expenditure
upon this healthy amusement during each succes-
sive season may be reckoned in millions of pounds
sterling, and still there are so called humanitarians
who decry the sport as a discredit to our country.
Lord Yarborough says the cost of hound keeping
at over four and a half millions yearly, and
estimates that 99,000 horses are engaged therein.
Another authority tells us that in Yorkshire alone

The Foxhound. 43

the seventeen packs of hounds, including harriers,
hunting there are kept up at a cost of not less
than 500, ooo/. per annum. Of course such figures,
in the absence of carefully compiled statistics, can
only be approximate.

" The fox was made to be hunted, and not to kill
geese and lambs," said a sporting farmer to me one
day, " and he likes it too," continued the good
agriculturist, " or would he take such long rounds as
he does when he could lurk and skulk about and
baffle the hounds whenever inclined to do so."
Maybe our good red fox does like to be hunted ; at
any rate, when bedraggled and beaten he seldom
looks sad and pitiful, and the hunter loves him as
much as he does his hounds ; and why should he
not love him and hunt him at the same time ? The
most kindly of all men, Izaak Walton, implies that
an angler should love the worm with which he baits
his hook, and no one decried such sympathy,
excepting, perhaps, the cruellest men of the Lord
Byron type.

Foxhounds have for more than three hundred years
been carefully bred and reared for hunting purposes,
and for that length of time the sport has been
carried on in England pretty much on the same
lines as now, taking into consideration the change in
our mode of living and in the cultivation of the

44 Modern Dogs.

land. But long prior to this period, foxhunting was
a fashionable pastime, and Edward II. had a hunts-
man named Twici, who, early in the fourteenth
century, became an author and an authority on sport.
He said :

Draw with your hounds about groves and thickets and bushes
near villages ; a fox will lurk in rude places to prey upon pigs and
poultry, but it will be necessary to stop up earths, if you can find
them, the night before you intend to hunt ; and the best time will
be about midnight, for then the fox goeth out to seek his prey
. . . The best time for hunting a fox is in January, February,
and March, for then you shall but see your hounds hunting
. . . Shun casting off too many hounds at once, because
woods and coverts are full of sundry chases, and let such as you
cast off be old and staunch hounds, which are sure. . . Let
the hounds worry and kill the fox themselves, and tear him as
much as they please.

And so proceeds the ancient royal huntsman, who
doubtless enjoyed his sport in those times with as
much gratification as do we ourselves at the present
day.

Although thus early there were hounds similar to
those of modern times, they were not kept entirely
for the purpose of hunting the fox, and to be actually
perfect in work they should not be entered to any
other quarry. There is some amount of uncertainty
as to the earliest date when hounds were kept
solely for the chase of the fox. I quite agree
with that painstaking and researchful writer, Mr.

The Foxhound. 45

W. C. A. Blew, who, in his new edition of " Noticia
Venatica," ascribes the earliest date to a year or
two prior to 1689 5 f°r at tnat ^me tne Charlton
hunt in Sussex, conducted by Mr. Roper, who
managed the hounds for the ill-fated Duke of Mon-
mouth and Earl Grey, hunted the fox. Particulars
of this appear in the fifteenth volume of the
<( Sussex Archaeological Collection." In 1750 the
Charlton lapsed into the Goodwood.

In the Field of Nov. 6, 1875, there is an illustra-
tion of an old hunting horn, at that time in the
possession of Mr. Reginald Corbet, master of the
South Cheshire hounds. On it there was the following
inscription: " Thomas Boothby, Esq., Tooley Park,
Leicester. With this horn he hunted the first pack
of foxhounds then in England fifty-five years. Born
1477, died 1572." Here is another early date, and
where could be found plainer proofs, though some
writers have thrown discredit on them because they
thought it possible these hounds occasionally hunted
any out-lying deer that might be doing damage to the
farmer's crops. As well say some of our modern
harriers are not harriers because, when the legitimate
chase is scarce, they have a day or two with the
" carted " deer.

There was a very interesting old hunting story
Lord Wilton writes, in his " Sports and Pursuits of

46 Modern Dogs.

the English," that, not until 1750 were hounds
entered solely to fox ; but against his statement
must be placed that of Charles J. Apperley, who
died in 1843, an<^ ls favourably known under his nom
de plume of "Nimrod." He says that an ancestor of
Lord Arundel of Wardour had a pack of foxhounds
at the close of the seventeenth century, thus about
coeval with the Sussex and Leicestershire already
named; and the same reliable writer proceeds to say
that, remaining in the same family, they hunted in
Wiltshire and Hampshire until 1 782, when they passed
to Mr. Meynell, a name so historical in foxhound
annals. Another such pack was that of Mr. Thomas
Fownes, who was hunting from Stapleton in Dorset-
shire very early in the eighteenth century ; but the
Charlton Hunt and Squire Boothby's hounds had
before this been entered to fox, and, with our present
knowledge, with them must rest the credit of being
the earliest packs of foxhounds in this country.

Mr. Fowne's pack went to Mr. Bowes, of Streatlam,
Yorkshire ; and the Belvoir hounds kennelled at
Melton Mowbray, with the Duke of Rutland as their
master, are lineally descended from those alluded to
by Lord Wilton. Since these early times and up to
the present every care has been taken, and no
expense spared, to produce a foxhound as near per-
fection as possible, in order to follow the calling

The Foxhound. 47

which finds such favour in our land. Squire Osbal-
deston, Colonel Thornton, Mr. John Musters, and
others of a past generation owned hounds that,
either collectively or individually, could not be sur-
passed. With so much attention given to them, it
was no wonder a great writer on the subject arose,
and in 1810 we have Peter Beckford's magnum
opus, which, so far as it goes, has had no rival in
its complete description of the foxhound, its work
and management. And what he wrote of him is
equally true to-day, for no hound or dog has changed
so little in appearance and character during a century,
as the foxhound. There have been no crazes for
fashionable colour, or for head formed, or ears
hung, on purely fanciful principles. Hunters wanted
a dog for work, they soon provided one, and have
kept and sustained that animal for the purpose.

The work a foxhound has often to undergo is of
the most arduous description, he is repeatedly on his
legs for eight or ten hours at a stretch, often gallop-
ing a great portion of that time, or may be doing
more laborious work in the thick coverts, or even
walking on the hard road to or from the meet.

Though not bred with great precision and with such
care for pedigrees, as is the case with fashionable
packs, there are lightly built hounds hunting in the
mountainous districts of Cumberland and Westmor-

48 Modern Dogs.

land whose stamina must be phenomenal. Their
country is the roughest imaginable, over mountains
and down the vales, edging precipices and scaling
dangerous passes. Every season these hounds
have a run that may last into the teens of hours,
beginning soon after daybreak and not ending when
stars have studded the heavens and hunters are left
far behind. Last season hounds were heard in full
cry at ten at night, and next morning stragglers found
their way home to the kennels, others turning up a
day or two later. Some had to be looked for, having
become " crag bound," i.e., clambered down to a
cleft in the rock from whence they could not return.
During such runs as these, they do not, owing to the
rough country, go the pace of ordinary foxhounds,
but they possess greater patience in working out a
cold line, and are perfect in making casts on their
own account. The latter a most necessary gift
when they are at fault, and no one near them to
assist in hitting the lost line, for this hunting at the
Lakes is done on foot — horses could not follow,
nor mules either, where men and hounds have
to go.

So recently as the end of March, 1892, the Conis-
ton hounds, the Rev. E. M. Reynolds, master, had an
extraordinary run in the neighbourhood of Trout-
beck and Kentmere. They were either dragging or

The Foxhound. 49

hunting for over ten hours, over a terribly rough
and wild country, and their fox, dead beat and
only just in front of them, had his life saved by a
severe storm — the like of which is only known in the
Lake district — coming on, and effectually driving both
hunters and hounds off the mountains into the valley.
Although the finish was not far from kennels, the
hounds had been out for thirteen hours before they
were safe at home again.

Other more fashionable packs have had extraordi-
nary runs in their day, over a flatter country, and where
hounds were going hard and fast the whole of the
time. The Duke of Richmond's run near Borough
Bridge in 1738, which lasted from a quarter to eight
in the morning until ten minutes to six in the evening,
deserves to be a record. Other runs of almost equal
duration are still talked about, but with a good country,
fast hounds, and bustling the latter on by hard riding,
to say nothing of the late hour of meets, hunting runs
are not of such long duration as they were years
ago. Mr. Vyner tells us of one with his hounds,
in which the first eleven miles were covered over
pretty rough ground in about fifty-three minutes,
which must be taken as something quite extraordi-
nary, when fences and one thing and another are
taken in consideration. Such a run in the open
cannot be placed side by side with the " trail "

[VOL. I.] E

50 Modern Dogs.

hunt of Colonel Thornton and others, to which
allusion is made later on.

In the days of our great-grandfathers hounds met
at eight o'clock in the morning; now, excepting in
cubbing time, the hour of noon has been reached
ere huntsmen and hounds appear on the scene.
We have a luxury in our modern sport — not to its
improvement — that our ancestors could never have
even dreamt of.

There is a- tale of a Northumberland hound,
descended from Colonel Thornton's Lounger, called
the Conqueror, by reason of his excellence, that ran
a fox single-handed for eighteen miles and killed
him in the end. A doubtful story rather. Another
hound of the gallant colonel's had been running riot
in covert, and on making her way out, evidently
on a strong scent, the whip gave her a cut with
his crop, which unfortunately struck out her eye,
which lay on the cheek. This did not stop the
plucky bitch, for, with her nose to the ground and
hackles up, she raced along the line, and in the end
was first in at the fox's death, though in the
latter part of the run the pack had got on terms
with her. Thus she did not kill single handed, as the
story is so often told.

In 1887, Comrade, a well known hound for " trail
hunting," was with her owner, Mr. J. Irving, Forest

The Foxhound. 51

Hall, Westmorland, in an allotment adjoining his
house. A fox jumped up in front of them, and
although the going was rough and hilly, and three
inches of snow lay on the ground, the bitch never
lost sight, and after a grand course of more than
a mile, pulled her quarry down in gallant style. A
fine healthy fox, too, he was. This " trail hunting "
is a favourite diversion in the north of England, and
special strains of lightly-built foxhounds are used for
the purpose. The line is generally run over an
uneven country, and may extend for any distance
between four and ten miles. Hounds are started
from the same place, and the one coming in first,
having completed the course, which was laid with
fox's entrails, bedding, or some other strong scenting
matter, wins the prize. A good hound will usually
occupy less than three minutes in covering a mile.
These hounds are almost or quite mute.

The match at Newmarket, about 1794, between
Mr. Meynell and Mr. Smith Barry, was, perhaps, the
first means taken to ascertain the pace of fox-
hounds. Blue Cap and Wanton, who came in first and
second, ran the course of about four miles in a few
seconds over eight minutes, but these hounds had
been specially trained for the purpose. However,
Colonel Thornton's celebrated hound Merkin, whose
portrait appears in Daniel's " Rural Sports," ran a

E 2

52 Modem Dogs.

heat of four miles, which she completed in seven
and a half minutes. She was afterwards sold for
four hogsheads of claret and a couple of her
whelps when she was bred from.

It must not be forgotten that these hounds were
specially trained for these trials of pace and endur-
ance, that they ran over a country where the going
was all in their favour, and that a strong " trail "
was laid. There is no doubt that our modern
hounds would come out with equal credit under
similar conditions.

Foxhounds soon take to hunting game other than
their legitimate quarry, more quickly taking up the
change of scent than one would imagine. For years
they have hunted the boar and stag in various
countries all over the world, and the wolf likewise.
Two years ago Mr. F. Lowe took a draft of hounds
from various packs over to a friend in Russia. He
says :

During our stay we had a trial with the foxhounds in an inclosed
park, to see how they would tackle a wolf. On the first day the
new hounds did not at once seem to understand it, but they soon
owned the line, and we had a fairly good burst ; and, if we had
been so minded, could have killed Mr. Wolf. On the second
day we had made up our minds to have blood if the foxhounds
could break him up, which my host seemed to doubt. I gave
them a cheer or two as they began to feather on the line, and
away they went in grand style. Fred Payne, of the Fitzwilliam,
would have been delighted with the advancement of Rambler's

The Foxhound. 53

education ; and the Atherstone were likewise well represented.
The music became a roar, and it was very quickly a case of from
scent to view and " who-whoop ! " The pulling to pieces was
quite after the English view of the thing ; though the quarry was
perhaps a bit tougher, and they did not seem to care about
making a repast of him.

In addition 'to his qualifications of speed and nose
he has a peculiar homing faculty, developed to a
remarkable extent. Hounds have been known to
return to their kennels from remarkable distances.
One draft that had been sent from the Holderness
into Kent were discontented with their new quarters,
and had arrived nearly home again before they were
discovered. A Cumberland hound returned from
Sussex to its old home, evidently preferring the
mountains of its native county to the downs of the
southern one.

There is an old huntsman in the English Lake
district, Tommy Dobson by name, who runs the
Eskdale pack. He is a bobbin turner by trade,
but manages to keep a lot of excellent work-
ing hounds and terriers together, the farmers and
some landowners in that wild district giving him so
much a head for the foxes he kills. He hunts on
foot, for no horse could follow wrhere he goes.
Repeatedly he has long runs ; his hounds get lost for
a time, but they usually arrive at their kennels the
day following the hunt. Dobson is a keen old

54 Modern Dogs.

sportsman, and may be the sole survivor in England
of a class of men that can never be replaced. He
kills twenty foxes or so in the season, much to the
pleasure of the shepherds and farmers in this wildest
part of our Lake district.

"Trencher fed" packs of hounds are not so
numerous as once was the case, though such are
still to be found. They get their name from the
fact that they are not kept in kennels, but individual
hounds have separate homes with the supporters of
the hunt, and are regularly got together each morn-
ing a hunt is to take place. This is as a rule not
much trouble, for, with a blast or two of the horn
here and there hounds make their way to their
master very much on the same principal that the
" bugle call" rouses the soldier from the bed and
draws him to the place of muster. Packs of this
kind are, as a rule, not so extensive as our leading
ones which repose in kennels dry and airy, and
arranged on the most modern principles.

The largest packs of foxhounds are, as a rule,
divided into dogs and bitches, each sex running
separately and distinctly on different days. The
" ladies," as they are mostly called, are said to be the
smarter in the field, and to possess dash and casting
powers in greater perfection than the "dogs." In
some few of the big packs dogs and bitches are run

The Foxhound. 55

together, being matched according to size as nearly
as possible, The dog hounds are, of course, the
bigger of the two, and run from 23 to 24 inches at the
shoulder, the bitches being from one to two inches or
so below that standard. One of the smallest pure
foxhounds that ever ran with hounds was the Blue
Ransom, of the Pytchley, and said to be about i 7^
inches, whilst the giant of the race, the Warwick-
shire Riddlesworth, was 27 inches. At the present
time our largest packs are the Blackmoor Vale, with
80 couples of hounds ; the Duke of Beaufort's,
75 couples ; the Belvoir, 62 couples ; whilst the
Berkeley, Crawley and Horsham, Berks, Fitzwilliam,
and Mr. Garth's have each 60 couples of running
hounds in kennel. Other packs number anything
between the nine couple of the Coniston to the
58^- couple of the Oakley.

For a hundred years or more, it has been been,
and still remains, though some packs now dis-
countenance it, the custom to "round" the ears
of fox hounds, which is neither more nor less than
shortening their aural appendages, to prevent the
latter getting torn in covert, or in going through or
over the fences. This is done at about four months
old. Most hound puppies leave the kennels, after
being taken from the dam, to be located, " walked "
with the farmers and other friends of the hunt.

56 Modern Dogs.

Here they are fed well and wax strong until the time
comes round, usually late in the summer, for them to
return to the kennels, to be properly entered with the
cubs.

The occasion is utilized for a " show of the
puppies." Prizes are awarded, silver tea and coffee
pots and such like "useful pieces of furniture"
dear to the farmer's wives and daughters. A pleasant
day is spent ; the Master gives a luncheon, and he
" toasts " and is " toasted " in return.

The hounds each year drafted to make room for
the puppies, are usually the perquisite of the hunts-
man and they may go to other kennels, or become
squandered over distant parts of the universe, where
they form a connecting link with u home." Or they
may go into the hands of some dealer or other, who
finds a ready market for them to an enterprising
theatrical manager, who seeks to add to the truthful-
ness of some country scene, the increased attraction
of a " scratch pack." During the past few years,
foxhounds have repeatedly appeared on the stage in
our leading theatres, where, to the sound of the horn
of the " super," and the clash of the orchestra, or
the strains of " John Peel," their reception has been
such as any debutante might have envied. But a
stage hound's life behind the scenes cannot be a
happy one, nor are their exercising grounds through

The Foxhound. 57

the thronged streets adjoining our great thorough-
fares, so healthy as a roll on the grass in the Pytchley
pastures.

As to the "rounding" of the ears, Stonehenge
writes with great judgment and knowledge. He
believes it useful in

Preventing canker either from foul blood or mechanical injury.
. . . The sole use of an abnormally large ear, as far as
I can see, is to aid the internal organ of hearing, and it is
only found in hounds which depend upon co-operation for
success — that is to say that hunt in packs. In this kind of hunting,
the ear is required to ascertain what is given out by the tongues of
the leading hounds, so as to enable the tail of the pack to come
up ; but whether or no " rounding '' diminishes the sensitiveness of
the organ of hearing, I am not prepared to say. It is, however,
admitted by physiologists, that the external ear aids by the sense
of hearing, and as this large folding ear is confined to hounds
hunting in packs, which, as above remarked, depend upon hearing
or co-operation, it is reasonable to suppose that the hound's large
ear is given to him to aid this kind of hunting ; and, if so, it is by
no means clear that " rounding " is an unmixed good.

Foxhounds on the bench of ordinary dog shows
are more a rarity than otherwise, though, whenever
they do appear in such an odd position, always prove
an attraction. In Yorkshire some attention was
given to special exhibitions of foxhounds about
twenty-five years ago, but they never appeared to
quite take hold of the Tykes, and were allowed to
lapse, the last of them being a large gathering that

58 Modern Dogs.

took place on Knavesmire, in 1877. Following this
came the establishment at Peterborough, that is
held in June, and it has so grown under its excellent
management, that it now must be recognised as one
of the institutions or our land. At Peterborough
Hound Show, Masters, Huntsmen, and Whips, meet
as on a common threshold, and they talk of their
prospects, admire the .hounds, and criticise the
awards in the most friendly spirit imaginable. A
day at Peterborough is one that hunting men look
forward to as a kind of connecting link between
that time when hounds race on a burning scent, and
when they are the pets of the household. Almost
all the best foxhounds of the day are to be seen at
Peterborough Show, and no prospective Master
should miss the gathering ; few of the present
Masters do so.

Already I have mentioned the odd price for which
Merkin was sold, but it seems rather strange that
whilst comparatively useless dogs of a purely fancy
breed occasionally bring from ^500 to ^1000
apiece, a whole pack of foxhounds may often
be purchased for the latter sum, or even for less.
There are hounds that a master would not sell at any
price, but if he would there could scarcely be the
demand for them at such enormous figures as a
terrier, a sheep dog, or a St. Bernard will often com-

The Foxhound. 59

mand. Mr. Corbet bought that crack pack the
North Warwickshire for 1500 guineas, but John
Ward paid 2000 guineas for the same hounds when
they came into his hands. Mr. Osbaldeston knewr
what he was about when, in 1806, he purchased the
Burton for 800 guineas ; but when the " Squire's M
hounds came to be sold at Tattersall's in 1840, they
realized 5219 guineas, which may be taken as the
best on record for a pack of foxhounds. Against
this maybe set the modest item of 15 guineas which
twenty-one couples of the Haydon hounds brought
at auction in 1884. Ten couples of Mr. Osbaldeston's
realised 2380 guineas. Then in 1845 Mr. Foljambe's
hounds sold for 3600 guineas ; Lord Donerail's, in
1859, for 1334 guineas ; Mr. Drake's, 2632 guineas ;
and, in 1838, Ralph Lambton paid Lord Suffield
3000 guineas for his highly-bred hounds. These
are, no doubt, the most unusual prices ever made
for foxhounds. In 1867 the Wheatland hounds
were sold at Tattersall's in different lots for ^750,
and yearly at Rugby drafts are sold by auction
almost at any price, varying from a sovereign to io/.
a couple.

Stonehenge jocularly remarks : " Nose combined
with speed and stoutness have always been con-
sidered as the essentials for the foxhound, but of late
years, owing to enormous fields which have attended

60 Modern Dogs.

our leading packs, and the forward riding displayed
by them, another feature has been demanded, and
' the supply ' in the ' grass countries ' has been ob-
tained in a remarkable manner. I allude to the gift
peculiar to our best modern hounds of getting
through a crowd of horses when accidentally
' slipped ' by the pack. This faculty is developed
to a very wonderful extent in all packs hunting the
' Shires/ varying, of course, slightly in each, and it is
no 1 s remarkably absent in certain packs otherwise
equal .o the Quorn and its neighbours, or even
superior to them." I may say that through force of
circumstances this valued gift of self-preservation has
lately been exhibited by Her Majesty's and some other
packs within easy railway distance of our great
metropolis.

The following is from an article by Mr. G. S. Lowe,
that appeared in the Field some time ago, and as it
deals more fully with our present strain of fox-
hounds and their pedigrees (there is a foxhound
stud book now) than I could, I have an excuse for
its republication :

The casual observer in the hunting field might not be inclined
to appreciate the laudations bestowed upon certain hounds in
almost every pack. Hounds run very much in one form, and a
huntsman of, say, forty years' experience might call up hounds to
his memory to number in the aggregate several thousands, though
in speaking of any exquisites he will refer to two or three only

The Foxhound. 61

that, according to his idea, were incomparable. The faults of even
good foxhounds must be, therefore, numerous — far more so, I
expect, than the casual observer could detect, as faultless hounds,
it would appear, crop up in the smallest proportions in the lifetime
of a huntsman. Mr. Osbaldeston was generally in a position to
have the best of hounds only, as in the heyday of his career, at
any rate, he had an immense pack, hunted his own hounds six
days a week, and, in the style in which he rode over Leicestershire
and other countries, it can be fairly asserted that he was never
separated from them. It is said that he depended on his hounds
with a flying fox, speaking very little to them, but observing all
they did, and in strong gorse he went in with them himself, and
could make them hunt like spaniels. With all this experience,
though, Osbaldeston had one hound out of the many he had to
do with, of which he would speak with exceptional regard up to
the very time of his death. I remember it was told me that a
friend met the veteran in a billiard room, years after he had given
up hunting, and, the conversation drifting into matters of the
chase, the squire got upon the line of Furrier, and there was no
getting him off it. He expatiated on the merit of this hound as
the best ever bred ; and it must be remembered also that, when
Osbaldeston bred hounds, he supported his opinion by breeding
from this hound to such an extent that he could take a pack into
the field made up entirely of Furriers progeny.

Harry Ayris lived, I think, sixty years with the Fitzhardinge
pack, and in an interview with him about fifteen years ago, when
the old fellow was over eighty, I put the question straight to him
as to the best hound he had ever seen. " Cromwell," was the
ready reply, "and no man ever hunted another like him." It was
difficult, then, to get Harry Ayris off the line of Cromwell ; and it
was no easier task to make the late John Walker believe that a
better foxhound had ever been bred than Sir Watkin Wynn's
Royal. Lord Henry Bentinck had several favourites, and, for the
benefit of those after him, he left a written record, showing how
these particular hounds excelled their fellows. This is in manu-

62 Modern Dogs.

script still, I believe ; but I am perfectly assured that the leading
hound breeders of the day have seen it, and hence the great
leaning of late years towards the pack that came originally from
Lord Henry's benches. One might go considerably further back,
to quote how Mr. Corbet is said to have spoilt his pack by
excessive in-breeding to Trojan ; and how Sir Thomas Mostyn
committed the same mistake by appreciating the blood too much
of a famous bitch called Lady. It is sufficient, however, to note
that this sort of allegiance to certain hounds has had a marvellous
effect on hound breeding, and that such hounds can be regarded
as landmarks through a veritable maze of pedigrees ranging over
half a century. No animal of any sort whatever has been bred to
in the same persistency as can be traced to the Osbaldeston
Furrier ; he was the best hound of his day, in the opinion of an
experienced authority ; and that opinion was followed by such
hound breeders as the late Mr Foljambe, the late Lord Henry
Bentinck, and the late Mr. Parry, besides a host of others, not
excepting those who attended to the well-being of the almost
classical packs of Belvoir, Brocklesby, Fitzwilliam, and Bad-
minton.

There have been hounds in considerable numbers that could
boast of temporary reputations, but they have not secured lasting
fame : and I should be inclined to limit what might be called the
standard favourites to a dozen since the days of the Osbaldeston
Furrier. Others may be inclined to differ from my selections,
but they will catch my meaning if they will trace recent pedigrees
to their sources, and will regard such hounds as are seen at the
Peterborough show. It is seen that during years of breeding
there has been no loss of size and bone, to begin with — no loss
of quality, as shown in clean necks and shoulders, and general
carriage ; and, if looks can be taken for anything, there can
have been no loss in pace, or in such qualities of shape that
suggest power and stamina. Hunting men of various countries
can decide whether foxhounds are not as good or better than they
have ever been ; but a very strong feature in maintaining the

The Foxhound. 63

qualities and characteristics of the foxhound has been the system
of keeping several celebrated foxhounds in view when going in
for high breeding. Mr. Parry, so long associated with the
Puckeridge, had two hounds called Pilgrim and Rummager, both
entered in 1840, and the latter was a great-grandson of the
famous Furrier, whilst Pilgrim was descended from another
celebrity known as the Belvoir Topper. With this couple of
hounds Mr. Parry stamped his pack, as they were always kept in
view, as it were, and before Mr. Parry left off hound-keeping his
kennel had a very high reputation for blood. Of late years whole
packs have been established from the Belvoir Senator, and others
have been benefited in a similar degree, through holding to the
Burton Dorimont line, the Drake Duster, the Wynnstay Royal,
the Grove Furrier, or the Berkeley Castle Cromwell.

To come to the notable twelve that have been, and may still be,
esteemed as "landmarks" of hound breeding, I should, of course,
name the Osbaldeston Furrier, a Belvoir-bred hound, as he came
in a draft from the ducal kennels, and was by their Saladin out
of their Fallacy, and thence going back to Mr. Meynell's hounds
of 1790. It has been stated that Furrier was not so much a
perfect working hound as a hard runner, as he was inclined to be
jealous and impatient on a cold scent; but he was the leading
hound in every fast thing, and he never did wrong when holding
that important post of honour. He was the sire of Ranter, and
to that hound Mr. Foljambe was principally indebted for the
Furrier blood, as his Herald and Harbinger, entered in 1835,
were by Ranter. Herald was the sire of Wildair, sire of Wild Boy,
sire of Modish, the dam of The Grove Guider. Harbinger and
Herald appear several times in Barrister's pedigree, as, for
instance, he was by Rambler, son of Roister, son of Captive,
a daughter of Herald's ; and the dam of Rambler again was
Dorothy, her dam Dowager, by Songster, a son of Sybil by the
Osbaldeston Ranter. The sire of Roister again was Render, son
of Riot, by Ranter, and it is therefore not difficult to trace several
lines of Furrier in the Grove Barrister, a hound well in the

64 Modern Dogs.

memory of all breeders of the present day. The Fitzwilliam
claim a line to Furrier, chiefly through Hardwick, a hound entered
in the Milton kennels in 1843, by Mr. Drake's Hector out of
Goldfinch, her dam Frenzy, by Fatal, son of Ferryman, son of
Furrier. Hardwick was the sire of Handmaid, the dam of Hard-
wick of 1851, and the latter sire in turn of Hercules and
Harbinger. There was another double Furrier cross in the
Fitzwilliams, as their Hero and Hotspur were by the second
Hardwick out of Ransom, by Mr. Foljambe's Roister.

Another famous line from Furrier, and through the same
kennels as the above, is traced to the Burton Dorimont, a hound
spoken of in Lord Henry Bentinck's diary as a thoroughly good
foxhound. He was got by Roderick by Mr. Foljambe's Roister,
named above as out of a Herald bitch. There was a double cross of
this sort in Dorimont, as his dam Daffodil was out of Dairymaid
by Driver, son of Harbinger, brother to Herald, and a third cross
to Furrier might even be traced through the Belvoir Chaser,
There is Dorimont blood in the Fitzwilliam kennel, as Dagmar
and Daphne were by him; and their Selim of 1869 was out of
Dagmar, and Selim is the sire of Balmy, Bloomer, Remedy, and
others on the Milton benches, that have been bred from. Dori-
mont is largely represented also in the Oakley kennels, and, if I
am not much mistaken, Sailor, a sire of note at the present time,
from Lord Portsmouth's kennels, traces directly to him. At any
rate, I know there was a good deal of the blood in Mr. Lane-
Fox's kennel through a hound called -Damper ; and very few
kennels, I expect, are without the strain. Dorimont was a
branch from Furrier, but T should accept him as one of the
corner stones of the stud book amongst my twelve selections.

The Drake Duster is another not to be forgotten by anyone who
has ever thought of breeding hounds. He was entered in 1844
by the late Mr. Drake, so long associated with the Bicester, and
he was got by Bachelor out of Destitute, the former running into
Mr. Warde's sort, and the latter to the Belvoir. The last named
famous kennel got many good returns of their own blood from

The Foxhound. 65

Duster, as Siren, the dam of Singer, was a daughter of his, and
Singer was the sire of Senator. The most important line of
the day is therefore due in a measure to the Drake Duster,
as it can well be said that every kennel in England has gone in
more or less for the Senator strain, and if there was anything
to complain about, it was a fear that too much of it might
be infused into some channels by way of in-breeding. However,
the oldest huntsmen, the late Jack Morgan amongst others, have
assured me that for dash and drive there has been nothing like
them, and it was a characteristic with all hounds straining from
the Belvoir Singer that they were veritable tyrants on the line of a
sinking fox, and savages at a death. There was a hound in Lord
Poltimore's called Woldsman, by Comus, out of a bitch nearly
sister in blood to Siren, and he had to be coupled up as soon as
possible at a kill, as he was not particular about mouthing another
hound in his fury; and two sons of his, afterwards with the
Bicester, and their descendants again, were just like him.
Another great descendant from the Drake Duster was the
Belvoir Guider, a son of the former, out of Gamesome, by
General. To Guider must be credited the foundation of Lord
Portsmouth's pack, as his Lincoln and a host of valuable bitches,
bred from in due course, gave to the Eggesford pack its high
reputation. Guider also left his mark with the Bramham Moor
and Sir Watkin Wynn's ; but his stock has not been so widely
distributed as the Senator's. Senator was entered in 1862, and,
like Duster, he was out of a bitch called Destitute, the dam also
of Render, and she was by Sir Richard Sutton's Dryden, by Lord
Henry Bentinck's Contest. Besides the field qualities noticed
above as belonging to the Senators, all are very beautiful hounds
that strain from that line. Very perfect necks and shoulders I
have ascribed to them, and they are invariably full of quality,
whilst their colours are, as a rule, perfection — the Belvoir tan, and
hare-pied hue blended.

I spoke of Lord Henry Bentinck's Contest in the above
remarks relating to the dam of Senator, and that relationship

[VOL. i.] p

66 Modern Dogs.

alone might entitle him to be selected among the celebrated
twelve to be considered as a pillar of the hound stud book.
There is, however, something else to boast of to the memory
of Contest, as he was the sire of Harry Ayris's favourite Cromwell,
and the blood of the latter runs through the Badminton, the
Croome particularly, through Lord Coventry's Rambler, and it
is also largely represented in the Quorn, besides, as a matter
of course, being mixed up in all the Berkeley Castle pedigrees.
Cromwell was bred from at Berkeley Castle in the same sort of
proportion as Furrier was used by Osbaldeston, as the entries
during his lifetime show, and he was noted for getting excellent
workers.

The beautiful colours of the Senators may not be due to
Contest, as I think I have been told that he was a grey-pied
hound, and Cromwell was that colour, as I have seen his skin.
The goodness of Contest, however is explained in his noble
owner's diary, as, if there was one particular favourite with Lord
Henry more than another, it was Contest, considered by him to be
the best of foxhounds in any part of a run ; and, as in the case of
Mr. Corbet's Trojan, Contest was an extraordinary wall and gate
jumper. His blood can be traced to the three good-looking
sisters that made up the two couples of the Warwickshire in the
older bitch class at Peterborough — namely, Factious, Fair Maid,
and Faultless, as Archibald, their sire, was out of a bitch by Lord
Coventry's Rambler.

I have mentioned the Osbaldeston Furrier, the Grove Barrister,
the Drake Duster, the Burton Dorimont, the Belvoir Guider, the
Belvoir Senator, the Burton Contest, and the Berkeley Castle
Cromwell in this article as the most celebrated foxhounds to be
traced to throughout all records. This makes up eight out of my
proposed party of twelve ; and I have no hesitation in giving as
additions the Burton Regulus and the Wynnstay Royal. It would
be impossible to enlarge too much upon the good such hounds
have done ; and it would be impossible to say which of the two
has influenced high breeding most. Royal is represented to

The Foxhound. 67

a large extent at Belvoir, Badminton, Mr. Garth's, the Bramham
Moor, and numerous other kennels; whilst the Burton Regulus,
besides adding much to the continuance of the high prestige
belonging to Lord Henry Bentinck's pack, now mostly identified
as the Blankney, is credited with a vast amount of merit con-
tributed to the Badminton, the Berkeley Castle, the Fitzwilliam,
the Quorn, and the present Burton pack. It now becomes
a little difficult to name two more, and I think the honour might
fall on the Badminton Flyer of 1839, as he gave the Fitzwilliam
Feudal to the hound world ; and the latter was the sire of
Foreman, sire of Forester, sire of Furrier; and so we can finish
up as we started with a Furrier, in the hound of that name, held
in so much esteem by the late Hon George Fitzwilliam and
George Carter, and the ancestor now of a very big tribe.

Stonehenge's points and description of the fox-
hound are as follows :

Value.

Head 15

Neck 5

Shoulders 10

Chest and back ribs ... 10

Back and loin 10

Hindquarters 10

60

Value.

Elbows 5

Legs and feet 20

Colour and coat 5

Stern 5

Symmetry 5

40

Grand Total 100.

i. The head (value 15) should be of full size, but
by no means heavy. Brow pronounced, but not
high or sharp. There must be good length and
breadth, sufficient to give in the dog hound a girth
in front of the ears of fully i6in. The nose should

F 2

68 Modern Dogs.

be long (4^in.) and wide with open nostrils. Ears
set on low and lying close to the cheek.

2. The neck (value 5) must be long and clean,
without the slightest throatiness. It should taper
nicely from the shoulders to the head, and the upper
outline should be slightly convex.

3. The shoulders (value 10) should be long, and
well clothed with muscle without being heavy,
especially at the points. They must be well sloped,
and the true arm between the front and the elbow
must be long and muscular, but free from fat or
lumber.

4. Chest and back ribs (value 10). — The chest
should girth over 3oin. in a 24in. hound, and the
back ribs must be very deep.

5. The back and loin (value 10) must both be
very muscular, running into each other without any
contraction or " nipping" between them. The
couples must be wide even to raggedness, and there
should be the very slightest arch in the loin, so as to
be scarely perceptible.

6. The hind quarters (value 10) or propellers are
required to be very strong, and, as endurance is of
even more consequence than speed, straight stifles are
preferred to those much bent, as in the greyhound.

7. Elbows (value 5) set quite straight, and neither
turned in nor out, are a sine qua non. They must be

The Foxhound. 69

well let down by means of the long true arm above
mentioned.

8. Legs and feet (value 20). — Every master of
foxhounds insists on legs as straight as a post, and
as strong ; size of bone at the ankles and stifles
being specially regarded as all important. The feet
in all cases should be round and cat-like, with well
developed knuckles, and strong pads and nails are of
the utmost importance.

9. The colour and coat (value 5) are not regarded
as very important, so long as the former is a " hound
colour, and the latter is short, dense, hard, and
glossy. Hound colours are black tan and white —
black and white, and the various " pies " com-
pounded of white and the colour of the hare and
badger, or yellow, or tan In some old strains the
blue mottle of the southern hound is still preserved.

10. The stern (value 5) is gently arched, carried
gaily over the back, and slightly fringed with hair
below. The end should taper to a point.

11. The symmetry (value 5) of the foxhound is
considerable, and what is called " quality" is highly
regarded by all good judges.

Although the preceding points of the foxhound
have been generally acknowledged to be correct,
they are seldom or never used when hounds are
being judged either on the flags or in the ring at

70 Modern Dogs.

Peterboro', or elsewhere. Such figures are not
required by a hound judge, many of whom actually
detest numerals when they are supposed to have
any bearing upon that animal which they deem to
be excellence itself, and far removed from any other
variety of the dog known to the civilised world.
The points are merely inserted here to give unifor-
mity to the volume, and not that the author believes
" points " are of use in judging a hound — or any
other dog.

CHAPTER III.

THE STAGHOUND.

As this hound is neither more nor less than a fox-
hound under another name and used for a different
purpose I would rather he followed the latter than
preceded him, though older associations and modern
customs might entitle the staghound, or buckhound,
to the premier position.

He has been used, or at any rate a somewhat
similar animal to him has long been used, for stag-
hunting, and we are told by historians, that, in the
times of the Normans, villages were depopulated,
and places for divine worship overthrown, in order
that the nobles might have their parks in which to
keep their deer. Woodstock, in Oxfordshire, was
one of these, and according to Stowe, the first of
its kind in England. So great a hold had hunting
on those whose position allowed them to enjoy the
pastime, that Edward III., when at war with France,
took with his army a pack of sixty couple of stag-
hounds ; and in the reign of Elizabeth a pack was

72 Modern Dogs.

kept at Simonsbath, Somersetshire, which hunted
the red deer on the moor by the Exe, just as it is
hunted to-day. But it is not my province here to
enter into the history of each variety of dog in its
place, and, so far as the staghound is concerned, I
must be contented with thus briefly drawing atten-
tion to his ancient lineage.

Although some hundred years or so ago, there was
every appearance of a speedy decline of stag hunting,
owing to enclosures, high fencing, and similar sport
to be obtained by other means, the retrograde move-
ment was retarded. At the present time there are
twelve packs of staghounds in England and four in
Ireland, and with them many good runs are enjoyed,
for the most part with the carted deer. Sport with
the latter is pretty certain, as when one deer will
not run as he or she ought to do, another is speedily
provided, which it is hoped will take astraighter line,
affording the hounds an opportunity for hunting ;
and, what in modern times is unfortunately con-
sidered of more importance, give horses a chance to
gallop and exhibit their jumping powers at the fences,
or their amiability in the lanes or on the roads.

As a loyal subject, I ought to make some mention
here of Her Majesty's Staghounds or Buckhounds,
kept by the State, which, kennelled at Ascot, hunt
the country round about, where the overworked city

The Staghound. 73

man seeks to regain his failing health by a gallop
over a highly cultivated country. The royal pack,
of forty couple, as at present constituted, may be
said to date back to 1812, when the Prince Regent
purchased the Goodwood foxhounds, as they were
faster than the old-fashioned Southern hounds or
talbots, the original constitution of the pack.

The older and slower hounds could with difficulty
get away from the hard-riding cockney, who even
at that time would be in amongst them with his
hack, rather than in his proper position in their rear.
The present hounds are well matched and most
uniform, the dogs standing about 24 inches, and
the " ladies " 22^- inches at the shoulder.

This may be taken as about the standard height of
the staghound, though the Devon and Somerset,
which hunt the wild deer on Exmoor and on the
Quantock Hills, are much larger. The rough country
of coombes and thick gorse necessitates as big a
hound as can be obtained, so 25 to 26 inches is
the standard, Mr. C. H. Bassett, the present Master,
seeks to acquire, and he uses entirely dog hounds,
drafts from various foxhound kennels. Not more
than one bitch has been in this pack for a dozen
years or so, and no puppies are bred by the
hunt.

There is no doubt that the chase of the wild red

74 Modern Dogs.

deer is most glorious sport, and the genuine lover
of hunting, one who likes to see hounds work,
and the cleverness of the horse, cannot do better
than run down to Dulverton in the season, and see
how the Devon and Somerset hounds can go. Long
stern chases are common with them, and the forty
minutes bursts in the Midlands after the fox, give
place to three hours here behind a more noble
quarry.

The pack consists of about thirty-four couples of
hounds, a certain number of which are tufters.
These are mostly old hounds, whose duty it is to
find the deer, work out his line, and get him separated
from the remainder of the herd ; the full pack is
then laid on, and so the hunt goes. The number of
these tufters taken out depends mostly on the size
and nature of the covert to be drawn, four couple
of them being the usual complement. They are
selected from the pack on duty for the day, because
of their staunchness and eagerness in drawing, but.
especially for their voices or aptitude for giving
tongue. A mute tufter is of course worse than
useless, and, as a fact, " stag hounds " have a great
tendency to run mute.

In autumn, say from the I2th of August to
through October, the stag is hunted, and at the end
of the latter month, hind hunting commences and

The Stag hound. 75

continues to April, and as far as a hundred stags and
hinds have been killed in one season.

The present pack dates actually from 1827
(though antiquarians may identify it with that at
Simonsbath two hundred and thirty years earlier),
and, with slight exception, the Devon and Somer-
set have ever since shown the perfection of
sport.

It may be interesting to note that the " old pack,"
which had been bred on Exmoor, was sold to go to
Germany in 181 1, and what has been produced from
it, with no doubt suitable crosses, is hunting there
still. Although the staghunting in the West is
carried out on modern lines, .its ancient history is
not forgotten. The houses of the country families,
of the Aclands, Fortescues, Fellowes, Bassets, and
many others are hung with "heads" dated in the
last century ; the silver buttons with the hunt device
on them are handed down from generation to
generation, and those worn by the present master,
whose grandfather hunted the hounds from 1780
to 1786, are over one hundred and twenty years
old.

In some other parts of the country, stags and
hinds are hunted indiscriminately (the Queen's prefer
haviers, cut at four years old), the former being
deprived of their antlers in order that they cannot

76 Modern Dogs.

injure themselves or each other when in confinement,
and both are specially fed and prepared for the
chase. They are seldom hurt, either when being
hunted or when taken, and the same animal will
afford a run time after time.

I have always had an impression that our ordinary
modern staghounds seldom go with the fire and
dash other hounds do that are continually blooded,
but this may be fancy or prejudice on my part.
Ever; now and then some, perhaps well-meaning,
persons, who are totally ignorant of sport, its
usages and value, make uncalled for attacks upon
stag hunting as usually conducted, and where
the animal at the end of the run is saved. Their
case always fails miserably, and what proof of
cruelty they seek to force upon the public is un-
reliable and the product of a fertile imagination.

As I have already stated, the staghound, or buck-
hound, and the foxhound are identical, though the
former is often enough confounded with the Scotch
deerhound, a dissimilar animal in every way. The
change of quarry does not appear to have made
any difference in the character and disposition of
the animal. The staghound is just as kindly as
the foxhound, he can gallop as fast, and is said to
possess as good a nose ; in coat, colour and for-
mation, they are identical — and hard, thick feet,

The Staghound. 77

good legs, with strong loins are a sine qua non in
both.

The staghound does not undergo the operation of
having his ears rounded. He can boast of having
taken part in extraordinary runs, one in Essex,
continuing for seventy miles before the deer was
killed. But this must have been nothing to one
that is said to have occurred in Scotland and
Cumberland, sometime in the year 1333 or 1334,
when Edward Baliol, King of Scotland, went to hunt
with Robert de Clifford, in his domain at Appleby
and Brougham. It is said that a single hound
chased a "hart of grease" (an eight year old
stag) from near Penrith to Red Kirk, in Scotland,
and back again, a distance that could not be less
than eighty miles, even by the straightest road.
The stag, in attempting to regain Whinfell Park,
from whence it started, just managed to leap the
wall, when it fell dead, the noble hound also falling
lifeless, on the other side the fence.

This may be true or not, possibly not. Some early
writers said the dog was a greyhound that took
part in this wonderful run. Others have said it was
a deerhound, but it is more likely to have been an
ordinary hound of the country, answering to our
present staghound, than anything else. The bones of
the stag were, it is said, placed in a large oak tree

7 8 Modern Dogs.

in Whinfell Park, and in the course of time became
engrafted there.

Thus spoke the king : " For equal praise
This hand this monument shall raise !
These antlers from this oak shall spread ;
And evermore shall here be said
' That Hercules killed Hart of Grease,
And Hart of Grease killed Hercules.' "

Here they remained until 1648, when one of the
branches was broken off, it was said, by certain
soldiers in the Scottish army, at that time on the
" war path." Ten years later the remainder was
taken down by some mischievous persons at night
(Lady Ann Clifford's diary). The ancient trunk of
this tree was removed from where it stood, on
the high road between Penrith and Appleby, during
the present century.

A pretty story is told in connection with Her
Majesty's buckhound Rummager. Some years ago,
Frank Goodall, the then huntsman, met with a severe
accident in the hunting field, and when assistance
was to be rendered as he lay insensible on the
ground, Rummager was by his master's side, and for
a long time would allow no one to approach him.
On the story being related to Her Majesty, it was
ordered that poor old Rummager should become a
pensioner, have extra quarters and comfort bestowed

The Staghound. 79

on him, and so live out his natural life. His progeny
remain in the kennels at Ascot, among the pillars
of the present pack, which now has J. G. Harvey as
Royal huntsman, and Lord Ribblesdale as " Master
of the Royal Buckhounds." It seems rather strange
that the mastership of the Royal Hounds, once
hereditary, is now a "political" appointment, a
Liberal holding the office when that party is in
power and vice versa. The emolument connected
therewith is ^1500 per annum for the master, whilst
the salary of the huntsman is only one-sixth of that
sum.

In the above I have dealt more particularly with
the Devon and Somerset Staghounds and Her
Majesty's Buckhounds, they being considered
the leading packs of the kind in this country.
However, in Ireland we have the celebrated
Ward Union, within easy distance of Dublin, the
kennels being at Ashbourne, Co. Meath. These
hunt three days a week. The Co. Down and the
Roscommon likewise provide sport for the stag
hunter in Ireland, and with the general surroundings
of all these hounds no fault can be found.

In England Sir H. de Rothschild's may be men-
tioned as a strong pack numbering about thirty
couples of hounds, and they are kennelled at Ascott,
near Leighton, in Bedfordshire. The Enfield Chase

8o Modern Dogs.

likewise have thirty couples of entered hounds, and
so have the Surrey, whose country is round about
Redhill, which, being pretty handy for the Lon-
doner, usually produces larger meets of riding men
than some of the neighbouring farmers like.

There is a small pack and a very old one that
still hunts the New Forest ; and a capital centre
for the visitor to work from is Lyndhurst or Brocken-
hurst. Mr. F. Lovell, the master, is out two days a
week with his fifteen couples of hounds, and many
of the runs he gives, especially when such take
place in the roughest country of the hunt, may
remind the West Countryman of one of the hardest
bursts with his favourite Devon and Somerset.

CHAPTER IV.
THE HARRIER.

UNLESS some very considerable change takes place
it is extremely likely that the harrier will not survive
very many generations, at any rate in this country.
His type has not been strictly defined for years, he
has varied much in height, and has lately been
crossed with the foxhound to such an extent, as
to further endanger his extinction.

Years ago much hare hunting was done on foot,
and hounds were bred for this purpose, to find
their own hare by questing and hunting her through
all her windings and ringings, with a care that the
modern foxhound-harrier, with his dash and go,
would not take pains to bestow. The latter is
almost as fast and keen as the true foxhound ;
he has, like him, to be fleet enough to get out
of the way of careless riders, and give a sharp
and merry burst, rather than a careful hunting run.
Most hounds now kill their hare in from half an hour
to an hour, and no wonder that they can do so

[VOL. I.] G

82 Modern Dogs.

when sometimes they have a turn with the fox, and
perhaps oftener a chase with the " carted deer."
The latter almost a necessity, because a mistaken
and ill-judged legislation has caused hares to become
very scarce in some districts, where a few years ago
they were plentiful.

The harrier is quite as old a hound as any other.
Caius calls him Leverarius, and the Book of St.
Albans mentions the hare in the same list as a beast
of chase as the fox, the deer, and the wild boar. Still,
perhaps, pretty much as with most harriers to day,
those of Dame Berners' time would be as much at
home with the timorous hare as with the cunning
fox or the fleeter red deer. Some modern writers
have gone so far as to say that such a thing as a
true harrier, one without any dash of foxhound
blood in him, is not to be found. Beckford wrote
of the harrier as a cross-bred hound, and his
own were bred between the large slow hunting
southern hound and the beagle. They were fast
enough, had all the alacrity desirable, and would
hunt the coldest scent. These attributes, added to
their plodding perseverance, gave them a distinctive
character, which, as already hinted, has well nigh
departed. Still, all the harriers of sixty or seventy
years ago were not so slow and careful as Beckford's
undoubtedly were, for there were complaints that in

The Harrier. 83

1825, the Kirkham, Lancashire, hounds were too fast
for the hares they hunted. These, however, were big
hounds, and not unlike the Penistone of to-day.

There are masters of harriers whose pride is still
in the purity of their strains, though maybe, at some
time or other, a point or two has been stretched for
the infusion of new blood to maintain the size and
standard required. Quite recently, letters have
appeared in the Field on the matter, resulting from
certain awards at dog shows. In one case, Mr.
Allan Jefferys, Hythe, near Southampton, who owns
a pack of black and tan harriers, which originally
came from Sir Talbot Constable, complained that
he was beaten by half bred foxhounds. Possibly
this was so, but the winners were neater all round,
and smarter than the black and tans, and thus
more suitable for the show ring and the bench.

I confess myself rather disappointed with Mr.
Jefferys' black and tans, as they were not so good
in either feet or ribs as I expected to find them.
Sir Talbot Constable began to breed such hounds
as these about thirty-five years ago, by crossing
beagles with St. Huberts, and then breeding in
and in. This being so, Mr. Jefferys' may well
find the puppies difficult to rear, as he says. they
are. He is endeavouring to perpetuate and harden
the strain by crossing with smooth coated Welsh

G 2

84 Modern Dogs.

harrier, black, or black and tan in colour. Mr.
Jefferys claims for his hounds that they are one
of the few packs of harriers without any admix-
ture of foxhound blood, but what they lose in this
respect they gain in another, for underneath them
there lurks some of the bloodhound nature, and I am
told they are excellent at carefully working out a
cold scent, and that they take "rating" badly. How-
ever, they are interesting hounds, evidently about i8-|-
inches, and I believe that they received quite their due
when in the ring at Peterborough in 1891, and at
Bath the following year.

The Lancashire chaps have always been very
partial to harriers, and the Holcombe have for long
been a noted pack. They are required big and
active in the district, and although they win prizes
as harriers I consider that their height, 22 inches,
shoukl quite put them out of the category of hare
hounds. The Rossendale Harriers are 22 inches, and
claim to be pure harriers, but, like other Lancashire
hounds, they are big ones. Mr. Sperling's 1 8-inch
harriers, that hunt from Lamerton, near Tavistock,
are more my idea of what a harrier should be. I
remember, both at Peterborough and Exeter shows,
seeing a few couple of lovely hounds from the
Seavington Hunt, and shown by Mr Langdon.
Rosebud and Rapture especially took my fancy — a

The Harrier. 85

couple of lovely (< hare pie " bitches, with character
enough for anything, without any lumber about
them, and minus the thick, heavy bone of the
foxhound. I was told the master had twenty
couple at home quite as good, his pack being
all round about 19^ inches at the shoulder.

Mr. Webber had some pretty harriers at the same
Exeter show, at which hounds formed certainly the
feature. I need scarcely say that harriers like the
Seavington caught the judge's eyes at Peterborough
though they were hardly used that year when the
Brookside beat them. The latter is one of the oldest
harrier packs in the country, and it is said that it
has hunted round about Rottingdean, near Brighton,
for over 1 20 years. The present master, Mr. Steyning
Beard, has a lot of hounds that it would be difficult
to equal, as their success both in the field and in
the ring will testify. There is in existence a painting
of a pied hare that was killed on Lewes Downs by
the Brookside harriers in 1771.

Two or three packs of hounds, running to not
more than 18 inches, are to be found in Wales,
whilst other excellent hounds in the list of the
Rural Almanac are those of Colonel Ridehalgh,
which hunt round about Bowness and Winder-
mere, in the Lake district. Although, compara-
tively speaking, small, I can scarcely call them

86 Modern Dogs.

pure harriers, though useful hounds that have
to hunt and find for themselves, and surmount u the
dark brow of the mighty Helvellyn " often enough
when the meet lies near the foot of the mountain
at Wythburn. Heavy hounds would no more do for
hunting the hares here than they would do for
killing foxes. And with those little hounds of
Colonel Ridehalgh the runs are longer and actually
more interesting than they usually are with bigger
and, therefore, speedier hounds.

There are something like one hundred and ten
packs of hounds hunting the hare in England, less
than half a score in Scotland, and about twenty-
five in Ireland. The standards of their height vary
very much indeed, from the 23 inches of the Eden-
bridge to the 1 6 inches of the Windermere pack
already named. Some are called pure harriers that
have little claim to the name, others bear a variety
of appellations which signify " cross-bred." But
the harrier in his purity is difficult to obtain ; he
should not exceed about 19 inches in height, and,
as a rule, his skull is broader and thicker in pro-
portion to the width of the muzzle than is the case
with the foxhound. The harrier is oftener coarser
in his coat than the foxhound, which may be
ascribed to crossing with a rough Welsh hound that
I believe is still to be found in some parts of the

The Harrier. 87

principality. He has not, or ought not, to have,
his ears rounded, and masters are not nearly so
particular about their markings ; in fact, blue-
mottled harriers, with a dash of tan in them, were
often enough to be found, and considered a favourite
colour until the foxhound cross was introduced.
We have seen that show judges will award prizes to
black and tan harriers, but foxhounds of that colour
would soon be sent to the right about.

Some of the most notable harrier packs are the
Penistone, that are not " harriers" at all, old Southern
hounds, said to be without foxhound or other cross
for two hundred years. Mr. G. Race, of Biggies-
wade, has perhaps shown better sport with his harriers
than anyone else for so many years, he at the
time of writing having had them for over half a
century ; and what runs he has enjoyed himself
and given to others during that period are now
historical.

The Hon. C. Bampfylde had the Aldenham Piper
and Valiant at Peterborough in 1891, when one of our
best hound judges described the first named as about
the best hound he ever saw, so straight in front, where
they often fail, Belvoir tan marked and generally as
" handsome as paint/' This from a " foxhound
man " who can as a rule see no hound so perfect as
his own fancy, is praise indeed. Mr. J. S. Gibbon ;

88 Modern Dogs.

Mr. E. Barclay (the Boddington) ; the Edenbridge,
Kent, about 120 years old ; the Craven, hunting from
Gargrave, in Yorkshire, and from which pack hounds
were sent to America last century ; the Fox Bush,
the old pack was destroyed on account of rabies in
1880 ; the Holcombe, perhaps the oldest of all ; Mr.
GreenfelPs, Taplow Court, Bucks, once belonging
to H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, are packs of
harriers of undoubted excellence. As already stated,
few of them are without the taint of " cross."
Perhaps now that a harrier stud book has been
published, and the first volume contains particulars
of fifty-seven packs, the old pure blood will be sought
after more than at present.

Generally speaking, the pure harrier should have
distinguishing characteristics of his own. He ought
to be from 16 inches to 19 inches, and no more, not
thick and cumbersome in bone, deep in chest, and
not so high on the legs in proportion to his height
as the foxhound ; ears unrounded and set on rather
low, head thicker in the skull, and tapering more
towards the muzzle than is the case with the fox-
hound ; legs and feet as good as they can be had,
but it is exceptional to find the former perfectly
straight in front, and so the pure hounds are at a dis-
advantage when competing against the " absolutely
straight " foxhound cross. Stern carried gaily, loins

The Harrier. 89

as strong as possible with stifles well turned and
muscular. The true harrier is not such a level
topped hound as the foxhound. Colour anything
you like of the hound shade, although the " blue
pied," with a dash of tan about the head is hand-
somest; and one authority goes so far as to say that
he never saw a bad hound of this colour ; coat like
a foxhound's, though sometimes it is longer. I have
shown that some authorities admit black and tan,
and who shall say that they are not correct ?
I should apportion the points as follows :

Value.

Head, ears, and character 20
Neck 5

Value.

Stern and hindquarters... 5
Legs and feet 15

Shoulders and chest 10 Size and symmetry 20

Back and loins 10 Coat and colour 15

45 55

Grand Total 100.

It is not very often that classes for harriers are
provided at our shows, though such are occasionally
met with in addition to those alluded to elsewhere.
Darlington, that lies in an excellent sporting district,
in the autumn of each year holds a great exhibition
of horses and dogs, has had some excellent groups
of harriers, most of which were from packs hunted
on foot. Many good runs these local hounds gave

90 Modern Dogs.

in Westmorland and in Durham, finding their hares
in a rough country, and without assistance, chasing
and killing them, sometimes after a three hours' run.
So far as hunting the hare on foot is concerned,
the most enjoyable part, to my mind, was when
the meet took place at, say, eight o'clock in the
morning. The scent or line of a hare was struck.
This the hounds would slowly work out, and perhaps
occupy the greater part of an hour in what was
called the quest. Puss was in fact hunted fairly to
her " form," or " seat," was then " so-hoed," and,
after a ringing run, which all enjoyed, was killed
in the open or on the road. Such hunting is seldom
seen nowadays, when the meet is at 1 1 o'clock.
The hare is roused from her " seat," and if the fast
hounds, hurried on by excited horsemen, do not
rush into her straight away, the run seldom lasts
half-an-hour.

CHAPTER V.
THE BEAGLE.

THIS is perhaps the only variety of hound that has
profited by the institution of dog shows. He has
clone so because he is small and affectionate, pretty
and docile, and in many respects admirably suited to
be a " pet dog." Unfortunately, he is so true to his
instincts of hunting the rabbit, and even the hare,
as to prove rather a nuisance than otherwise in
country places, where his bell-like, melodious voice
will be continually heard in the coverts where the
little hound is bustling the game about, much to the
annoyance of the head keeper and his under
strappers.

The beagle, said to be the " brach " of past gene-
rations, can boast of ancient lineage. Perhaps he
was one of our original British dogs, but, as an old
writer very truly observes, " his origin is lost in the
mists of obscurity." However, he came from under
his cloud about the time of good Queen Bess, who
was said to be the fortunate possessor of a pack of

92 Modern Dogs.

hounds so small that they could be carried in a
lady's glove. Well, either the hounds must have
been far smaller than the least of our toy terriers of
to-day (which is extremely unlikely), or the glove of
more capacious dimensions than a u fives Dent and
Aldcroft " of the present time (which is extremely
improbable), or the story an exaggeration (which is
perhaps true). So there is only one conclusion to
be arrived at, that these so-called " singing beagles "
of our virgin queen were somewhat of a myth, or
that one of them, and not the whole pack, could be
ensconced in my lady's gauntlet.

Approaching more modern times, George IV. had
a pack of beagles of which he was so fond that one
of the best portraits of himself was taken in their
company, His Royal Highness being surrounded by
his merry little pack, and most typical hounds they
are, full of character, and almost better than any we
know at the present day. Colonel Thornton hunted
with them on Brighton Downs, and expressed himself
surprised with the pace they could go, and found
a good hunter more useful than a pony in following
them. But of late years beagles have been, and still
are, mostly used when hunting is done on foot. A
good beagle is slow but sure ; he dwells on a cold
line until he puzzles it out, and, throwing his
musically smart voice, calls the remainder of his

The Beagle. 93

fellows to him and away they dart, crawling
through fences or topping stone walls, on the scent
of poor puss. And if she is not clever her life
is a short one. Beagles run very keenly, but are
not so savage on the line as a foxhound, and we
think Beckford's experience of them is not quite a
usual one.

The author of " Thoughts on Hunting," having
heard much of the excellence of a certain pack
of beagles, sent his coachman to fetch them, in
order that the diminutive hounds might be given
a fair trial. The coachman was evidently not the
proper person to have the charge of hounds, and,
in bringing them along the road, they became
terribly riotous, going for pigs, sheep, horses, cattle,
birds, deer, and almost everything that moved in
front of them. However, in due course the pack
arrived at its destination with the loss of only one
hound ; and, on being asked what he thought of
them, the coachman replied that they were the
" best hounds he ever saw, for they would hunt
everything." At the close of last century Colonel
Hardy had a pack of beagles that were taken to the
meet and to the kennels again, when possible, in a
couple of hampers strapped across the back of
a pony. It is said that these hounds, kennelled in a
barn prior to hunting next day, were stolen there-

94 Modern Dogs.

from ; hampers, horse, and all disappearing, nor was
their whereabouts ever discovered.

" Stonehenge," in " Dogs of the British Isles/'
gives an interesting account of Mr. Crane's rabbit
beagles, a Dorsetshire pack, which all round has
certainly never been excelled for excellence in the
field, and beauty on the show bench. " Idstone,"
the writer of that article, says :—

He has seen them on a cold, bad scenting day work up a
rabbit and run him in the most extraordinary manner, and
although the nature of the ground compelled the pack to run
almost in Indian file, and thus to carry a very narrow line of
scent, if they threw it up it was but for a moment. Mr. Crane's
standard is qm., and every little hound is absolutely perfect. I
.saw but one hound at all differing from his companions, a little
black-tanned one. This one on the flags we should have drafted,
but when we saw him in his work we quite forgave him for being
of a conspicuous colour. Giant was perhaps the very best of the
pack, a black- white-and-tanned dog hound, always at work, and
never wrong. He had a capital tongue, and plenty of it. A
bitch, Lily, had the most beautiful points. She is nearly all
white, as her name implies. Damper, Dutchman, Tyrant, are
also all of them beautiful models. The measurement of Damper
was: Height, Qin. ; round the chest, i6in.; across the ears, izin.;
extreme length, 2ft. 4in. ; eye to nose, 2-|in. Mr. Crane's
standard is kept up with great difficulty. He has reduced the
beagle to a minimum. Many of the mothers do not rear their
offspring, and distemper carries them off in troops. Single
specimens may occasionally be found excessively dwarfed and
proportionately deformed. These hounds would perhaps be
wanting in nose or intelligence if they could be produced in
sufficient force to form a pack ; but Mr. Crane's are all models

The Beagle. 95

of symmetry and power, and are as accomplished and as steady
as Lord Portsmouth's hounds. The Southover beagles are as
small as it is possible to breed them (in sufficient numbers to
form a pack) without losing symmetry, nose, intelligence, and

strength.

The above was written nearly forty years ago, but
Mr. Crane keeps his beagles now in 1892, just as
he did when "Idstone" wrote so charmingly of them.
Mr. Crane informs me that latterly he has had great
losses in his puppies, especially about two years ago.
Then distemper, which had not been near the kennel
for a long time, broke out, and four couples of old
hounds and three couples of young ones succumbed
to the epidemic. The survivors were running this
season, and gave excellent sport amongst the rabbits,
which they hunt zealously, but they have scarcely
the pace to run down a hare. They were often
successful on the benches at Birmingham, one of
the few shows where classes for them have always
been provided. Now beagles are acknowledged at
Peterborough, where, during the past year or two,
some pretty examples have taken away the prizes.

Mr. G. H. Nutt, at Pulborough, Sussex, has an
excellent pack of these little hounds, with which he
wins many prizes. In work, he uses them in the place
of spaniels, for beating the thick coverts, and driving
" bunny " to the gun. Rather a risky enterprise for
the hounds, with careless shooters about, but pretty

g6 Modern Dogs.

sport is afforded, and the music of the hound will
always tell you in which direction the rabbit is coming.
Fifteen years ago, Mr. Nutt had his pack at one of
the Kennel Club's Shows at the Alexandra Palace,
and much to the delight of the visitors, ran a trail
with them amongst the shrubs of the Palace grounds,
the late Mr. Edward Sandall taking an active part
therein.

From the earliest times there have been at least
three varieties of the beagle, ordinary smooth coated,
rough or wire haired, and others black and tan in
colour. Richardson, in 1851, writes of a Kerry
beagle, which, he says, is ua fine, tall, dashing hound,
averaging twenty-six inches in height, and occasion-
ally, individual dogs attain to twenty-eight inches.
He has deep chops, broad, pendulous ears, and
when highly bred is hardly to be distinguished from
an indifferent bloodhound." The same author further
says they are used to hunt the deer, and that there
are two packs in the neighbourhood of Killarney.

I have made enquiries in various parts of Ireland,
as to the survival of the Kerry beagle and his present
whereabouts. One of the packs alluded to by
Richardson — that of Mr. Herbert, at Muckross — was
discontinued as long ago as 1847. These hounds
were twenty-six inches in height, most of them
black and tan in colour, some of them all tan. The

The Beagle. 97

other pack alluded to by the same authority, that of
Mr. John O'Connell, at Grenagh, Killarney, were
dispersed at the same time, which was during the
distressful period of the great famine, when many
of the Irish gentry, almost ruined, were com-
pelled, under the Encumbered Estates Act, to sell
their family domains at an enormous sacrifice. I
could name more than one instance where a valuable
estate was sold for five years purchase ! The late
Mr. O'Connell's hounds, were likewise black and tan.
A few couples of these hounds were taken by Mr.
Maurice O'Connell's nephew to Mr. John O'Connell,
who kept them at Lake View, increasing his pack to
about twenty couples. In 1868 he, however, handed
them over to Mr. Clement Ryan, of Emly, co.
Tipperary, who now preserves the only pack of
Kerry beagles in the kingdom — not many years ago
they were the most popular hounds in the south of
Ireland.

At Darrinane a pack was kept for many gene-
rations ; the late Mr. Buller, of Waterville, and Mr.
Chute, of Chute Hall, all in County Kerry, had
small lots of hounds. I have had kindly forwarded
to me a description of this hound as he ought to be,
and it was compiled by Mr. McNamara, of Killarney,
who has made a special study of the variety.

"Head. — Moderately long broad skull, oval from

[VOL. I.] H

98 Modern Dogs.

eyes to poll, about same length from nasal indenture
between eyes to point of nose — should slope or
slightly arch from eyes to point of nose. Forehead
low, eye-brows strong and raised somewhat, cheeks
not full. Eyes large, bright, and intelligent, varying
in colour from bright yellow to deep buff, and
deeper brownish yellow. Muzzle long, slightly
arched round, and full under. Nose fine in texture,
not square, but slightly tapering. Nostrils large.
Upper lips hanging, and fuller towards the corner
of the mouth. Teeth level, of elegant form, and
strong.

"Ears. — Large, pendulous, falling below the neck,
and set on low on the side of the head.

i( Bndy. — Muscular, fairly thick set, moderate
length, strong, well set on legs.

" Neck. — Slightly arched, thick, nearly level with
the back of the skull at the point of joining. Skin
full in front, and dewlap developed.

" Chest. — Deep, not broad underneath. Shoulders
strong and broad across the back, which is moderate
in length, and strong.

" Loins. — Broad and muscular, and slightly arched.
Thighs thick and slightly curved.

" Tail. — Long and evenly furnished with hair,
thickest at the root, and carried curved upwards
from the loins.

The Beagle. 99

" Legs. — With plenty of bone and muscle, short,
and strong ; feet round and close.

" Coat. — Hard, close, and smooth.

" Colour. — Black and tan ; blue mottled and tan ;
black, tan, and white ; tan and white.

" Height. — 22 inches, more or less, which should
depend upon the depth of the body."

I have dwelt thus long on this hound because, so
far as I am aware, its description has not hitherto
been published, and because there is a likelihood of
this fine old variety becoming as extinct as the
dodo, and, perhaps, it is in danger of being forgotten
altogether.

Mr. Ryan writes me that his hounds average
about 24 inches, are smooth coated, black and tan,
with " very long ears, and hanging jowls, but have
no strain of the bloodhound in them. They are
remarkable for their tongue, which is rich and
wonderfully sweet. Their noses are very keen, and
in work they are true and persevering. Not so fast
as the foxhound, they possess a considerable turn
of speed, are docile, and take to hunting at once."

These beagles at Emly were formerly restricted
to hare hunting, but with the increasing scarcity of
that quarry the master has had to fall back upon
deer, and he and their followers have been very
much pleased with the sport they have afforded.

H 2

ioo Modern Dogs

Mr. Macnamara further says that their cry in the
chase is full, sonorous, and musical ; when hunting
the head is thrown upwards frequently, and when
this is so they are in full cry. When on trail their
note is of prolonged sweetness.

I take it that these " beagles " are pretty much
of the same type, excepting in colour, as the purest
of our English harriers, and, although their size is
against their identity with the common beagles, as
they are known as such, it is better to allude to
these Kerry hounds under this head than another.

More attention has been given to the beagle in
the South of England than elsewhere, and the
county of Sussex has usually been noted for them.
Indeed, the handsome blue mottled specimens were
at one time known as Sussex beagles ; and I
fancy that, from this county, first sprang the variety
with a wire-haired coat, not unlike a miniature otter
hound in appearance. Mr. H. P. Cambridge, of
Bloxworth, is alluded to by " Stonehenge" as
having a pack of 1 3-inch beagles for hunting the
furze country in his locality, in which there were
some rough hounds. One of the best of these,
black, tan, and white, originally came from near
Cranbourne. About twenty-five years ago I saw
a peculiar little beagle, some 12 inches in height,
with extraordinarily long ears, characteristic face,

The Beagle. 101

but rather long in the body. Merry was wire-
haired and sandy in colour, not unlike a pale
coloured Irish terrier. She was in the north of
England, but where she came from I could never
make out. Her first public appearance was on the
bench, where she was shown by her owner, a
sporting dealer in oil cake, who had been a great
wrestler in his day. Mr. W. Lort, the judge, was
so taken with the little hound that he gave her
first prize in the " variety class." She had a lovely
voice, a thorough hound, but quite unlike any beagle
I ever saw before or since.

Perhaps the best of all rabbit beagles was the
blue-mottled " Blue Belle," shown by Mrs. Reginald
Mayhew about four years ago, and now in America.
Here was about as perfect a little creature as could
be imagined, and even the most hypercritical could
only say she was a little weak in face. Then she
had such character, the best of legs and feet, so
difficult to obtain in perfection on either beagle
or harrier, a perfect body, loins, back, stern, and
ears all to correspond. Blue Belle was pur-
chased at one of the Sussex exhibitions when a
puppy for about thirty shillings.

At Brighton and Tunbridge Wells shows the
best classes have been seen of both the rough and
smooth varieties ; but, as a rule, the more diminutive

102 Modern Dogs.

hounds — say those of about ten inches — have not
had much chance of competing successfully with
others three or four inches higher; still the little ones
have a quaintness of beauty that is not seen in any
other dog, and, as already stated, they are suitable
as companions, excepting when they are afforded an
opportunity of going out " rabbiting " on their own
account.

This year, in 1892, a joint stud book of packs of
beagles has been published, it forming part of the
one for harriers already alluded to. The first
volume contains the names of a dozen packs only
(there are over double that number in existence),
which are supposed to be a foundation stock, but
I am afraid that some of the entries are not so
pure as many of our show hounds, which are not
included ; nor are Mr. Crane's, Mr. Nutt's, and
Mr. Ryan's, the latter the Kerry beagles already
alluded to. To form a good and reliable stud
book, the editors ought to see that their second
volume remedies, as far as possible, the omissions
alluded to.

It is common knowledge that masters of hounds
abominate dog shows ; still when we find the very
best of a variety to be found oftener on the bench
than in the field, animosity against exhibitions must
be sunk. Most of the packs entered in the stud

The Beagle. 103

book are big, rather large hounds, many from thirteen
to sixteen inches, and the oldest pack is the Royal
Rock, hunting from near Birkenhead, Cheshire,
established in 1845 ^Y Colonel Anstruther Thompson,
who brought them out of Essex. Sir Marteine
Lloyd, with the kennel at Llandyssil, South Wales,
has had the hounds in his family since 1846, and
they have been carefully bred from true strains.
The Cheshire Beagle Hunt Club have some hounds
good both in appearance and work, and their
Graceful and Music won leading honours at Peter-
borough in 1891. Christ Church, Oxford, has
beagles of its own, originally established in 1874,
but the pack experienced vicissitudes, especially in
1886, when, dumb madness breaking out, all the
hounds were destroyed. The then Master, Mr.
F. B. Craven, soon got twelve couples of merry little
hounds together, and the establishment is now as
strong as ever. The Stockton pack, with Mr.
T. H. Faber, Master, includes hounds up to sixteen
inches, some of them very typical specimens, and
evidently pure beagles, but others appear to come
pretty nearly the modern harrier type. Near London,
at Surbiton, Mr. H. V. Walsh masters the pack that
Mr. R. W. Cobb got together in 1882. Since that
time, when it hunted only on a Saturday, it has been
considerably strengthened by the present Master,

104 Modern Dogs.

who purchased the pick of Mr. Dubourg's pack, and
others from the Epsom and Ewell Hunts, since
given up.

In appearance the beagle is a diminutive harrier,
with equally long and pendulous ears, not so level in
back as a foxhound, but in other particulars much
like him. However, the best beagle colour is
certainly the " blue mottled," already mentioned, but
in addition the ordinary hound markings are good,
and black and tans, not of the Kerry size, are
repeatedly met with, and are quite admissible. The
smooth coated hounds are usually understood to be
most desirable, but the rough, or wired haired hounds
are admired by many persons, and in all respects are
equally as good as the others. In hunting, the
beagle is a merry, keen, hard worker, he can
make casts for himself, and possesses a peculiarly
bright, clear, and silvery voice. The smaller, or
rabbit beagles, are especially sweet in their cry, and
no doubt on this account obtained the name of
" singing beagles," by which title they were
known hundreds of years ago. In height there is
much variety, those used for rabbits varying from
nine inches, the standard of Mr. Crane's, at South-
over, up to say twelve inches, the height that Mr.
Nutt favours at Pulborough.

The pack belonging to the latter is, however,

The Beagle. 105

mostly used for beating the thick coverts when
rabbit shooting. Others vary from twelve to sixteen
inches, but when we reach the latter height, there is
a near approach to the harrier, and so to the fox-
hound ; the cross with the latter having been made
with the idea of improving the legs and feet of the
smaller hound, a change of blood that naturally has
a tendency to do away with type.

The following is the scale of points I should give

to the beagle :—

Value. 1 Value.

General appearance 20 Head and ears 15

Loins, back, and stern ... 20 Legs and feet 20

Chest 10 Coat and colour 15

5° 5°

Grand Total 1OO.

From what has been written it will be seen that
the beagle, in size and character, varies more than
any other of our hounds, and may be found in
height from about nine inches to sixteen inches.
In this scale I do not include the Kerry Beagle,
which runs to the size of a foxhound, and which,
instead of hunting the rabbit or the hare, finds
nobler game in the chase of the stag, which we are
told he does most successfully.

The real and proper work of the beagle is to hunt
hares and even rabbits, and such charming little

io6 Modern Dogs.

hounds as some of those already alluded to, do
this work wonderfully well. Any man of ordinary
pedestrian powers can follow them from start to
finish, for a rabbit does not as a rule live long before
hounds — and, as all know, will go to ground at the
earliest opportunity. The hare, too, fails to go
away at such a break neck pace when the slower
beagle is plodding after her, as she succeeds in
doing when bullied and flustered by the dashing
harrier with a lot of foxhound blood in him.

As a hound the beagle deserves to be cultivated,
and, from the list, containing twenty-six packs, that
appears in the " Rural Almanac," its popularity is
certainly not on the wane where hunting is con-
cerned any more than it is in the show ring.

y

CHAPTER VI.
THE OTTER HOUND.

THERE is no finer type of the canine race in this
country than the otter hound. His hardy, character-
istic expression, shaggy coat, and rough wear and
tear appearance, have always reminded me of that
ancient British warrior so often depicted in our
boyish story books, but who, perhaps, with his coat
of skins, his shield, and hirsute face, was the inven-
tion of the artist rather than the actual inhabitant
of our island.

It has been said that the otter hound is a
cross between the Welsh harrier, the southern
hound, and the terrier. Perhaps he may be so,
but more likely not, for a good well-grown specimen
has more coat than any ordinary terrier or the
rough Welsh hound, and he is bigger than either,
and of the southern hound likewise. My own
opinion is that he has been crossed with the blood-
hound at some not very remote date. The black
and tan colour often appears in some strains, and

io8 Modern Dogs.

his voice in many cases resembles the full luscious
tones of the bloodhound more than the keener ring
of the foxhound. Some twenty years or so ago,
Mr. J. C. Carrick, of Carlisle, was desirous of
getting a new cross into his hounds, and, with
that intention, obtained a hound — a southern hound
it was called — from the Western States of America.
No pedigree could be obtained, but it was a
particularly handsome animal, and more like the
picture of the southern hound in Youatt's book on
the dog than anything I ever saw. Mr. Carrick
was afraid of the fresh blood, so the Virginian
importation did good duty on the show bench in the
variety classes instead of demoralising the blood
of hounds that was quite as pure as that of any
other variety of the dog.

I forget who recommended a cross between a
bulldog, an Irish water spaniel, and a mastiff, as
the most likely way to produce otter hounds.
Certainly an ingenious idea, and worthy of the
writer, who thus easily got out of a difficulty
which more learned men than he had failed to solve.
We have the otter hound, let that suffice, and let his
valued strain be perpetuated, and the popular masters
of our packs long continue to give the best of all
sport to those somewhat impecunious individuals
who are not provided with the means to keep a hunter

The Otter Hound. 109

or two to gallop after foxhounds. Forty or fifty
years ago otter hunting appeared to be on the wane.
Perhaps the rising generation of sportsmen of that
era became discontented with the nets and spears
that were commonly used to facilitate the kill. Now
these cruel appliances are all abolished, and the only
resting-place fit to contain them is the lumber room
or the museum of some country town. Hounds are
so bred that they can, with a minimum amount
of assistance, kill their otter unaided, and specially
excel in their work during the early part of the hunt,
if they are but let alone.

Throw off on the river's brink, and hounds will
soon hit the line of an otter, if one has been about
any time within three or four hours before, or
may be they will speak to scent even older than
that. The olfactory organs possessed by the otter
hound have to me always seemed something extra-
ordinary. The cold, damp stones by the water's
edge, or a bunch or clump of grass adjoining, are
not the places where scent would lie well. Still
there is the fact ; a hound will swim off to a rock
in mid-stream, put his nose to the ground, sniff
about a little, and if the otter has been at that spot,
even for only half a minute, that hound will throw
up his head and, in a solo so sweet to the ears of a
hunter, let all know that he is on the line.

i TO » Modern Dogs.

And it was " Ragman " who never told a lie — can
I call him a canine George Washington without dis-
paragement to America's great president? I have
seen foxhounds well entered to the otter, but the
rough hounds were always first to own a stale drag.
The latter are so much more staid and steady when
past their puppyhood ; know their work so well,
appear to enjoy it too, and take to hunting their
favoured game at quite an early age.

It is told of the Rev. John Russell, the great
Devonshire sportsman, that, desirous of having a
pack of hounds to hunt the otter, he endeavoured to
make one. He said he followed the rivers for two
seasons, during which he walked upwards of three
thousand miles, and never found an otter, although he
says " he must have passed scores, and he might as
well have searched for a moose deer." No doubt;
but Russell had foxhounds that had been entered
to fox. Now, with even a lot of otterhound puppies
quite unentered, he would not have had such long
and fruitless journeys; they would have soon hunted
something, and if now and then they had run riot on
a water rat, a moor hen, or a rabbit, they would
have struck the scent of an otter before very long—
i.e., if such game were plentiful in the district.

My early experience of otter hunting was much
sooner consummated than that of the Devonshire

The Otter Hound. * 1 1 1

sportsman. We had an otter hound puppy, quite
unentered, an old bitch, dam to the puppy, and a few
terriers. The second time out we struck a strong
scent by the edge of a lovely stream in our north
country. Old Rally, who, later on, very often failed
to speak, even on a strong scent, now gave tongue
freely ; her young son put his nose to the ground,
threw up his head, and yelled every now and then,
and quite as often fell head over heels into the
water ; the terriers yelped and barked, and evidently
thought they were in for a big battue at rats.

The young hound settled down and swam across
the pool. Higher, Rally marked under a tree root.
An angler hard by prodded his landing-net handle
down into the ground ; all of us jumped upon the
surface, and quietly there dived out a huge otter !
And he made his way down stream. Then we had
him in a long pool, about twenty yards wide, nowhere
more than five feet deep, no strong hovers on either
side the bank ; but below us was dangerous ground.
So a shallow was guarded by two of us, with our
breeches rolled up and long sticks in our hands.

Well, we hunted our otter up and down that pool
for two hours. He was given no rest; he came
quietly to a corner where the water was shallow ;
Rally and her big puppy were there. They
saw the round brown head and bead-like eyes,.

ii2 Modern Dogs.

and furiously rushed on to their game. What a
row ! What a fight ! The terriers were there ; all
of us were there. Torn jackets and torn coats. It
was a wonder that during the melee our otter did
not escape and we ourselves be the bitten ones.
How it all came about none of us will know, but a
quarter of an hour later, three lads, a man, and
a fisherman, were sitting in a green meadow, where
wild hyacinths made the hedgerows blue and the
clover was imparting fragrance to the air. They
were sitting there with their hounds and their
terriers, and whilst the scratch pack rolled and dried
themselves amongst the earlier summer flowers, we
were gazing in astonishment at an otter weighing
25^1b. — one that we had killed ourselves with the aid
of our two hounds and terriers. We had walked three
miles to perform this feat, and, need I say, that in
less than two years from that time that locality had
as good a pack of otter hounds as man need desire.
Our Mentor of the day was our huntsman.

Notwithstanding this experience of my own,
almost all old hunters say that many years careful
work are required to make a pack of otter hounds.
Squire Lomax, of Clitheroe, some quarter of a
century ago, had the misfortune to lose his entire
pack through an attack of dumb madness. Now
his were perhaps the most accomplished lot of

The Otter Hound.

otter hounds any man ever possessed. Each hound
was perfect in itself, and the pack might have
found and killed an otter without the slightest assist-
ance from their esteemed master, who had taken
years to bring them to that state of perfection.
" You will soon get another pack together, Mr.
Lomax," said a friend. " No," was the reply, " my
old hounds took me the best part of a lifetime to
obtain, and should I recommence again, I should be
an old man and past hunting, before I got another
lot to my liking." Mr. Lomax for years hunted the
Ribble, Lune, and other big rivers in the north.

Mr. Gallon, of Bishop Auckland, who met his death
whilst otter hunting in Scotland, was another great
authority on this hound, and his opinion was pretty
much the same as that of Mr. Lomax. But good
sport can be had without having hounds quite so
perfect as those mentioned.

I am, however, getting a little in advance of my
text, and something must be said of the earlier days
of the otter hound. King John is said to have had
a pack, of which he was very fond. Although thus
early otter hunting was considered royal sport, the
otter was only placed in the third class of the beasts
of the chase, ranking with the badger and the wild
cat — even the timid hare and the marten taking pre-
cedence. However, that he was highly valued, even

[VOL. I.] I

1 14 Modern Dogs.

in those days, for the amusement afforded, may be
inferred from the fact that Edward II. (time 1307),
had as part of his household, a huntsman and sub-
ordinates, to look after his otter hounds. Sometimes
the King's otter hunter resided in the hall, and was
served there ; on other occasions he had his own
residence and lived as he liked. Anyhow, he had
" twelve otter dogges " in his care, and in addition
a couple of greyhounds. Then there were " two
boys" to look after the hounds and feed them. The
master of the otter hounds was, as the times went,
fairly well rewarded for his duties, he receiving in
addition to " a robe in cloth yearly, or a mark in
money"- —the latter 135. 4^. — and an extra allowance
of four shillings and eightpence for shoes, twopence
per day wages. Each of the so-called " boys "
was remunerated at the rate of three halfpence per
day. The latter did not appear to have any per-
quisites (tips are a more modern institution), but
they would doubtless reside in the house or at the
kennels.

It would have been interesting to know as a
certainty the class of hounds the above were, but
there is little doubt they were hard in coat and
rough in hair, much as they are at the present day.
Sometime later the otter hound appeared to become
less fashionable. He was kept by the " tinkers,"

The Otter Hound. 115

and similar class of roving individuals, on the
northern borders. There were a few in Wales.
Early in the present century they were not uncommon
in the south of Scotland, in Devonshire and the
west, and in the north of England. Since, the otter
hound has become a greater favourite, and at the
present time,, during the season which may be said
to last from the middle of April to the end of
September, some eighteen to twenty well regulated
packs hunt the otter in various parts of the kingdom.

In a few cases, usually in Devonshire, foxhounds
are almost entirely used ; elsewhere the packs
are composed of the rough-haired otter hound,
with occasionally a couple or so of foxhounds to
assist them. Still, each variety of the hound should
stick to that game for which nature intended him,
the foxhound to the fox, the harrier to the hare, the
otter hound to the otter. The latter is mostly
followed on foot, and the foxhound is too quick and
fast, though many like him because of his dash.
In the staidness and care of the otter hound lie his
character, and he will give better sport in most cases
at his own game than any other hound.

Some of the most noted packs of the present day
are those of the late Hon. Geoffrey Hill, who died
in 1891, but whose hounds, known as the Hawk-
stone, ultimately passed into the hands of Mr. R.

I 2

n6 Modem Dogs.

Carnaby Forster. Mr. Hill, who hunted from
Maesllwch Castle, in Radnorshire, had the pack
from his brother, Lord Hill, in 1869, and from
that time to the day of his death had improved
it immensely. There were twenty-five couple
in the kennels, all good-looking, handsome, rough
hounds, perhaps not so perfect in this work as
those of Mr. Lomax, but in " sortiness " they
have never been equalled. They were well cared
for ; the members of the hunt had a handsome
costume, and hounds were taken to and fro in a van
made for the purpose. From 1870 to 1890 these
hounds, known as the Hawkstone pack, killed 704
otters, no fewer than sixty-two being accounted
for in one season, the best on record, that of 1881.

But if a pack kills from a dozen to two dozen
otters during the four or five months they hunt,
a bad record is not made, for sometimes when
the waters are in flood, or the hay crop remains
uncut, hounds may not be out for a week, or
even a longer interval may intervene between one
meet and another.

The Carlisle hounds are another noted lot, and,
with a slight interval, during which Mr. James
Steel was the master, that position has been
occupied by Mr. J. C. Carrick for over a quarter of
a century. For some time Mr. Carrick's hounds

The Otter Hound. 1 1 7

were as invincible on the show bench as by the river.
Then " the Kendal " sprang up in the sister county,
and, with the late Mr. Wilson of Dallam Tower as
master, Troughton as huntsman, and having extra-
ordinary success in breeding young hounds, they took
all before them in the ring. Perhaps some of their
excellence might arise from the fact that the Hon.
Geoffrey Hill and Mr. Wilson, and later Mr. Tatter-
sail, interchanged services of their best stallion
hounds.

The Kendal Ragman was particularly successful
at stud — no one ever had a better hound at work, and
he lasted eight seasons. He was a black and tan,
rather short in coat to be quite right, but what there
was had an extraordinary texture, so hard and close
and crisp that I have seen the water standing in drops
thereon quite unable to penetrate the dense covering.
This hound it was I saw take the head of an otter right
in its jaws as the game came up for a breather close
to the bank upon which Ragman was standing.
The otter was very nearly finished outright ; it would
have quite killed any other animal, for the fangs of
the hound had gone deeply through the bone of the
skull, perhaps just missing what might have been a
vital part. These Kendal hounds were sold for
something over ^200 to Mr. Carnaby Forster,
of Tarporley, Cheshire, at the commencement of

1 8 Modem Dogs.

1891, who incorporated them with the Hawkstone
already alluded to. This was, perhaps, the cheapest
pack of hounds ever sold ; there were about twelve
couples, with some terriers, and I am pretty certain
that, placed publicly in the market, ^"1000 would
have been obtained for the lot.

Another old master of otter hounds was Mr. John
Benson, of Cockermouth; but two years ago his
hounds were discontinued, and in their place came a
subscription pack, of which Mr. Harry Clift, who
has served a very long apprenticeship to the sport,
is at the head. Mr. Collier, down Devonshire way,
has hunted the otter for over fifty years, and Mr.
Cheriton and Mr. Calmady are in the west likewise,
but they appear to prefer the dash and go of the fox-
hound to the sedateness and care of the pure variety.
Mr. W. C. Yates has had some good hounds in his
time. I once saw the latter — Mr. T. Wilkinson, of
Neasham Abbey, hunting the pack during an off
season, when he had not one of his own — kill three
otters in one day, in Lancashire. Mr Yates now
mostly hunts in Ireland. But the Squire of Neasham
was soon again surrounded by his favourite hounds,
and still hunts in the neighbourhood of Durham, and
goes into Northumberland occasionally. In Scot-
land Captain Clarke Kennedy, some years ago, kept
otter hounds, and so did the Duke of Athol and others.

The Otter Hound. 119

Of more recently established packs the Dumfries-
shire ; Mr. R. W. Buckley's (Wales), The Hon.
C. H. Wynne's, Captain Dawson's (Otley, Yorks)
and Mr. Cloete's may be specially mentioned, and
there are other otter hounds hunting in Devon-
shire, Somersetshire, Hampshire, Yorkshire, Car-
marthenshire, Merionethshire, Brecknockshire, in
county Wexford, and near Dublin.

The dog otter hound should stand about 26 inches
at shoulder, the bitch about 24 inches. The best
and most favourite colours are the blue and white,
though not so much mottled as the beagle, and a
hard looking pepper and salt colour. Yellow and
fawn, and yellow or fawn and white hounds are like-
wise good old colours, and, as I have said, black and
tan is not amiss, with, maybe, white on the breast
and feet, but black tan and white in patches is not
nice on an otter hound, however gaudy it may be on
others of the race. I have also seen one or two
almost white hounds, but never one of the latter
with the correct coat, which should be hard and
crisp and close, as water and weather resisting as
possible, and not too long. Often the long coats
incline to an indication of silkiness in texture, which,
however, is preferable to a soft, woolly jacket. In
build an otter hound should be like a foxhound,
strong, level, and well put together, stern carried

120 Modern Dogs.

gaily, feet close and particularly hard, and this is
even more desirable than in a foxhound, as being
one minute in the water and another on the hard
rocks and stones tries the pads very much. A big foot
is likely to increase the pace in swimming. The head
must be long, jaws strong and powerful, eyes giving
a certain sedate and intellectual appearance ; they
sometimes show the haw, which is no defect. Ears
long and pendulous, close set, in order that the
water may be kept out of the external orifices.
However, what an otter hound ought to be the
illustration preceding this article will best inform
the reader searching after information. A nice
weight for a dog hound is 65lb., and for a bitch 55

POINTS.

Value.

Coat 20

Legs and feet 20

Hind quarters and stern 10
Neck and chest . 10

60

Value.

Head and ears 20

Back and loins i o

Shoulders.., =;

Symmetry and colour

40

Grand Total 100.

CHAPTER VII.
THE DEERHOUND.

FAILING any further information on the subject
than we at present possess, it will always be a moot
point whether the hounds used for Queen Elizabeth's
delectation at Cowdray Park, in 1595, that " pulled
down sixteen bucks in a laund," were the ordinary
greyhounds or the Scottish deerhounds. The latter
were likely enough to be fashionable animals at the
close of the sixteenth century, for they had already
been described by Boece, in his History of Scotland,
published in 1526; and, thirty-four years later,
Gesner, in his " General History of Quadrupeds,"
gives an illustration of three Scottish dogs, one of
them answering to our modern deerhound in general
appearance. The drawing for this was supplied by
Henry St. Clair, Dean of Glasgow at that time,
whose family kept the breed for very many years,
an interesting story in connection therewith being
told on another page.

Good Queen Bess was fond of her dogs and the

122 Modern Dogs.

sport they showed, and there is nothing unreason-
able in supposing that those provided for the
purpose above mentioned at Cowdray were in
reality deerhounds. However, whether my supposi-
tion be correct or otherwise, there is no gainsaying
the fact that this mention in the Scottish history
is the earliest I have met with where the deer-
hound is actually alluded to.

Later on he became popular enough, and that he
was highly valued by the clans or chieftains of
his native country may be judged from the follow-
ing story given by Raphael Holinshead, whose
"Chronicles" were published about 1577. He
says that many of the Pictish nobility repaired to
Craithlint, to meet the King of Scots to hunt and
make merry with him, where they found the Scottish
dogs far excelled their own in "fairness, swiftness,
and hardness, and also in long standing up and
holding out." The Scottish lords gave their guests
both dogs and bitches of their best strains ; but
they, not contented, stole one belonging to the king
from his keeper; and this the most esteemed hound
in the lot. The master of the leash being informed
of the robbery, pursuit was taken after the thievish
Picts, who, being overtaken, refused to give up the
royal favourite, and in the end slew the master of the
leash with their spears. Then the Scots mustered a

The Deerhound. 123

stronger force, including those who had been
engaged in hunting, and they fell upon the Picts.
A terrible struggle took place, one hundred of the
Picts were slain and " threescore gentlemen " on the
other side, besides a great number of commoners.
The latter, poor fellows, not being deemed worthy of
numeration in those bloodthirsty times, and, so long
as the hound was recovered, little thought would be
given to the dead " commoners " who fought for its
possession, and, it is stated, few of them ever knew
what the fight had been about.

Another interesting story is that relating to the
family of St. Clair. King Robert Bruce, in follow-
ing the chase upon the Pentland Hills, had often
started a " white faunch deer," which always
escaped from his hounds. He asked his nobles
if any of them possessed dogs that they thought
might prove more successful. Naturally, there was no
one there so bold as to affirm his hounds better than
those of the sovereign, until Sir William St. Clair
came forward. He would wager his head that his
two favourite hounds, " Help," and " Hold," would
kill the deer before she could cross the March burn.
Bruce, evidently of a sporting turn, at once wagered
the Forest of Pentland Moor, to the head of the
bold Sir William, against the accomplishment of
the feat. The deer was roused by the slow, or drag

124 Modern Dogs.

hounds, and St. Clair, in a suitable place, uncoupled
his favourites in sight of the flying deer. St. Clair
followed on horseback, and as the deer reached the
middle of the brook, he in despair, believing his
wager already lost, and his life as good as gone,
leaped from his horse. At this critical moment,
" Hold " stopped her quarry in the brook, and
" Help " coming up, the deer was turned, and in
the end killed within the stipulated boundary. The
king, not far behind, was soon on the scene, and
embracing his subject, " bestowed on him the lands
of Kirton, Logan House, Earncraig, &c., in free
forestrie." Scrope says the tomb of this Sir William
Clair, on which he appears sculptured in armour,
with a greyhound (deerhound) at his feet, is still to
be seen in Rosslyn Chapel.

Thomson Gray in his "Dogs of Scotland " (1890),
tells us that the earliest mention of deerhounds
appears in 1528, in Pitcott's History of that country,
wherein it is stated that " the king desired all gentle-
men that had dogs that were good, to bring them to
hunt in the said boundaries, which most of the noble-
men of the Highlands did, such as the Earls of
Huntley, Argyle, and Athole, who brought their
deerhounds with them, and hunted with His Majesty.

However, about this time, and for many years
later, a common but erroneous idea prevailed, that

The Deerhound. 12

the Irish wolfhound and the Scottish deerhound,
were identical, and indeed, that the latter was merely
an ordinary greyhound, with a rough, hard coat, pro-
duced by beneficent Nature to protect a delicate dog
against the rigours of a northern climate.

About the end of the sixteenth century (1591), we
are told that the Earl of Mar had large numbers of
these deerhounds, but at the same period the Duke
of Buckingham had great difficulty in obtaining Irish
wolf dogs, a few couples of which, he wished to
present to (' divers princes and other nobles." So
the Irish dog was even then becoming extinct, but
the Scottish one, though rarer later on, survives to
the present day, and is now more popular and
numerous than at any previous period of his exis-
tence. Still, judging from what Pennant, writing in
1 769, says, the deerhound must, about his time,
have been in danger of extinction, for he says, " he
saw at Gordon Castle, a true Highland greyhound,
which has become very scarce. It was of large size,
strong, deep chested, and covered with very long
and rough hair. This kind was in great vogue in
former days, and used in vast numbers at the
magnificent stag chases by powerful chieftains."

One or two authors have assumed that the
modern deerhound is a cross between the foxhound
and the greyhound, or between the bloodhound and

i26 Modern Dogs.

the greyhound, but this I consider quite incorrect, nor
in my researches have I been able to come across
anything likely to sustain such a statement. If the
deerhound is to be found in greater numbers now
than previously, it is only because more attention is
paid to his breeding, and because the many strains
that a hundred years and more ago were in the out
of the way places of the Highlands have, by better
communication, been brought within the radius of
canine admirers. Scrope, in his " Deer Stalking,"
published in 1838, has naturally much to write about
the deerhound. He it is recommends the fox-
hound and greyhound cross, and says that the
celebrated sportsman Glengarry crossed occasionally
with bloodhound, still Macneill of Colonsay, who
wrote the article in " Days of Deerstalking," that
deals mostly with those hounds, confesses that there
were still pure deerhounds to be found when he
states them to be very scarce at the time he wrote.
Maybe they were scarce, but not sufficiently so as
to induce people to attempt to reproduce them by
such an unhallowed alliance.

A favourite sporting author from my earliest boy-
hood days has been Charles St. John, who, in his
" Highland Sports," writes so charmingly and naturally
of all he saw and shot and caught during his
excursions. He wrote but eight years after Scrope,

The Deerhound. 127

still he says that the breed of Deerhounds which
" had nearly become extinct, or, at any rate, was very
rare a few years ago, has now become comparatively
plentiful in all the Highland districts, owing to the
increased extent of the preserved forests and the
trouble taken by different proprietors and masters of
mountain shootings who have collected and bred
this noble race of dogs regardless of expense and
difficulty." Not a word about Macneill's crosses or of
those of Glengarry ; and I am happy in the belief
that our present race of deerhounds does not contain
the slightest taint of bloodhound or foxhound blood
for over a century. If it did, surely the black and
tan colour and the greyhound markings would con-
tinually be appearing. I have yet to see a black and
tan deerhound, or one similar to a foxhound in hue.

What an excellent picture St. John draws of
Malcolm: u as fine a looking lad, of thirty-five, as
ever stepped on heather," and of his two hounds,
Bran and Oscar, whose descriptions tally with what
I shall later on give to be those of a deerhound.
There were no bloodhound and foxhound in Bran or
Oscar, and well might such handsome, useful, faithful
creatures, or similar ones, be worth the ^50 a-piece,
they would have brought even forty- five years ago.

Since St. John wrote some deer forests have been
broken up into smaller holdings, and to this, perhaps,

128 Modern Dogs.

may be attributed the fact that " coursing deer"
is not followed so much as in his time. There
are still some forests in which a deerhound may be
taken out to assist at the termination of a stalk ; but
as the red deer is now mostly killed in " drives," a
sort of battue in which the shooter can sit at ease
until the deer come by, to be shot in a somewhat
ignominious manner, the deerhound as such is little
used. A stalker will find one useful at times, but
even he is supplied with such a perfect rifle, so
admirably sighted, and he is such a crack shot, that
the stag seldom requires more than the hard bullet
to kill him almost dead upon the spot.

About three years ago, the Earl of Tankerville, in
a series of articles he wrote for the Field, made
allusion to the deerhound. He said some that he
saw " were beautiful, swift, and powerful. Some are
able to pull down a stag single handed, but the
bravest always gets killed in the end. The pure
breed have keen noses as well as speed, and will
follow the slot of a wounded deer perseveringly if
they find blood. The most valued are not neces-
sarily the most savage, for the latter (the reckless
ones) go in and get killed, whilst the more wary, who
have taken the hint after a pug or two, are equally
enduring, and will hold their bay for any indefinite
time, which is a merit of the first importance."

The Deerhound. 129

Lord Tankerville continues, that he was informed
of a remarkable deerhound, belonging to a poacher in
Badenoch, that never missed a deer. In due course
he obtained the hound, and called it Bran. Later
on it saved the life of a keeper from the furious
attack of one of the wild bulls of Chillingham. After
being delivered to his new home, Bran was placed in
the kennel, and it was thought that the pallisades with
which it was surrounded were sufficiently high to
prevent any dog getting over them. However, Bran
did succeed in scaling them, and Lord Tankerville,
having paid his money and lost his dog, was con-
siderably upset, and never thought of seeing the
hound again. However, in a few days the
" poacher" brought back the errant Bran, who
had, in fact, reached his old home before his master,
who was considerably astonished, on reaching his
cottage, to see his old companion rush forward
to meet him. The distance between Chillingham
and the man's cottage was about seventy miles,
and, to take the shortest route, which Bran no
doubt did or he would have caught his master on
the road, he must have swum Loch Ericht.

No doubt modern dog shows have done much to
re-popularise the deerhound, now that he is so
seldom used for that purpose for which, shall I say,
nature first intended him. How little he is used in

[VOL. I.] K

130 Modern Dogs.

deer stalking may be surmised by a list that appears
in Mr. Weston Bell's monograph of the variety
(1892). Here some fifty-eight forests are named,
and in but about seven of them is the deerhound
kept. The collie is now more frequently trained
and used to track the wounded stag, because he
works more slowly, and is therefore less liable to
unduly scare and alarm the deer. From the earliest
institution of dog shows, classes have been pro-
vided for the deerhound, and these have resulted in a
number of excellent animals being benched of a uni-
formity and quality that our excellent friend Charles
St. John would scarcely have thought possible, and
Mr. M'Neil would have deemed an impossibility.

There is no handsomer dog than the deerhound —
he has the elegance of shape, the light airy appear-
ance of the greyhound, a hard, crisp, and picturesque
jacket, either of fawn or grey brindle, an eye as
bright as that of the gazelle, but loving, still sharp
and intelligent ; and a good specimen has not a bad
feature about him. His disposition is of the best; he
is sensible and kindly ; and friends of mine to whom
I gave a puppy, on its death refused to be consoled
by any other dog than one of the same variety.

" It's a blooming lurcher," is the yokel's idea of a
deerhound, an opinion in which the cockney corner
man evidently coincides. Either will pass a rude

The Deerhound. 131

remark about your aristocratic canine companion.
The Scotchman away from home, be he out at
elbows, or otherwise, pays compliments to the dog.
If his shoes are down at the heels the chances are
he is the remains of a chieftain of some great clan,
and, on the strength of your possession of one of his
native quadrupeds, will seek to allay his thirst, or
penchant for Glenlivat, at your expense. Still, I do
not fancy that the deerhound is quite so popular as
a companion over the border as he is on this side the
border. Englishmen have paid greater attention to
his breeding ; the honours to be gained at shows
make it worth while their doing so ; and, being more
difficult to rear than most other dogs, he requires
greater care in bringing up, and, if not allowed con-
tinual exercise, will become crooked on his fore legs,
and out at the elbows — ungainly enough in little
dogs, but a terrible eyesore in big ones. They will
not rear well in a kennel.

It has been said the deerhound is uncertain in his
temper with children ; in some cases this may be so,
but not in all. Again, it has been stated that when
a puppy he will chase anything that moves in front
of him — sheep, poultry, &c. What puppy will not ?
All young dogs are alike in this particular, and if not
carefully watched will, like your favourite little boy
or girl, be for ever getting into mischief.

K 2

132 Modem Dogs.

Deerhounds, like all other dogs, require early
training, and when once broken off sheep and other
" small deer," are as safe and reliable in the fields as
any other of the canine race. As a fact, I believe that
both pointers and setters, greyhounds, and even the
collie himself, is as, "fond of mutton " as the often
maligned dog about which this article is being written.
Many dogs have been spoiled by their manners
being neglected during their puppyhood ; no doubt
others will be so in the future, and it is a pity that
one so docile, handsome, sagacious, and aristocratic
as the deerhound, should obtain an evil name through
the negligence or over-indulgence of its owner.

As already stated, dog shows have been of infinite
advantage in raising the deerhound to its present
popularity, though prior to this epoch, what Sir
Walter Scott writes of his Maida and other favourite
hounds, with Landseer's fine paintings, had made
the general public anxious to see such handsome
dogs in the flesh. The first show at Birmingham,
in 1860, provided two classes for them, but there
were few entries, and both leading prizes were taken
by Lieut. -Colonel Inge, of Thorpe, near Tamworth,
who, at that time, possessed a capital strain of them.
Later on the numbers increased, and in 1862 there
were ten competitors in the dog class, but they were
a mixed lot, though the winner, called Alder, bred by

The Deerhound. 133

Sir John Macneil, was a splendid specimen, which
again took leading honour two years later. The
succeeding show had, for some reason or other, a
capital entry, sixteen in the one class, six in the
other, and these included several dogs from the
Highlands, one of the latter, called Oscar, now
beating Alder, who looked old and worn, and was
past his best.

About this period Lord Henry Bentinck took great
pride in his deerhounds, and kept a fine kennel of
them. Mr. McKenzie, Ross-shire ; Mr. J. Wright,
Yeldersby House, Derby; Mr. Menzies, Cherthill ;
Mr. Grant, Glenmorriston ; Colonel Campbell of
Monzie ; Lord Boswell ; Mr. W. Gordon, Guard-
bridge, Fifeshire ; Lord Bredalbane ; the Duke of
Sutherland; Mr. Spencer Lucy, and Dr. Hadden,
have all at one time or another had good deer-
hounds in their kennels, as well as many of the older
Scottish families.

In 1871 we find a Cameron of Lochiel sending
to Curzon Hall and taking a first prize with Bruce.
Sir St. George Gore was a frequent exhibitor, and in
1865 he showed a deerhound that was quite smooth,
a big coarse, ugly greyhound in appearance, that of
course did not take a prize. Mr. H. C. Musters,
Captain Graham, of Durnock, and a few others who
admired the fine form of the Scotch dog, were

134 Modern Dogs.

exhibiting about 1870. The following year had the
celebrated Warrior, that won so many prizes up and
down the country, mostly in variety classes. How-
ever, prior to him came one or two exceptionally
good dogs, Mr Beasley's bitch Countess especially
so ; nor must Mr. Hickman's excellent bitch Morna
be omitted, for he was not only good to look at, but
could boast a lineage which contained some of the
bluest blood of the day. Following a few years
later was that fine old dog Bevis (Mr. Hood
Wright's), so sober and sedate that in his declining
years he took to the stage, and appeared with great
success at one or two of the Sheffield pantomimes
at Christmas.

There are now, at least a dozen shows held
annually, at which classes are provided for this
variety, and naturally new breeders have sprung
up. Mr. E. Weston Bell, of Rossie, Perthshire, has
got together a kennel containing a number of
splendid deerhounds ; and Mr. W. H. Singer, of
Frome, Somerset ; Mr. Walter Evans, Birchfield,
Birmingham; Mr. Rr. H. Wright, Newton-le- Willows;
Mr. H. P. Parker, Stourbridge ; Mr. W. Gibbons,
Stratford-on-Avon ; Mr. A. Maxwell, Croft, near
Darlington ; Major Lewis, Bath, all possess deer-
hounds of the highest merit. Perhaps the best of
the race, at the time I write, in the summer of

The Deerhoand. 135

1892, are Sir Gavin, Fingall II., Earl II., Ensign,
Shepherd, Swift, Enterprise, Royal Lufra (a beautiful
headed bitch, for which excellence she won a special
prize at Bath not long ago), Rossie Blue Bell, and
there are many others, almost, if not equally good
to look at on the show bench.

The deerhound, in colour, should be either brindled
in various shades, blue, or fawn; white is detrimental,
though a little on the chest or feet does not matter
very much. Pure white dogs are occasionally found,
but it is not a deerhound colour, any more than it is
that of a collie, though Mr. Morton Campbell, jun.,
of Stracathro, near Brechin, has a white hound
of considerable beauty, and though obtained from
the Highlands, its pedigree is unknown. I prefer the
darker shades of colour ; the darker brindles are
very attractive, and in actual work, it is a colour that
tones well with the surrounding rocks and dark
heather. The largest and heaviest dogs are not to
be recommended, either for work or otherwise, they
cut themselves on the rocks, and are not nearly so
active and lithe on the rough ground as the lighter
and smaller specimens. The dog should not, at any
rate, be more than about thirty inches at the
shoulder, the bitch from one to two inches less.
One or two specimens have been shown, and won
prizes too, that measured up to thirty-two inches,

36 Modern Dogs.

and even an inch more, and it is said that Bran,
figured in "Dogs of the British Isles," was thirty-
three inches ! Such are too big for work, and
nowadays have not much chance of winning on the
show bench. The following heights and weights of
some of the best deerhounds of the modern standard
may be interesting, and all are excellent specimens
in every way, and perhaps equal to anything that
has yet been seen. Mr. Walter Evan's Fingal II.,
stands 2pf inches at shoulder, and wreighs 87lb. ;
his Earl II., 28f inches and 8ilb. ; Duke of
Brewood, 30^ inches, weighs 881b. ; and his bitch,
Enterprise, stands 29 inches, and weighs 85lb., a
big weight for a bitch. Mr. W. H. Singer's well-
known dog, Swift, is 79lb. weight, and 30 inches
at the shoulder; and his bitch, She, weighs y2lb.,
and stands 26^ inches.

In general form the deerhound should be like a
greyhound : ears similar, loins likewise, legs and feet
equally good. In his character he differs from the
smooth hound considerably, as he does in coat, which
is hard, crisp, and close, not too long, and silkiness
on the top knot, and elsewhere, is not desirable. In
running he carries his head higher than a grey-
hound, nor does he lay himself down so closely to
his work ; in galloping, he appears to be on the look
out for contingencies, and does not, as a rule, go at

The Deerhound. 137

his greatest pace, unless actually required to do so.
He hangs back, as it were — maybe to avoid a
stroke from the stag, or to look out for the proper
place to seize ; some will seize one part, some
another. tl Bran's point of attack was always at the
shoulder or fore leg, whilst Oscar had a habit of
biting at the hind leg, above the hock, frequently
cutting through the flesh and tendons in an extra-
ordinary manner, and tumbling over the deer very
quickly," says St. John in his " Highland Sports."

Their endurance is great, their scent keen, and
Ronaldson Macdonnel, of Glengarry, instances one
•dog, that, held in a leash, followed the track of
a wounded stag, in unfavourable rainy weather,
for three successive days, when the game was shot.
The story goes, that this stag was wounded within
three miles of Invergarry House, and was traced
that night to the Glenmoriston. At dusk, in the
evening, the stalkers placed a stone on each side of
the last fresh print of his hoof, and another over it ;
and this they did each night following. On the
succeeding morning they removed the upper stone,
when the dog recovered the scent, and the deer was
that day hunted over a great part of the Glenmoriston
ground. On the third day, it was retraced on to
Glengarry, and there shot.

When hunting, the deerhound runs mute, as he

138 Modern Dogs.

does when coursing, but when the stag is brought
to bay, the hound opens, and by his " baying/' or
barking, attracts his master to the spot, where, in
some pool, with a steep rock at his back, the
noble monarch of the glen in vain bids defiance to
his foes.

In puppyhood, the deerhound is delicate, and
difficult to rear, that scourge known as distemper
carrying off large numbers. This is, no doubt, owing
to continued inbreeding, but with our increasing
knowledge of canine ailments, the mortality is
decreasing.

During 1892, a club for looking after the
welfare of the deerhound was formed, but at the
time I write, their description of the dog has not
been published. They, however, have decided not
to give any numerical list of points. Failing the
club's standard, I have carefully compiled the
following description :

The deerhound is an elegantly shaped, graceful
dog, a good specimen being almost perfect in
symmetry. He should be particularly neat and
cleanly cut about the neck and shoulders, perfectly
straight in front, stifles well turned behind, and
generally giving the appearance of speed and power,
with freedom in his movements. His face and eyes
are pleasing in their expression, bright in their intelli-

The DeerhouncL 139

gence — a perfect deerhound is perhaps about the
most sensible looking of all our dogs, not even
excepting the collie.

In head and face the deerhound is not unlike a
rather rough-headed greyhound, perhaps wider in
skull and stronger in jaw and nose, and the shaggy
brow and more hairy face give him a hardier and
less polished appearance. The head should have
the greatest width at the ears, and taper gradually
to the nose, without any dip between the eyes. The
jaws should be level and very powerful.

The eyes ought to be bright, dark, or hazel,
sparkling, not too big, but just big enough ; beaming
with intelligence and good nature, and from which
he obtains, in a great degree, his charming expres-
sion. Light coloured eyes are condemned.

Ears small, soft, glossy, free from long hair, and
should be darker coloured than the rest of the body.
A little silky hair on the ears is often seen in good
specimens. When excited the ear is raised high, with-
out quite losing the fold, not quite a semi-prick ear.

Neck long, strong and muscular, gracefully poised,
quite as long as that of the greyhound ; but the
" mane," which a good coated dog ought to have,
makes the neck look short.

The chest and shoulders are important, and the
former must be deep, but not wide in front; ribs

140 Modern Dogs.

fairly well sprung, and the shoulders neatly and
elegantly laid, for if too upright the hound is sure
to be slow.

Back and loins strong and very powerful, the
latter firm and hard ; back not level, but rather
arched towards the loins, for the same reason a grey-
hound is similarly shaped.

Legs and feet : The former must be straight in
front, strong and muscular, and without any undue
heaviness near the shoulder that is likely to give an
appearance of being out at the elbows. Hind legs
particularly well muscled, stifles strong and neatly
turned, so displaying the " sickle hocks." Stiffness
or stiltiness in the hind quarters ought to be absolute
disqualification, for a deerhound that cannot gallop,
and walks like a dancing master, is of no use
whatever ; feet firm, thick, well arched, with the
toes close and strong.

The coat should be hard, crisp and close, without
any degree of softness or woolliness — the latter is very
bad. One inclined to be curly and crisp and hard
and dense is to be preferred to a perfectly straight
jacket that is soft, fine, and open. Silkiness or
softness of the hair on the skull is to be guarded
against, though it repeatedly appears ; indeed, most
specimens are silkier here than on other parts of the
body. There should be a hard close coat down the

The Deerhound. 14

legs in accordance with the quantity carried by the
dog elsewhere, though nothing approaching feather.
The typical deerhound ought to have a fairly coated
head, and a good, moderately long and hard jacket
all over, but not a profuse or shaggy one.

Colour : Dark brindled, fawn brindled, and fawn
are the best colours ; white deerhounds are some-
times seen, but are not to be encouraged, and no
doubt the brindles in their varying shades are the
most fashionable and the best colours. Fawns not
too red and fawns of a lighter shade are not so
frequently met with ; both are good, and in the
judging ring are equal to the brindles. Blues
or slate coloured hounds are likewise repeatedly seen,
though not so common now as some years ago,
and this colour is quite equal to either the fawns
or brindles. A little wrhite on the breast or on the
feet is not detrimental, but a deerhound is a " whole
coloured " dog, and patched or gaudily marked
puppies ought to be destroyed when born. All very
light coloured dogs should have black points. As
to puppies, although black and tan is not allowable
in a full grown dog, Mr. Hickman tells me that his
well-known grey-blue bitch Morna, when a few weeks
old, was a perfect black and tan or black, blue and tan,
with the tan spots over the eyes, but when her coat
changed she became a grey or blue-grizzle in colour.

142

Modern Dogs.

The stern is carried low but gracefully, is full long
in proportion to the size of the dog, and should not
be smooth, but covered with hair according to the
proportion carried by the dog elsewhere. Feathering
here, as on the legs, is objectionable.

General Symmetry is an important consideration
— by it is to be understood a hound of perfect pro-
portion with all points duly balanced.

Weight, dogs about 85lb. to ic>5lb. ; bitches,
about 65lb. to 8$\b.

Value.

Head and skull 15

Eyes and ears 10

Neck and chest 10

Body, including loins ... 10
Thighs and hocks 12

57

Value.

Legs and feet 10

Coat 8

Stern 5

• Colour 5

General symmetry 15

43

Grand Total 100.

CHAPTER VIII.
THE GREYHOUND.

NOT one of our British dogs has had such justice
done to him by writers on canine matters as the
greyhound. He has always been popular, and, being
probably the oldest of his race, no doubt quite
deserves all that has been said and written of him.
So far back as the second century Arrian gives us a
long and painstaking work on coursing, which, in
1831 was admirably translated from the original
Greek into English by George Dansey. In 1853
that great authority on the greyhound, " Stone-
henge," produced his excellent and reliable work,
and I fancy the latter will survive as the best of all
for very many years to come.

Whether, in the first instance, our earliest dogs
hunted by sight or scent I am not going to attempt to
decide here. Both forms of " venerie " may have been
followed at the same period; the deer and the hare
hunted by sight, the wolf, fox, or other beast,
by scent. The earliest coursers, dating back to

144 Modern Dogs.

what may be called the uncivilised period of our
history, were assisted by nets, and then by bows
and arrows, in taking the game, for at that period
there were few cultivated stretches of land free from
forest of sufficient extent to allow the long courses
preferred at the present day. However that may be,
greyhounds pretty much of the shape and form they
are found now were known prior to King Canute's
time, when no one of less degree than a " gentle-
man"— possibly a freeholder — was permitted to keep
greyhounds.

In the British Museum there is a fine old sculpture
of two greyhounds fondling each other, and this was
taken from the ruins of Antoninus, near Rome. In
Dansey's translation of Arrian there is an excellent
engraving of this beautiful work, and other sculptures
of even an earlier period are to be found, in which
the greyhound type of dog is predominant. Confined,
however, to the " gentleman," coursing could not
become very popular, especially when even he " was
not allowed to take his greyhound within two miles
of a royal forest unless two of its toes were cut off."
Even so late as 1853 each greyhound had a tax to
pay of 22S. each, whilst other dogs, may be of equal
value, could be kept at a charge by the State of
from 155-. ^d. to 8s. 2d. each.

However, still keeping to old times, we find our

The Greyhound. 145

old sporting sovereign King John, receiving, in
1203, '( two leashes of greyhounds," amongst other
valuables, in return for the renewal of a grant to a
certain right, and the same monarch repeatedly took
greyhounds in lieu of money where fines or penalties
had been incurred and forfeitures to the Crown
became due. Two of these are on record, one being
" five hundred marks, ten horses, and ten leashes of
greyhounds ; " the other " one swift running horse
and six greyhounds." Thus early, we read of a brace
(two) and a leash (three) of greyhounds, when
ordinary hounds were known in " couples." It has
been said, though there is no proof in support of the
assertion, that the " Isle of Dogs," some four miles
from the city of London, obtained its name from the
fact that certain of our monarchs had kennels of
greyhounds and other dogs there.

In the times of the earlier King Edward, Kent must
have had some notoriety for the excellence of its
greyhounds, for, according to Blount's " Ancient
Tenures," the landowners in the manor of Setene
(Sittingbourne) were compelled to lend their grey-
hounds, when the King went to Gascony " so long
as a pair of shoes of \d. price would last."

The erudite Froissart tells the following story of
Richard II. which, maybe, redounds as little to the
credit of the wretched sovereign as to the dog ; for

[VOL. I.] L

146 Modern Dogs.

the one proved grossly superstitious and the other
exhibited a degree of faithlessness that one does not
expect to find in a hound. The king had a favourite
greyhound called Mithe, his constant attendant, and
so attached to his master that it would follow no one
else. One day Henry, Duke of Lancaster and the
king were talking together, when suddenly Mithe left
his royal master and commenced to fawn upon the
duke, whining and showing such pleasure as he had
never before done to a stranger or even to a guest.
Lancaster expressed his astonishment at the
behaviour of the greyhound, but the king said,
<l Cousin, this bodeth great good for you, as it is
an evil sign for me. That greyhound acknow-
ledgeth you here this day as King of England,
as ye shall be, and I shall be deposed. Mithe
knows this naturally, so take him ; he will follow
you and forsake me." And the story concludes that
ever after the dog forsook the weak and vacillating
Richard II., became the companion of his " cousin,"
and, in the end, affairs turned out as the king had
prognosticated. At least, so our English history
informs us.

There appears to be some fatality attending these
royal attachments to the greyhound ; for we have
Charles I. with one as a companion. " Methinks,"
said he to Sir Philip Warwick, " I hear my

The Greyhound. 147

dog scratching at the door. Let in Gipsy."
Whereupon Sir Philip, who opened the door and
let in the monarch's favourite, took the boldness to
say: "Sir, I perceive you love a greyhound better
than you do a spaniel? " (C Yes," replied the King,
" for they equally love their masters, and yet do not
flatter them so much." This unfortunate monarch
met his death on the scaffold.

But let us leave these troublous times, and at
once enter upon that epoch in the history of the
greyhound when he was used much in the same
fashion as he is to-day. In Elizabeth's reign the
first rules and regulations as to coursing were drawn
up at the instance of the Duke of Norfolk, and they
are very similar to those of the present day. That
dog which led to the hare, won, if no other points were
made ; the hare had to have twelve score yards law ;
two wrenches stood for one turn ; a go-bye was
equal to two turns. If a dog that led and beat his
opponent stood still in the field, and refused to go
further, he lost the course ; if, by accident, a dog
was run over in his course, the trial was void, and
he who did the mischief had to make reparation.
There were other regulations likewise, but this
short summary will show how closely they approach
the rules in force at the present time.

In 1776, the Earl of Orford established the

I, 2

148 Modern Hogs.

Swaffham (Norfolk) Coursing Club, the earliest of its
kind, and contemporary writers tell us this was the
turning point in the popularity of the pastime. In
1798, the club numbered twenty-four members, there
being one vacancy, and in addition there were a
lady patroness, the Marchioness of Townsend ;
vice patroness, Countess of Cholmondeley ; assistant
vice patroness, Mrs. Coke, and one honorary member,
the Earl of Montraith. Following Swaffham in 1780
the Ashdown Park Meeting was established by Lord
Craven, Lord Sefton, and Lord Ashbrook, and this
exists at the present time, and is by far the oldest
established coursing meeting we possess. The
Altcar Club, established in 1825, and the Ridgway
Club, in 1828, still amongst the leading meetings
of the year, are well supported, and appear to have
a long and useful existence in front of them.
Swaffham was resuscitated on more than one
occasion, and in 1892 a meeting was held there.
Other old fixtures that may be mentioned are Malton,
in 1781; Louth, 1806; Newmarket, 1805; Mid-
lothian, 1811; Ardrossan, established a few years
later, and, although there is no specific date given,
the keeper of the " Stud Book " believes that the
Biggar meeting was in existence prior to the present
century, but, like many other of the early gatherings,
it has long been discontinued.

The Greyhound. 149

Mention has already been made of Lord Orford,
a nobleman of great sporting proclivities, and of
unusual eccentricities. If reliance can be placed
upon the " Sportsman's Cabinet," published in 1803,
and I believe there is nothing to the contrary, it
contains some particulars of greyhound coursing just
prior to that date that may be of interest. His lord-
ship's bitch Czarina is said to have won forty-seven
matches without being beaten. She had no puppies
until about thirteen years old, when she gave birth
to eight, all of which lived and coursed. The last
match that Czarina ran took place when her owner,
confined to the house, was supposed to be watched
by an attendant. However, just as the two grey-
hounds were slipped, Lord Orford, looking wild, as he
was, and ill, came on to the field riding his piebald
pony, and no one could restrain him from his
anxiety to view the course and gallop after the
dogs to see his favourite bitch win, which she did.
The trial was barely over when Lord Orford fell
from his pony, and, pitching on his head, expired
almost immediately.

Afterwards his greyhounds were sold, and Czarina
with the pick of the kennel purchased by Colonel
Thornton, at prices ranging from thirty guineas
to fifty guineas apiece. These appear to be pitiful
sums when compared with the 850 guineas Fullerton

150 Modern Dogs.

produced in the sale ring in 1888, and, though
the matches run by Czarina cannot be compared
with the work done by our existent crack, both
having, comparatively speaking, a similar record, the
two may be placed side by side.

Major Topham's pure white dog Snowball, up to
the close of last century, was said to be the best
greyhound yet produced, and was a cross between
the Norfolk and Yorkshire strains, each equally
fashionable at that time. Snowball won ten pieces
of plate and forty matches, and his owner accepted
every challenge that was made for him to run,
irrespective of the kind of country, rough hills,
abounding with fences, or otherwise. Whether the
greyhounds of that day had greater staying powers
than those of the present time, or were not so
handy with their teeth, or the hares were stronger,
we know not, but Snowball's chief performance was
in a course " extending over four miles without
a turn, including a hill half a mile (sic) in height,
twice ascended." He is said to have run this trial
with his sister, whom he beat, killing the hare close
to Flexton. A dog like Master McGrath would have
saved himself such a long trial by reason of his
extraordinary skill with his teeth. Now, a greyhound
must not only be fast, but a " good killer," to prove
of extraordinary merit. Courses of four miles, " up

The Greyhound.

and down a high hill twice," would quite preclude
any modern greyhound getting to the end of a stake,
when perhaps he might have four or five courses to
run before being returned the winner. Major, a
brother to Snowball, and both out of Czarina,
already mentioned, was said to be the faster of the
two, but without the stamina of his brother ; still he
was successful in his matches, which at that time
usually took the place of our modern coursing
meetings.

The latter quickly attained the position they hold
at the present day, for they afforded capital sport to
the million at a minimum cost ; they were the means
of producing first-class dogs, and as a man to keep
a greyhound need not of necessity be a " gentleman,"
or of extraordinary means, public coursing obtained
a hold on the public second only to those gatherings
which took place on the racecourse. Even at this
time, say about 1850, the licence to keep a greyhound
cost more than it did for any other dog, viz., 12$. 6d.
This was an arrangement that the growing liberality
of our Government soon abolished, and after various
changes a greyhound has to pay but the >]s. 6d. duty,
just the same as though he were a mongrel terrier.
I do not know that anyone objects to this, or has
hitherto looked upon the equalisation of the dog
licence as specially dishonourable to those of the

152 Modern Dogs.

canine race which can lay claim to an ancient
lineage.

Although a few years ago, an attempt for a
change was made by certain private companies, who
gave large prizes, and arranged stakes for which
the entry fee was ^50, and of whi:h more later on,
they did not shake the popularity of our great
coursing meeting, that known as the Waterloo,
and run over the flats of Altcar, not far from
Liverpool.

No doubt this Waterloo gathering, which was
established in 1836, and has been continued yearly
ever since, is the most popular meeting of the
kind ever held — the chief prize is now valued at
^"500, the stake being made up of an entrance
fee of sixty-four subscribers at ^25 each. A
portion of the money goes to two minor stakes,
the " Plate " and the " Purse," competed for by dogs
beaten in the two early rounds of the Cup. It must
be stated, however, that during the first year the
Waterloo Cup was an eight-dog stake; in 1837
sixteen dogs ran, and from 1838 to 1856 thirty-
two dogs competed. From the latter date to now
the arrangements have been as they are at present.
Here, as a rule, the best dogs in England, Ireland,
and Scotland compete, and for an owner of grey-
hounds to win "the Cup" is an honour as high as

The Greyhound. 153

that achieved by a racing man who wins "the
Derby ' —the blue ribbon of the leash.

From time to time all the celebrities, and many
others not celebrities, in the greyhound world,
have run at Altcar, so kindly and liberally provided'
by the Earl of Sefton, who, by so doing, must, more
than any other man, have promoted the honest sport
of greyhound coursing.

Going back not many years there are met with such
well-known names as Cerito, winner of the Waterloo
Cup three times when a thirty-two dog stake ;
Hughie Graham, Larriston, Judge, King Lear,
Captain Spencer's handsome dog Sunbeam, Mr.
Blackstock's Maid of the Mill, Canaradzo, Cardinal
York, Sea Rock, Roaring Meg, Chloe, Mr. G.
Carruthers' Meg, Brigadier, Lobelia, Sea Cove, Bit
of Fashion, Miss Glendyne, Greater Scot, Herschel,
Mr. Pilkington's Burnaby ; Bab at the Bowster, Pre-
tender, Chameleon, Muriel, Peasant Boy, Gallant Foe,
with Coomassie (only 44ilb. weight), the smallest
greyhound that ever won the " Cup," and she did
so twice. Of course there were other great grey-
hounds, but the blood of those above, or of many of
them, will be found in the pedigrees of the most
successful dogs of the present day.

Following such good ones as some of the above,
the advent of Lord Lurgan's Master McGrath, as a

154 Modern Dogs.

puppy, in 1868, caused a great sensation. He was a
rather coarse animal in appearance, but he could
gallop faster than any dog he ever met, and was
extremely " handy" with his teeth, i.e., he usually
struck and held his hare after the first wrench or
two. Thus he invariably made his courses short,
while his subsequent opponents were consequently
handicapped by longer trials. This son of Dervock
and Lady Sarah ran unchallenged through the Cup
that year, and in 1869; in 1870 he was beaten by
Lady Lyons (Mr Trevor's, but running in Colonel
Goodlake's nomination). The following year he
succeeded in leading and beating every dog he
came against, and had the honour of winning three
Waterloo Cups out of four times trying — a feat
which everyone thought would never be equalled.
McGrath was feted ; he was taken to Windsor and
introduced to the Queen, money would not buy him,
and he died quietly in his kennels, in Ireland, at
Brownlow House, near Lurgan. So popular were the
victories of the great Irish dog with the people
generally, that it was said that the advent of another
Master McGrath would do more to suppress sedition
in Ireland than any Land Act a Government might
offer. This celebrated greyhound was black, with a
few white marks on him ; he weighed only 54lb.,
and, as already stated, was considered to be actually

The Greyhound.

invincible in the work that he had done, winning in
public thirty-six courses out of thirty-seven in which
he competed.

But there was the Irish dog's equal, indeed, more
than his equal, to come, and in 1888 Mr. James
Dent, a Northumberland courser, who had already
proved very successful with his kennel, had a puppy
by Greentick — Bit of Fashion, by his favourite
Paris by Ptarmigan — Gallant Foe ; Paris wras of
the same litter as Princess Dagmar, who won the
Waterloo Cup in 1881. This puppy, Fullerton, he
thought exceptional in speed and cleverness, but
before competing in the Waterloo Cup, it was pur-
chased by Colonel North, at that time entering
heartily into the sport of greyhound coursing. Eight
hundred and fifty guineas was the sum given for the
puppy, the highest price ever paid for a greyhound
in public, though in private it has been said much
higher sums have been obtained. His trials were
so good that he started second favourite for the
Waterloo Cup in 1889, and, as the great Irish dog
had done a few years before, fairly spread-eagled all
comers, and ultimately divided with his kennel com-
panion Troughend. In 1890 Fullerton won outright ;
he did likewise in 1891, and being kept back for the
following season's Waterloo, notwithstanding an
indifferent trial that he had run in public, started

156 Modern Dogs.

once more a warm favourite, and how he won his
fourth great victory is now a matter of history. In
all, this extraordinary greyhound ran thirty-one
courses in public and only sustained a single defeat,
this being in the final of the puppy stakes at
Haydock Park, where, after being hard run, he was
beaten by Greengage, owned by Mr. Gladstone.
Fullerton, a brindled dog, with a little white on him,
scales about 65lb. weight when in training, and he,
with Master McGrath, form the subject of the
illustration immediately preceding this chapter. I
need hardly draw attention to the great difference
in build and general formation of the two best
greyhounds that ever ran.

It is rather difficult to compare the respective
merits of these two great greyhounds, which I have
mentioned at considerable length because of their
unsurpassed excellence. The Irish dog was certainly
the better killer; maybe not quite so fast as the
Northumbrian dog, who in his last Waterloo also
exhibited determination and gameness that must
stamp him in that particular as second to none. As
an old dog Fullerton did not go quite so well as when
in his prime, but he was as keen as ever, if not quite
so perfect in covering his game. Of this dog it
may be mentioned that after his last victory in
1892 he was placed at stud, his fee being forty

The Greyhound. 157

guineas. At the time I write this, not one of the
many bitches that went to him produced a puppy,
and so he was put into training again. It may be
mentioned as indicative of Fullerton's world- wide
reputation, that several of his services were secured
by cablegram for American bitches.

There was another extraordinary dog, or rather
bitch, that flourished between the years 1867 — 1870,
by many good judges considered even superior to
Lord Lurgan's great dog; but she was not, though
her courses were run on a greater variety of ground
than were those of either of the " cracks" already
mentioned. Both were, it may be said, "bottled"
up for the great meetings. But Mr. Blanchard's red
or fawn bitch Bab at the Bowster, by Boanerges-
Mischief, when brought out she in reality went as
well at Altcar as she did at the Scottish National,
where she won the Douglas Cup on two occasions.
She also ran second for the Waterloo Cup,1 won the
Great Scarisbrick Cup twice, and during the three
years she was to the fore won sixty-two courses and
lost but five. " Bab " was a neat, handsome animal,
weight, 47lb., and though perhaps not quite as
speedy as Fullerton and Master McGrath, she
was quite their equal in cleverness, and well
deserves her place here, for no other greyhound
ever won so many courses in public. One cele-

5 3 Modern Dogs.

brated performance of hers may be noted. This
was at the Brigg meeting, in the Elsham Cup.
Mr. Blanchard's bitch had a terrific course when
running a bye, and after the trial had ended the
hare got on to the railway line, and here she
was run along the hard and rough " permanent
way " for at least a mile before puss was killed.
Although Bab at the Bowster was much exhausted
when taken up, she divided the Cup next day.
Some of these Lincolnshire hares were perfect
demons, and, like those of Ridgway and a few other
places, often enough ran their pursuers to a stand-
still. Much different from those at our " inclosed
meetings " !

It will be seen from what has been written that
not one of this leash of celebrated greyhounds was
of exceptional size. Colonel North's dog is the
biggest of the lot. It is seldom indeed that the
over-sized dog, even one so big as Fullerton, is good;
he may be fast enough, but, as a rule, is awkward
and ungainly when next the hare, and cannot turn
in such little room as the smaller dog, who nicks
in, keeps close on the scut of puss, and wins the
course. Still, here, as elsewhere, a good big one
will beat an equally good little one, the difficulty
being to find a good big one.

About twelve years ago, inclosed meetings for

The Greyhound. 159

greyhounds were inaugurated, and I believe, during
the time the most important ones continued, they
seldom flourished. Considerable harm was done by
them to the sport of coursing. They were gate-
money meetings, run in inclosures, with hares that
might have been turned down " the night before
the race," for anything anyone knew to the contrary.
Puss was sent through an opening, near to which the
slipper stood, he let her get away, then slipped
his dogs. The hare had, perhaps, a distance of
800 yards to go before she reached a refuge, into
which her pursuers could not enter. Usually she
escaped ; before doing so she might be turned a
few times, but a very fast hare could reach the
covert without being turned or wrenched by either
dog. A thousand-pound stake was to be won at one
meeting, at Kempton Park, not far from London.
Big prizes were also provided at Haydock Park near
Liverpool, where they did their best to breed their
own hares, and at Gosforth, near Newcastle. Not
one has proved pecuniarily remunerative, though the
system survives at Haydock and at two or three
smaller meetings. They are, however, not en-
couraged by the older class of coursing men, who
consider them too much like the rabbit coursing
with terriers and whippets, so popular in the
North of England, and affording more a test

160 Modern Dogs.

of pace than of the actual all-round merits of a
greyhound.

The pedigree of the greyhound has for many
years had considerable attention. The National
Coursing Club, established in 1858, rules all matters
appertaining thereto ; and no dog can win a prize
at any coursing meeting that has not been duly
registered in the " Greyhound Stud Book," which
costs a few shillings only, and those of " unknown
pedigree" cannot compete all.

The Council of the Coursing Club is decided by
election, those coursing clubs with over twenty mem-
bers having the privilege of sending a member each.
There were twenty-seven such bodies in 1891.
Although a well-known coursing authority, named
Thacker, started a coursing calendar about 1840-1,
the present calendar was not commenced until
1857, " Stonehenge " being its first editor, and
succeeding him, and until 1891, "Robin Hood,"
Mr. C. M. Browne, " occupied the chair." At his
death the duty devolved upon Mr. B. C. Evelegh, of
the Field, writing as " Allan-a-dale." The first keeper
of the " Greyhound Stud Book," was Mr. D. Brown,
well known as " Maida," in the columns of Bell's
Life and the Field for many years. During eleven
years Mr. Brown has most ably conducted the
registration affairs of the National Coursing Club,

The Greyhound. 161

and his retirement, on the grounds of ill-health, is a
distinct loss to the " Stud Book." Mr. W. F.
Lamonby, also on the coursing staff of the Field, is,
as I write, keeper of the " Greyhound Stud Book."
For a great many years Mr. Lamonby has been, and
still is, well known by his contributions written over
the name of <( Skiddaw."

The last publication of the Coursing Calendar
contained reports and particulars of fifty-nine
meetings for the season 1891-2. From this, the
extent of the sport may be judged, though some
years ago its popularity appeared to be seriously
threatened by legislation that gave a tenant the
peculiar privilege to kill ground game on the land he
farmed, irrespective of agreement to the contrary with
the landlord. Though hares are scarcer than they
were, still the sport has not, in reality, suffered
very much, nor, with the support it receives on all
hands, is it likely to do so in the near future.
Still, more recent legislation, affording hares a
certain close time during which they are not to be
sold, may be the means of reviving some meetings,
that had already become defunct.

The greyhound as a " show dog" is a failure,
rather than otherwise. With very few exceptions,
the best animals in the field have not possessed that
beautiful shape and elegance of contour that is

[Vol. i.j M

1 62 Modern Dogs.

attractive in the ring. Master McGrath was as ugly
a dog to look at, from this point of view, as could be
imagined ; Fullerton is better, but his appearance is
by no means taking. Mr. J. H. Salter has had one
or two good dogs in the field that could win on the
bench, though Mr. T. Ashton's Jenny Jones is,
perhaps, the most notable exception to the general
rule, she having been so consistent a performer as
to be heavily backed for the Waterloo Cup of 1888,
which, however, she failed to win. As a bench bitch,
now in 1892, she is about as good as anything we
have, which has been proved under many good
judges. In December 1891 Mr. H. T. Clarke, of
Abingdon, made what I fancy is a record, for his
black dog Carhampton, then over three years old,
won second prize at Birmingham show, and the
following week ran through a nine dog stake at the
Cliffe Coursing Meeting. A most unusual occurrence,
for a greyhound in condition to run is not in a fit
state to compete successfully on the show bench.

Bab at the Bowster was handsome enough for
exhibitions — very much of the stamp of Jenny Jones
in fact — and Lauderdale, who for a long time, when
shown by Mr. T. Sharpies, was perfection in shape
and form, and a fast dog too, but it was said,
" his heart was in the wrong place." The best
show of greyhounds is usually to be seen at

The Greyhound. 163

Darlington at the end of July, and the committee
there have usually a "coursing" man to judge them.

The leading kennels of greyhounds in this country,
at the present time, are those of Mr. L. Pilkington,
Widnes; Colonel North, Eltham ; Mr. G. J.
Alexander, Ireland ; Mr. Swinburne, Ireland ; Mr.
W. H. Smith, Worcestershire ; Sir W. C. Anstruther,
Scotland; Captain Archdale, Ireland; Mr. J. Trevor,
Lichfield; Sir T. Brocklebank, Lancashire; Sir R.
Jardine, Scotland; Mr. J. H. Salter, Essex; Mr.
R. F. Gladstone, Lancashire ; Mr. J. Russel,
Scotland; Lord Masham, Yorkshire; Mr. R. M.
Douglas, Ireland ; Messrs. Fawcett, Lancashire ;
Mr. Harding Cox, Hampshire ; Mr. C. E. Marfleet,
Lincolnshire ; Mr. F. Watson, Ireland ; Mr. G.
Barratt, Norfolk; Major Holmes, Essex; Mr. J.
Quihampton, Hants ; The Marquis of Anglesea ;
Mr. F. E. C. Dobson, Durham; Mr. T. Jenkins,
Carmarthen ; Messrs. Smith, Suffolk ; Count Stro-
ganoff, Kent; Messrs. Hale, Suffolk; Mr. A. J.
Humphry, Surrey ; Mr. W. Ingram, M.P., with a
number of others whose names do not at present
occur to me.

I do not think better can be done in further
description of the greyhound, than to adopt " Stone-
henge's " points and descriptions, making only a few
trifling alterations as occasion requires.

M 2

164 Modern Dogs.

The head should be fairly large between the ears,
the jaw lean, but by no means weak, as, if it were so,
he would not be able to hold his game, and there
should be little or no development of the nasal
sinuses ; the eye full, bright, and penetrating, a
good eye is a sine qua non ; ears small, and folding
down when at rest, but raised in semi-prick fashion
when animated ; teeth strong and the mouth level
(many of the show greyhounds are overshot, which
gives the dog an extra long and smartly cut jaw) ;
neck fairly long and a trifle arched rather than
otherwise.

The shoulders must be well placed, as oblique as
possible ; the chest fairly deep, and as wide as may
be consistent with speed. A " narrow-fronted,"
shallow-chested greyhound is no use. There should
be good length from the elbow to the knee,
compared with that from the knee to the ground.
Feet hard and close, not so round and cat-like as in
the foxhound, and with the toes well defined or well
developed. \

The loins strong and broad ; back powerful, and,
in the speediest and best dogs, slightly arched.

Hind quarters very muscular ; stifles strong and
well bent — a straight stifled dog cannot gallop ;
hind legs well turned and shapely, and, as in all
speedy animals, somewhat long, looking by their

The Greyhound. 165

curve even longer than they actually are ; the
tail is generally fine and nicely curved, but some
strains carry more hair than others.

Colours vary — blacks, brindles, reds, fawns, blues,
or slates, and these colours mixed with white. One
hue is as good as another, though white is con-
sidered indicative of a certain amount of weakness —
still there have been good dogs almost pure white,
Snowball, Scotland Yet, and Canaradzo to wit.

In disposition the greyhound is, as a rule, kindly
and amiable ; dogs in high training are apt to
be unreliable, and during exercise may fight and
seriously injure each other.

The following are the points :—

Value.

Head and eyes 10

Neck 15

Chest and fore quarters 20
Loin and back ribs 15

60

Value.

Hindquarters 20

Feet 15

Tail 5

Colour , o

40

Grand total, 100.

The points of the course are as follows :—
Speed: which shall be estimated as one, two, or
three points, according to the degree of superiority
shown. The go-bye : Two points, or, if passed in
the outer circle, three points. The turn : one
point. The wrench: half a point. The kill: two

1 66 Modern Dogs.

points, or, in a descending scale, in proportion
to the degree of merit displayed in that kill, which
may be of no value. The trip, or unsuccessful
effort to kill, or where a greyhound flecks the
hare and cannot hold her, one point. There are
also penalties for refusing to fence ; where a dog,
from his own defect, refuses to follow the hare
at which he is slipped ; and where he stands still.

Of course, in dealing with a trial between two
greyhounds, very much rests with the judge, and
there is no doubt that the two judges of the
generation are Mr. G. Warwick, who officiated at
Waterloo for thirteen consecutive years, and his
successor, Mr. James Hedley, who, since Mr.
Warwick's retirement, has done duty at the same
meeting for nineteen years without a break. Almost
as much depends upon the slipper, and after the
celebrated Tom Raper, who was par excellence for a
quarter of a century, T. Wilkinson and T. Bootiman
are the leading exponents of this arduous and
difficult department of greyhound coursing.

CHAPTER IX.

THE WHIPPET.

WITH, I believe few exceptions, the whippet or snap
dog has' not been included as a distinct variety in
any book on English dogs. Still, it is now, and has
been for some time, quite a breed of itself, and
amongst the colliers and other working men in the
north of England, including Lancashire and York-
shire, none is so popular or provides so much
amusement.

Originally the " whippet", was a small dog — a
cross between the Italian greyhound and some
terrier or other, partaking in general appearance
more of the greyhound cross than of the terrier.
Thus, in many parts of the north, the dog is still
called an " Hitalian," the local pronunciation of
the name of that country from which it is supposed
the fragile toy dog first came. He is likewise known
as a "running" dog, the reason for which will be
obvious.

The whippet in perfection is a miniature grey-

1 68 Modern Dogs.

hound, built on the lines of a Fullerton or of a Bab
at the Bowster, but smaller in size. It is kept
specially for running races and for coursing rabbits
on enclosed grounds arranged for the purpose, and
for which it undergoes a course of training suitable
to the circumstances. Both coursing and running
matches may be considered the popular pastime
amongst a very large class in the mining and manu-
facturing districts northwards, in the neighbourhood
of Newcastle, in Durham, Lancashire, and Yorkshire
especially.

Several attempts have recently been made to
extend the popularisation of the whippet, especially
so far as its running powers are concerned. The
Kennel Club has, for the first time this year (1892),
given it an entry in the Stud Book, and classes
have been provided for it at several south country
shows. The latter had repeatedly appeared in the
catalogues at Darlington and elsewhere in the north,
but they seldom filled satisfactorily, and as a " bench
dog" I need scarcely say the whippet is not likely to
be any greater success than the greyhound. The
entries made in the Stud Book are few, and most of
the dogs there are minus a leading part of their
history — namely, their pedigrees.

Without taking any pessimistic view of the ques-
tion, I must confess my disbelief in the success of

The Whippet. 169

any scheme to make the whippet a popular animal
outside the society in which it is now received. Its
surroundings have not, as a rule, been of the highest
in the social scale, nor have the rabbit coursing
matches and tests of speed always been conducted
by its owners in the fairest way possible.

Various tricks are tried by the unscrupulous to
prevent an opponent's dog winning, and a trainer or
his friend has to be a sharp man in his line, to run
successfully the gauntlet of all that is placed in his
way during a match for money where such dogs
compete. And it must be confessed that, not-
withstanding the fairness, honesty, and firmness of
the owners of the enclosed grounds where dog races
and coursing take place, and of the umpires and
referees, the general spirit ot the sport is not the
most wholesome in the world. Of course, these
remarks are not applicable to all owners of whippets
—many of whom are as honest and good sportsmen
as ever owned a dog — but there can be no doubt
that the popularity of the variety has been kept
back by those " black sheep " to whom allusion is
made.

As I have said, the whippet ought not to be a big
dog, weighing, from i2lb. to say, about 25!^
when in training. However, some of them are
much heavier than this, and many of the so-called

1 70 Modern Dogs.

champion rabbit coursers reach 4olb. in weight
or even more. I have known a thoroughbred
greyhound take part in one of the big handicaps that
are held during the season in the neighbourhood
of Manchester and elsewhere. It scarcely remains
for me to say that these bigger dogs are the direct
cross with the greyhound, and some of them are
built on such lines and contain so much greyhound
blood, as to be scarcely distinguishable from the
original article.

Such dogs are fast, clever with their teeth, and
oftener than not run straight into their rabbit,
" holding " it without a turn, the one that does so
winning the trial, irrespective of the capacity it
shows for working, turning, or making the points
as in coursing hares. The law allowed varies from
anything between 30 and 70 yards, and directly the
rabbit is dropped the dogs are slipped, the latter
being done by a skilful man, specially appointed for
the purpose. Handicaps are made according to the
weight or height of the dog ; in Newcastle-on-Tyne
and the surrounding districts, the latter being the
custom — the dog being measured from the top of
the shoulder blade to the pad of the foot — whilst in
Lancashire and Yorkshire handicap by weight is
preferred. In all cases a dog has to allow a bitch
three yards start. These customs or rules likewise

The Whippet. 171

apply to dog racing, as dealt with later on, In some
of the more important handicaps, each couple of dogs,
as they are drawn together, have to compete the
best out of five or even more courses. In minor
affairs, one rabbit for each trial is made to suffice.

Private matches between two dogs are frequently
run, and such often enough create as much interest
as the handicaps, especially when two " cracks "
are competing. Here the conditions may vary some-
what, the start given the rabbit bei g specially
named, and the number of courses being usually
the best of twenty-one, or, perhaps, of thirty-one, a
certain time, generally five minutes, being allowed
between each trial.

However, if the whippet is to become generally
popular, it will not be by means of an ability to kill
rabbits. The dog racing by him will be more likely
to find favour with the public. Those who are not
connected with the sport will be surprised to find
the hold it has obtained amongst the working classes
in the north. There are repeatedly from one
hundred and fifty to over three hundred such dogs
entered at one competition, the trial heats of which,
three dogs taking part in each heat, being run as a
rule one Saturday, the finals the Saturday following.
This day is a half-holiday with the miners and work-
people, hence its selection, but other meetings are

172 Modern Dogs.

held on the recognised Bank holidays, and some-
times on Mondays.

Dogs of all sizes compete in the same stake, they
being handicapped according to height or weight,
if unknown ; otherwise according to their perfor-
mances, weight, &c., of course, likewise being taken
into consideration. The most useful size of the
whippet is, probably, a dog scaling about 2olb. or
so, and the pace such an one can go for a com-
paratively short distance is extraordinary, 200 yards
having been covered in 12^ seconds. It is generally
considered that a dog about I5lb. is the speediest
animal in proportion to its weight.

Before these dogs have attained sufficient pro-
ficiency to take part in a handicap or match, they
must undergo a certain tuition, during which they
come to run at their greatest speed. All prelimi-
naries being arranged, the dog makes an appearance
at one of the many " running " grounds. Here a
course is laid out on the cinder path, the distance
usually being 200 yards. At one end the various
handicaps are marked out, three start in a heat, and
each dog, as in ordinary pedestrianism, has a side
allotted to it by draw or otherwise. The starter is
behind the dogs, pistol in hand. A friend of the
owner holds his dog on the mark, the owners or
trainers run in front of their dogs up the course calling

The Whippet. 173

to them, and dangling something attractive — a
chicken's or a pigeon's wing, perhaps, or a piece of
rag ; rabbits or live stock are not allowed. These
owners or trainers having reached the limit of the
course, the pistol is fired, the dogs are slipped, and
at their full pace urge on to the goal where their
trainer awaits them. Near there the judge is placed,
who quickly and promptly pronounces which dog
wins, and so the fun goes on. The rules are
stringent to a degree, as all rules ought to be
(subject even to no appeal in a court of law), and
any man slipping his dog before the pistol is fired
is disqualified, not only for that heat, but for the
whole stake. The sport is exciting enough, and if
it does not attract the thousands that gather to
see the " final " of a Sheffield handicap, the atten-
dance is usually quite large enough to be pleasant.
I need scarcely say that the training of these running
dogs is made a " profession," a skilled man obtaining
good pay for his work.

There are dogs that will not run these races to
the best of their ability, some preferring to have a
growl or fight with an opponent ; others, more kindly
disposed, seeking to romp and play. To guard
against such canine breach of discipline, an arrange-
ment can he made by erecting long strips of canvas,
and between each strip a dog runs, thus quite out of

74 Modem Dogs.

sight of its opponent, until the judge and goal are
reached. This plan is frequently adopted, as some
of the very best dogs, after competing repeatedly
under the ordinary system, become either careless
or quarrelsome, and refuse to " try," contenting
themselves by running alongside an antagonist, and
losing the race by a head, and the owner's weekly
wage and more at the same time.

Some time ago, Mr. T. Marples, the present editor
of the British Fancier, wrote an exhaustive article
on coursing and running by whippets. He says
that " at times, especially in winter, when snow
has to be cleared from the ground which is harder
than usual, many of these dogs run in what are
called ' stoppers ' — leather gloves that are placed
over the claws of the fore feet, the latter being apt
to be injured by the suddenness with which the dogs
stop at the end of the race." These are, of course,
only required where the racing is done on a cinder-
path, and would be quite out of place on grass
during rabbit coursing.

As to handicapping, the same writer tells us that
as a rule a dog I5lb. weight is taken as the basis of
the handicap, and he is given or takes three yards,
according to size, irrespective of the allowance for
sex alluded to earlier on. However, when the dogs
"reach about 27lb. in weight, they are pretty much

The Whippet. 175

equalised, just as an increase is given to small
dogs down to about 81b. in weight. For instance,
a dog of i5lb. would give one of I4lb. three yards
start; but one of I3lb. would receive seven yards
from the i5lb. dog, and in all likelihood a lolb. dog
would receive from eighteen to twenty yards in the
two hundred. Then in turn the I5lb. dog would
receive three yards from the i61b. animal, and from
one up to 2olb. the i5lb. dog would receive ten or
twelve yards start," irrespective, of course, of penal-
ties for previous successes. Novices are usually
given an advantage of about 2lb.

The above seems a somewhat complicated arrange-
ment, but it is thoroughly understood by the handi-
cappers.

I need scarcely say that these whippets when in
training are fed on the best food that can be pro-
vided ; they are kept warm, sleep in the house in a
cozy corner, and are muzzled and sheeted when
outside. Their owners are for the most part working
men, and instances are not isolated where their wives
and children have gone with empty stomachs, whilst
the dogs and their masters regale on rump steaks
and chump chops.

Perhaps it may be mentioned that during the past
twenty years or so the sport with " running dogs "
and " rabbit coursers," as conducted in the north,

176 Modern Dogs.

has flourished amazingly, and personally I regret
that it has done so to the detriment of the more
manly pedestrian exercises, wrestling, and the clever
game of knur and spell.

The points and general description of the whippet
are, excepting so far as size is concerned, identical
with those of the greyhound as they appear on a
preceding page, though occasionally comparatively
rough coated or wire-haired whippets are met with.
Such, of course, show breeding back to the wire
haired terrier, or perhaps * to some cross-bred
<( lurcher," a few of which are still kept for poaching
purposes in various parts of the country. Need I
mention that for rabbit coursing staying power as
well as pace is required in a whippet, whilst for
racing speed alone is the desideratum.

."

J

CHAPTER X.
THE GREAT DANE.

HERE is a dog, not an English animal, but one
thoroughly acclimatized to the rigours of our climate,
and fairly naturalised. Still, it seems as it were only
the other day (it is twenty-four years ago) that Mr.
Walsh refused to give it a place in the first edition of
his " Dogs of the British Isles," which Mr. F.
Adcock then requested him to do.

I do not think that this dog (under which name,
following the Great Dane Club's good example, I
include boarhounds, German mastiffs, and tiger
mastiffs) has made great progress here. Ten years
since he appeared in a fair way to become a
favourite. The ladies took him up, the men
patronised him, but the former could not always
keep him in hand. Handsome and symmetrical
though he may be, he had always a temper and
disposition of his own, which could not be controlled
when he became excited. Personally, I never con-
sidered the Great Dane suitable as a companion

N

78 Modern Dogs.

or as a domestic dog. He might act as a watch
or guard tied up in the yard, or, may be, could
be utilised in hunting big game, or in being hunted
by it in return, but he always seemed out of place
following a lady or gentleman. When the order was
in force in London and elsewhere, commanding all
dogs to be muzzled or led on a chain, the Great Dane
received a severe blow. Muzzling amazed him, and
made him savage, the restraint of chain or lead was
not to be borne. The dog pulled ; his fair mistress
had either to free him from the chain or be over-
powered. She did the former, and her unmanage-
able pet chevied a terrier across the road, and the
mischief was done.

In that suburb in which I reside the Dane was
numerous enough before the rabies scare and the
muzzling order. He could not be confined with
safety, so he had to be got rid of, and where once a
dozen boarhounds reigned not one is now to be
seen. This is, I think, an advantage few owners of
dogs find fault with, for he, when not under control,
was fond of fighting, and his immense strength and
power gave him a great advantage over any other
dog. Some twenty years or so ago, in the ring at a
provincial show in Lancashire, Mr. Adcock's then
celebrated Great Dane, called Satan, got at logger-
heads with a Newfoundland, and the latter, poor

The Great Dane. 179

thing, was shaken like a rat, and would soon have
ceased to live, excepting in memory, had not three
strong, stout men choked off the immense German
dog.

This was about the time he was being introduced
to this country, or may be, rather, re-introduced, for
I am one who believes that a hundred years ago there
was in Ireland a Great Dane, not a wolfhound proper,
but an actual Great Dane, just as he is known to-day.
Hence the confusion that has arisen between the two
varieties. From old paintings and old writings there
is no difficulty in making out this dog to be as old as
any of the race of canines that we possess, but as he
is brought forward here as a British dog, his history
before he became such would be out of place.

Amongst our earliest specimens of the race, Satan,
already named, must take a leading place, though
his temper was so bad. He was a heavily made,
dark coloured dog, with a strong head and jaw, that
would not be at all suitable for the present admirers
of the variety. However, his owner, Mr. F. Adcock,
was an enthusiast, and by his patronage of the dog,
and his subsequent establishment of a Great Dane
Club, did more than any other man to bring the
strain permanently before the British public.

It was not, however, until 1884, that special
classes were provided for them at Birmingham ;

N 2

i8o Modern Dogs.

the Kennel Club had acknowledged them in their
stud book the same year. However, at both places
he, a year previously, had classes given him, but as
a " boarhound," and since, with his name changed
to "Great Dane," " boarhounds " and "German
mastiffs " have become creatures of the past.

I have a note of a big black and white dog,
shown by Sir Roger Palmer, about 1863 or 1864,
which was said to be 35 inches at the shoulder,
2oolb. weight, and a Great Dane ! I never saw a
dog of this variety approaching this size, and at that
time, a two hundred pound weight dog had not been
produced. Satan himself, a very heavy dog, would
not be more than, perhaps, i5olb. at most.

Coining a little later, we find that in June, 1885,
a dog show, devoted entirely to Great Danes, was
held at the Ranelagh Club Grounds, near London.
This was just at the time when the animal was reach-
ing the height of his popularity here, and a noble
show the sixty hounds, benched under the lime trees
in those historic grounds, made. Never has such a
collection of the variety been seen since in our island,
and, need I say, never such a one previously. The
great fawn dog, Cedric the Saxo.i, was there, perfect
in symmetry, and a large dog ; carefully measured,
he stood 33^ inches at the shoulder. With Captain
Graham, I took the heights of several of these big

The Great Dane. 181

dogs on that occasion, and it was extraordinary how
the thirty-five and thirty-six inch animals dwindled
down, some of them nearly half a foot at a time.

The tallest and heaviest dogs we made a careful
note of were Mr. Reginald Herbert's dog Leal, who
stood 33! inches at the shoulders, and weighed
i82lb. ; M. Riego's brindled dog, Cid Campeador,
who stood exactly 33^- inches, and his weight was
1 75lb. This couple were the tallest dogs of their
race I have ever known, and height is a great con-
sideration in the breed, the club's standard being
from 30 inches to 35 inches for a dog, and from
28 inches to 33 inches for a bitch.

It would appear that, within the last eighty years
or so, considerable improvement must have been
made in the size and power of the Great Dane.
Sydenham Edwards, who wrote of him in 1803, said
he was usually about twenty-eight inches in height,
though, occasionally, he would be found thirty-one
inches. The same writer goes on to describe Him :
"Ears, usually cropped; eyes, in some, white, in
others yellow, or half white or yellow. A beautiful
variety, called the Harlequin Dane, has a finely
marked body, with large or small spots of black, grey,
liver colour, or sandy-red, upon a white ground. . . .
The grand figure, bold, muscular action, and elegant
carriage of the Dane, would recommend him to

1 82 Modern Dogs.

notice, had he no useful properties; and thus we find
him honoured in adding to the pomp of the noble or
wealthy, before whose carriage he trots or gallops in
a fine style ; not noisy, but of approved dignity,
becoming his intrepid character, he keeps his
stall in silence." Edwards further says this dog
must be muzzled, to prevent him attacking his own
species.

Contrary to the above statement we have that of
Richardson, who, writing about 1848, says the
Great Dane is a dog of gigantic stature, standing
from thirty to thirty-two inches in height at the
shoulders, or even more. He says the ears are short,
and drop down very gracefully. At the present
time they are big, and hang down in a fashion so
ungainly, that it is the custom to crop them, an
operation that maybe best performed when the puppies
are about three weeks old, and when suckling their
dam. One large breeder, Mr. E. H. Adcock, has
followed this custom successfully, and the wounds
are soon healed by the contact of a mother's tongue.
Others " crop " their puppies when three or four
months old, some still later, when the dog is more
matured, say at eight or nine months, but at that
time it is a nasty job, and a terribly unpleasant one,
to him who takes it in hand.

Perhaps it is the custom of having these dogs

The Great Dane. 183

shorn of part of their ears that has led to their,
comparatively speaking, non-popularisation, for it
is difficult to find proficient operators, who run
the risk of fine or imprisonment if the cruelty
they perpetrate is brought to the notice of the
authorities.

A few years ago, I was attending one of the
Crystal Palace dog shows, and engaged in conversa-
tion with a man, well known as a skilful performer
on the ears of terriers and other dogs. Walking past
the benches where the Danes were chained, we were
startled by a terrible growl and furious lunge, a
huge brindled dog springing up and making violent
attempts to reach the man to whom I was talking.
Luckily for him the chain and collar and staple
held. I never saw so much ferocity depicted on the
face of any animal whatever as there was on the
countenance of that Great Dane. It would have
been bad for that man had it got loose. Need it be
said, we soon gave it a wide berth. " What was the
meaning of that?" said I to the fellow, who was, in
reality, very much frightened and shaken by the
occurrence. " Well," said he, " I know the dog, he
was badly 'cropped,' and about five months ago,
Mr. - - called me down to his place to 'perform'
on his ears again. We had a terrible job with him,
and I guess the dog just recognised me, and wanted

184 Modern Dogs.

to have his revenge. I shall have nothing more to
do with cropping ( boarhounds ' again," continued the
whilom operator, " nor do I think I shall go near his
bench ; no, not if I knows it ! "

I fancy from the above, and other experiences that
I have gained, that no other variety of dog
possesses the same strength of mind, and is so ready
to resent a supposed injury as he. It is dangerous to
thrash some of them ; they may turn on you, or will
surlily growl ; and in fighting with any opponent they
are not always able to discriminate between the
hands of their master (who may be interfering in the
combat) and the throat of an opponent. Still, they
are faithful and intelligent, and many of them are
thoroughly trustworthy when their master is about—
not always in his absence. He possesses great power
and activity, and is usually most symmetrically built.
Sometimes he makes a good water dog, at others he
will not swim a yard.

As we know him here as a companion and a guard
only, no more than passing allusion need be made
to him as a sporting dog, to hunt the wild boar and
chase the deer. That he was used for these pur-
poses long before he came to be a house dog there
is no manner of doubt, for his portrait can be
recognised in all the great pictures of hunting
scenes that took place in the Middle Ages.

The Great Dane. 185

This is the reason I place him in the group of
Sporting Dogs.

That he is thoroughly amenable to discipline I
found some few years ago, in 1884, during a visit to
the Oxford Music Hall, in London. Here Mr. Fred.
Felix, a well-known trainer, had a group of performing
dogs, which included three Great Danes, and all good
specimens, especially the best trick dog in the lot, who
no doubt gloried in his name of Grandmaster. These
dogs went through a variety of performances in an
extraordinarily kindly and willing manner, jumping
through hoops, walking on their hind legs, sitting on
chairs, jumping over each other's backs, with all the
docility and more of the freedom than the poodle would
have shown.

Grandmaster made some astounding leaps, and
two of the hounds had a miniature fight, growling,
seizing each other, and rolling on the stage as they
might have done in a less friendly strife. The
latter was a performance I have not since seen
attempted, and must be a most difficult thing for
a trainer to accomplish. I do not know when I
was better pleased with a troup of performing dogs
than I was with these Great Danes. I have seen
other showmen performing with them in a cage
of lions, and similar dogs formed a portion of
"a happy family" of wild beasts that a year or

86 Modern Dogs.

two ago proved a great attraction at the Crystal
Palace.

As special attention has been called to the Great
Dane as a companion, allusion to that dog belonging
to Prince Bismarck may not be out of place ; still
Tyras, the dog, was, in his palmy days, not a very
much greater favourite than his master came to be
later on. Maybe, the happiness of two countries
was on at least one occasion placed in jeopardy by
the action of the German Chancellor's hound. It
has been said that a somewhat spirited conversation
was proceeding between Bismarck and the Russian
Prime Minister Gortschakoff. The latter, gesticu-
lating rather more violently than usual, led Tyras,
who lay reposing on the rug, to suspect an attack
on his master, so, springing at the proud Russian,
he brought him to the floor. Apologies were profuse
and accepted. Prince Gortschakoff was not bitten,
only frightened, and the peace of Europe remained
undisturbed.

A writer in the Kennel Gazette gives the following
interesting description of Prince Bismarck's favourite
dog, and I reproduce it here, and it will assist my
readers in arriving at the character and disposition
of the ordinary Great Dane :

Of all the dogs that have a place in history, Tyras, the noted
realm dog of the German Chancellor, is the only one whose death

The Great Dane. 187

has been deemed of sufficient interest to be cabled round the
world as an event, not merely of European, but of cosmopolitan
interest. Indeed, the record of Tyras hardly ended with his life,
for the cable has since told the world that the first visitor to Prince
Bismarck on his recent birthday was the youthful emperor, who
brought as a present another dog, of the type of the lamented
Tyras. For nearly sixty years Prince Bismarck has owned speci-
mens of the Great Dane, and generally has had one or more of
unusual size. His first hound, acquired while living with his
parents at Kniephof, was one of the largest ever seen, and was an
object of awe to the peasantry of the district. This dog afterward
accompanied his young master to the college at Gottingen, where
he speedily made his mark. Once when Bismarck was summoned
to appear before the rector for throwing an empty bottle out of
his window, he took with him his enormous hound, to the great
dismay of the reverend dignitary, who promptly took refuge
behind a high-backed chair, where he remained until the hound
had been sent out of the room. Bismarck was fined five thalers for
bringing this " terrific beast " into the rector's sanctum, in addition
to the punishment meted out to the original offence. As a law
student and official at Berlin, during his travels in many
lands, throughout his diplomatic career at Frankfort, St. Peters-
burgh, Paris, and elsewhere, as well as at Varzin andatFriedrichsruh,
Bismarck has always had the companionship of one or more
of his favourite dogs. Probably the one to which he was most
attached was Sultan, which died at Varzin in 1877. Tyras, who
was of unusual size, and of the slate colour, which is most popular
in Germany, was then quite a young dog, and he was the constant
companion of his illustrious owner till the time of his death,
sharing his walks, his rides, his business, and his meals, and
keeping guard in his bedroom at night. Owing to his uncertain
temper, he was not often seen in the streets or gardens of Berlin.
He was, indeed, regarded more as belonging to the " Pomeranian
Squire " side of the Prince's life than to his official establishment.
At Varzin or Friedrichsruh, however, the two were inseparable.

1 88 Modern Dogs.

No sooner was the most absolutely necessary business of the
morning dispatched, than the Reichskanzler sallied off with the
" Reichshund " at his heels, and for the rest of the day, the long
light coat, and the battered felt hat of the famous statesman, were
not greater objects of interest than the huge dog which followed
him everywhere, on horseback or on foot.

At the present time the best Great Danes in
England are owned by Mr. Reginald Herbert, Mr.
E. W. Adcock, Mr. M. Riego, Mr. C. D. Baddeley,
Mr. R. Coop, Mr. J. E. Wilbey, Mr. Adolph Stolte,
Mr. R. T. Martin, and some few others. He is not in
many hands, and, although the entries in the Kennel
Club's stud book keep up their members very well,
the Great Dane Club itself has but twenty-seven
members, though at its establishment, in 1884,
it had thirty-eight members on its books. How-
ever, now there is a ladies' branch in connection
therewith, and here there are eleven members
additional.

Perhaps the best all-round Great Dane we have
had here was the brindled bitch Vendetta, first
exhibited by Mr. Reginald Herbert, and sold by him
to Mr. Craven for a large sum. She was not a par-
ticularly big bitch, though perhaps taller and heavier
than she looked by reason of her lovely symmetry.
She stood 31^ inches at the shoulder and weighed
i/plb. ; but in general form and correctness of type
of head, without lippiness or hound-like appearance,

The Great Dane. 189

she was pretty nearly perfect. Windle Princess (Mr.
Coop's) is another beautiful bitch, and again not
a very big one. Mr. Adcock's Ivanhoe, a very richly
coloured brindle dog, has repeatedly and deservedly
won prizes at our leading shows. Mr. Wilbey's
Hannibal the Great is thought to be the best of his
year, an enormous animal of immense power, but
perhaps a little heavier and too mastiff-like in
head to quite please some of our insular prejudices.
He came to this country with a reputation as the
best of his race in the land of his birth, which was
Germany. This dog unfortunately got strangled in
his kennel in August, 1892. Other good dogs are
War Cry, Corsica, Harlequin Nero, Bouchan, Sea
King, Leal, the Baron of Danes, Norseman, Queen
of Saxony, Uric, Windle Princess, Gretchen, Earl
of Warwick, and Windle Queen.

As to the heights and weights of recent winners,
the following may, perhaps, not be without interest :
—Norseman is 33 inches at the shoulders, weight,
i55lb. ; Sea King, 32^ inches, weight, i681b. ; Leal,
33f inches, weight, i82lb. ; Young Leal, 33^ inches,
weight, 154-lb. ; Prince Victor, 33 inches and i5olb.
weight; Cedric the Saxon, 33^ inches and i7olb.
weight; Baron of Danes, 33^ inches and I55lb.
weight; Ivanhoe, 33 inches and i681b. weight;
Dorothy, 30^ inches, I25lb. weight; Challymead

190 Modern Dogs.

Queen, 30^ inches and i25lb. weight; Corsica,
31 inches and I4olb. weight; Ranee 29 inches,
io5lb. weight.

The following description of the Great Dane
is issued by the Club, and, further, there is a rule
which ought, perhaps, to appear in the standard of
points. It says that any dog or bitch with a
cankered mouth, a joint or any part of the tail
removed, is incapable of taking a prize ; and no
Great Dane answering to this description shall be
exhibited "for competition" by any member of the
club.

I do not know that Danes are more afflicted with
" cankered " mouths than any other dog; but, with
respect to the "tails," cases have occurred where a
dog has had a joint or two amputated, in order that
the appendage did not curl at the end. The sore or
bare place remaining was accounted for by the
hound dashing his tail against the kennel walls or
benches, a habit which frequently causes trouble to
the caudal extremity of some big smooth-coated
dogs.

STANDARD OF POINTS.

i . General Appearance. — The Great Dane is not
so heavy or massive as the mastiff, nor should he
too nearly approach the greyhound in type. Remark-

The Great Dane. 191

able in size, and very muscular, strongly though
elegantly built, movements easy and graceful ; head
and neck carried high ; the tail carried horizontally
with the back, or slightly upwards, with a slight
curl at the extremity. The minimum height and
weight of dogs should be 30 inches and I2olb. ;
of bitches, 28 inches and loolb. Anything below
this shall be debarred from competition. Points:
General appearance, 3 ; Condition, 3 ; Activity, 5 ;
Height, 13.

2. Head. — Long, the frontal bones of the forehead
very slightly raised, and very little indentation
between the eyes. Skull, not too broad. Muzzle,
broad and strong, and blunt at the point. Cheek
muscles, well developed. Nose, large, bridge well
arched. Lips in front perpendicularly blunted, not
hanging too much over the sides, though with well-
defined folds at the angle of the mouth. The lower
jaw slightly projecting — about a sixteenth of an inch.
Eyes, small round, with sharp expression and deeply
set. Ears, very small and greyhound-like in carriage,
when uncropped ; they are, however, usually cropped.
Points, 15.

3. Neck. — Rather long, very strong and muscular,
well arched, without dewlap, or loose skin about the
throat. The junction of head and neck strongly
pronounced. Points, 5.

1 92 Modern Dogs.

4. Chest. — Not too broad, and very deep in
brisket. Points, 8.

5. Back. — Not too long or short; loins arched, and
falling in a beautiful line to the insertion of the tail.
Points, 8.

6. Tail. — Reaching to the hock, strong at the
root, and ending fine with a slight curve. When
excited it becomes more curved, but in no case
should it curve over the back. Points, 4.

7. Belly. — Well drawn up. Points, 4.

8. Fore-quarters. Shoulders, set sloping; elbows
well under, neither turned inwards nor outwards.
Leg : Fore-arm, muscular, and with great develop-
ment of bone, the whole leg strong and quite
straight. Points, 10.

9. Hind-quarters. — Muscular thighs, and second
thigh long and strong, as in the greyhound, and
hocks well let down and turning neither in nor out.
Points, 10.

10. Feet. — Large and round, neither turned in-
wards nor outwards. Toes, well arched and closed.
Nails, very strong and curved. Points, 8.

11. Hair. — Very short, hard and dense, and
not much longer on the underpart of the tail.
Points, 4.

Colour and Markings. — The recognised colours
are the various shades of grey (commonly termed

The Great Dane 193

"blue"), red, black, or pure white, or white with
patches of the before-mentioned colours. These
colours are sometimes accompanied with markings of
a darker tint about the eyes and muzzle, and with a
line of the same tint (called a " trace ") along the
course of the spine. The above ground colours also
appear in the brindles, and are also the ground
colours of the mottled specimens. In the whole-
coloured specimens, the china or wall eye but rarely
appears, and the nose more or less approaches black,
according to the prevailing tint of the dog, and the
eyes vary in colour also. The mottled specimens
have irregular patches or " clouds " upon the above-
named ground colours ; in some instances the clouds
or markings being of two or more tints. With the
mottled specimens, the wall or china eye is not
uncommon, and the nose is often parti-coloured or
wholly flesh-coloured.

Faults. — Too heavy a head, too highly arched
frontal bone, and deep "stop" or indentation between
the eyes ; large ears and hanging flat to the face ;
short neck ; full dewlap ; too narrow or too broad a
chest ; sunken or hollow or quite straight back ; bent
fore-legs; overbent fetlocks; twisted feet; spreading
toes; too heavy and much bent, or too highly carried
tail, or with a brush underneath ; weak hind- quarters
and a general want of muscle.

[VOL. I.] O

194

Modern Dogs.

STANDARD OF POINTS.

Value.

General appearance 3

Condition 3

Activity 5

Head 15

Neck 5

Chest 8

Back 8

47

Value.

Belly i 4

Tail 4

Fore-quarters 10

Hind-quarters 10

Feet 8

Coat 4

Size (Height) 13

Grand Total 100.

Scale of Points for Height divided as follows :
Dog of 30 in., or Bitch of 28 in ............. Points

31 in-

32 in-

33 in-

34 in.

35 in-

29 in
3° in

31 in

32 in

33 in

53

CHAPTER XI.
THE IRISH WOLFHOUND.

SOME there are who believe that this historical
hound became extinct soon after the last wolf was
killed in Ireland, which happened in 1710. Others
hold the opinion that it never became extinct at all ;
but survives in the Scotch deerhound, with which they
say it was identical. A third division have equally
strong opinions, something between the two, which
are to the effect that so recently as eighty or
ninety years ago very few real Irish wolfhounds
remained, and these not readily traceable back to
the oldest strains. Others advocate the smooth
greyhound as the true article. Then, to com-
plicate matters still further, the Great Dane has
become mixed up in the controversy. There is no
doubt that at one time or another this big dog has
passed himself off to the believing and credulous
inhabitants of the Emerald Isle as their own beloved
native dog, and, as a fact, many authorities of
the past generation write to prove that the Irish

o 2

196 Modern Dogs.

wolfhound was, if not a Great Dane, a smooth-coated
creature very like him ; and additional evidence that
such was the case is to be found in the following
instance.

Some four years or so ago, I was shown by the
Earl of Antrim a life-sized painting of an enormous
hound which had been in his family for about a
hundred years. Through generations this had been
handed down as a true Irish wolfhound, a noble
creature that had saved the life of one of his lord-
ship's ancestors under peculiar and extraordinary
circumstances, so the faithful creature had its por-
trait painted. Now this dog was a huge southern
hound in appearance, marked like a modern fox-
hound, with long pendulous ears, possibly an animal
identical with the matin of old writers. The painting
gave the idea that the subject had, in life, stood
about thirty-four inches high at the shoulders.

It was but natural, when I introduced this interest-
ing discovery to the public through the columns of the
Field, that discussion and controversy thereon would
arise, and such was the case. Little new material as
to the history of the Irish dog was elicited, and it
was to be regretted that Lord Antrim could afford
no further particulars as to the animal to which
attention was first drawn.

One might have expected to find something

The Irish Wolfhound. 197

reliable and convincing as to what the Irish wolf-
hound really was in the (i Sportsman's Cabinet,"
published in 1803. Here we have an excellent
engraving from a picture by Reinagle, of a huge
dog, an enormous deerhound in fact, the identical
creature popular reputation stated such a dog to
be. Unfortunately the letterpress describes quite a
different animal — more of the Great Dane type than
of the deerhound. And so the authorities who wrote
at that time differed quite as much on the matter as
do the admirers of the race at the present time.

To Captain Graham, of Dursley, in Gloucester-
shire, we owe considerable gratitude for the trouble
he has taken to resuscitate the Irish wolfhound.
Enthusiast though he be, he is not like so many
other enthusiasts, led away to say things he cannot
prove, or, indeed, to lay claim to his hounds being
descended in a direct line from those animals which
may have or may not have killed the last wolf
near Dingle over 180 years ago. The gallant
gentleman acknowledges that the breed in its original
integrity has disappeared, but he believed, when first
writing on the subject twenty years ago, that so
much of the true strain remained that, with the aid of
the modern deerhound, and with judicious manage-
ment, the breed in its " pristine grandeur" could be
recovered.

198 Modern Dogs.

The difficulty, to my mind, would be to exactly
define the original Irish wolfhound. The popular
idea — and this is not always correct — was of a
big powerful dog, with a wire-haired or rough coat,
built on the lines of a deerhound, but altogether a
heavier and stronger animal. What height a full-
grown specimen should be there is a diversity of
opinion. Old writers have said he was as big as
a donkey; others that he stood from 36 inches to
40 inches at the shoulders. In the museum of the
Royal Dublin Society there are two skulls of wolf-
hounds dug out of barrows by the late Dr. Wilde.
The dimensions of them have been very useful to
those who believed in the bigness of the wolf-
hound. Unfortunately for the side of the latter,
these skulls, when carefully measured and compared
with others of living dogs, deerhounds, wolfhounds,
and greyhounds, could not have been possessed
by animals more than 29 inches high at the
shoulders.

However, it is not my province here to say what
kind of an animal the historical Irish deerhound was,
whether there were two, three, or four varieties, or
whether any dog that would tackle and hunt a wolf
was, from the moment he did so, called a wolf-
hound. This would only be similar to what occurs
in our own days ; for have we not the ordinary fox-

The Irish Wolfhound. 199

hound called a staghound or a buckhound when he
is entered to hunt the deer ?

Mr. G. W. Hickman, of Birmingham, has written
most exhaustively and carefully on the subject on
one side; so have Mr. H. Richardson, Captain
Graham, Mr. R. D. O'Brien, Limerick, and others
on another side. I have to deal with " modern
dogs," and so the wolfhound, as he is now resus-
citated, must be described by me. There is no
doubt that by careful crossing between certain dogs
obtained from Ireland about 1841 with the deer-
hound and the Great Dane, an animal of a certain
distinctive type has been obtained, which, in its
turn, breeds perhaps quite as truly, up to a certain
standard, as most other canine varieties. Captain
Graham, who must be said to be the chief supporter of
the modern variety, says that his own strain u he can
trace back to those had by Richardson in 1841-42,
though not beyond 1862 from father to son. He
says the breed had been kept up by Mr. Baker, of
Badylohm Castle, and Sir John Power, of Kilfane,
from 1840 to 1865, or thereabouts. He further says
that on good grounds it was believed that " these dogs
were descended from Hamilton Rowan's, so called,
last of his race, Bran by name, a fine dark grey, rough
hound that was his constant companion." Captain
Graham had a grandson of Kilfane Oscar, a dog

200 Modern Dogs.

he obtained from Sir Ralph Payne-Galwey, and from
this he traces the purity of the blood as far back as
it will go. He advocated a cross with the Great
Dane and deerhound, and latterly, on the populari-
sation of the Borzoi or Russian wolfhound, has
suggested a third cross with that variety.

He, at the time I write, has a litter of eleven
puppies by the Borzoi, Korotai, from his wolfhound
bitch Banshee, but whether such a cross is desirable
is an open question, and the Irish wolfhound would,
I fancy, have found greater favour with the public
had the original Great Dane and deerhound blood
not been departed from.

Some of the Irish wolfhounds seen at modern
exhibitions are extremely fine animals, docile and
quiet as they recline on their benches, and by no
means quarrelsome, evidently quite contented with
their lot. Indeed, they possess an excellent reputa-
tion as companions, especially such as are not the
first cross between the two modern varieties already
alluded to.

Never having been the fortunate possessor of any
Irish wolfhounds, and being desirous of obtaining
the best information about them as companions,
I wrote to a friend who at times had kept two
or three of them, and who would gladly give me
his opinion. That friend says the Irish wolfhound is

The Irish Wolfhound. 201

very good with children, is the best domestic pet
of any big dog, and none more useful in a quiet
country place. He never had a case of anyone
being bitten by his Irish dogs, though, from their
size and appearance, they are a great deterrent
to bad characters and the tramping fraternity
generally. Some of the strains that contain the Great
Dane first cross are not quite of the same disposi-
tion as the others, being not nearly so dignified
in their demeanour, and inclined to steal whenever an
opportunity is afforded them so to do. They are
exuberantly affectionate, seldom at rest a moment,
but still not quarrelsome. The finer strains are
generally more lethargic, stately, and sedate; strong
in their attachments to an individual, and extremely
quiet and good-tempered with other dogs ; the
latter often approaching to softness. Still, when
roused and angry, they can give a good account of
themselves, and punish their enemy severely. In
no degree are they so quarrelsome as many of the
deerhounds of the present day.

This is not a bad character at all for a dog that
is to be made an every-day companion either in
town or country; and certainly, so far as I have
studied and noticed the variety, I must agree with
the excellent testimonial the Irish wolfhound receives
from one who has kept him for half a generation.

202 Modern Dogs.

This dog has been recommended as likely to be
useful with " big game," not elephants and hip-
popotami, but with wolves, hyenas, and such inferior
animals as are to be found in South Africa and
other great hunting countries. Whether they
would do so well as either the pure Dane or the
deerhound is an open question. They are not suffi-
ciently smart and active to cope successfully with
powerful beasts of prey, though perhaps, if brought
up to the work and at an early age trained to hunt,
they would be able to do as well as any other breed
of dog. But it is folly for a young fellow to obtain
a hound of any of these varieties — Great Dane,
deerhound, or Irish wolfhound — from some of the
show kennels, rush him over to the Cape, on into the
interior of Africa, and expect him to take as kindly
to hunt u the king of the forest" or the leopard
as he would to accepting a biscuit from the hand
of some fair mistress. An Irish wolfhound requires
to be properly entered to game just as carefully as
Ho the pointer, setter, and retriever ; and generations
passed in kennels or in the drawing-room have no
tendency to improve him as a destroyer of wild
animals when they come in his way.

A modern Irish wolfhound is in appearance just a
big and rather coarse deerhound, and, previous to
giving his description as drawn up by the Wolfhound

The Irish Wolfhound. 203

Club, the following statistics of the height and weight
of some of the best specimens will perhaps not be
without interest : — Captain Graham's Brian, figured
in " Dogs of the British Isles," stood 30^ inches at
the shoulder and weighed I281b. ; Dhulart was
31 inches at the shoulder and I261b. weight; Bam-
tree, 29! inches and i o i Ib. weight ; Mask, 30^ inches,
and io61b. weight ; Tara, 29 inches and about
roolb. ; Fintragh, 29! inches and iiolb. weight.
Colonel Gamier showed a particularly fine young
dog at the Kennel Club's Show at Islington in 1888,
which unfortunately died soon after the exhibition.
The hound, called Merlin, stood 33 inches at
the shoulders, and, though unfurnished, scaled
i5olb. He was fawn in colour, and undoubtedly
the finest specimen of the race I have seen or has
yet appeared at any of our shows.

It is rather unfortunate that so fine a dog has
not attracted popular fancy. Had it done so, there
would have been as much a run on the Irish wolf-
hound as there has been on other and perhaps less
deserving varieties. The club to look after its interests
is fairly successful, but there is a sad lack of enterprise
amongst the general public. Even the natives of
the Emerald Isle themselves have refused to answer
the call, and, as a rule, the prizes at Dublin for the
national breed of dogs are swept away by the Saxon

204 Modern Dogs.

invader. Their terrier they patronise, but neglect
the wolfhound and the Kerry beagle. Had it not
been for an Englishman, Captain Graham, this
canine relic of a mighty race might even now be
extinct. To prevent its becoming so, earnest
admirers of the dog, such as he with Colonel Gamier,
Mr. Hood Wright, Newton-le-Willows ; the Rev.
H. L. O'Brien, Limerick; Mr. Bailey, Mr. F. D.
George, Cheltenham ; Mr. G. E. Crisp, Mr. Playford,
Ipswich ; Mr. S. R. Heap, West Derby ; and some
few others, do their best, and usually possess some
few specimens of the article as genuine as it
can be obtained. Most of the bigger shows
provide classes for Irish wolfhounds, but the com-
petition therein is never strong, and the chief prizes
are usually taken by one or other of the gentlemen
to whom allusion has been made. A dog has either
to save a life or to take one, before he can ensure
any amount of popularity, and the Irish wolfhound
has not yet done either in his modern form.

The following is the description of the variety as
drawn up by the Club :

i. General appearance. — The Irish wolfhound
should not be quite so heavy or massive as the
Great Dane, but more so than the deerhound, which
in general type he should otherwise resemble. Of
great size and commanding appearance, very mus-

The Irish Wolfhound. 205

cular, strongly though gracefully built ; movements
easy and active ; head and neck carried high ; the
tail carried with an upward sweep with a slight curve
towards the extremity. The minimum height and
weight of dogs should be 31 in. and i2olb. ; of
bitches 28in. and 9olb. Anything below this should
be debarred from competition. Great size, including
height at shoulder and proportionate length of body,
is the desideratum to be aimed at, and it is desired
to firmly establish a race that shall average from
32in. to 34-in. in dogs, showing the requisite power,
activity, courage, and symmetry.

2. Head. — Long, the frontal bones of the forehead
very slightly raised, and very little indentation between
the eyes. Skull, not too broad. Muzzle, long and
moderately pointed. Ears, small and greyhound-like
in carriage.

3. Neck. — Rather long, very strong and muscular,
well arched, without dewlap or loose skin about the
throat.

4. Chest. — Very deep. Breast, wide.

5. Back. — Rather long than short. Loins,
arched.

6. Tail. — Long and slightly curved, of moderate
thickness, and well covered with hair.

7. Belly. — Well drawn up.

8. Fore-quarters. — Shoulders, muscular, giving

206 Modern Dogs.

breadth of chest, set sloping. Elbows, well under,
neither turned inwrards nor outwards. Leg. — Fore-
arm muscular, and the whole leg strong and quite
straight.

9. Hind-quarters. — Muscular thighs, and second
thigh long and strong as in the greyhound, and
hocks well let down and turning neither in nor out.

10. Feet. — Moderately large and round, neither
turned inwards nor outwards. Toes well arched and
closed. Nails, very strong and curved.

11. Hair. — Rough and hard on body, legs, and
head ; especially wiry and long over eyes and under
jaw.

1 2. Colour and mar kings. — The recognised colours
are grey, brindle, red, black, pure white, fawn, or any
colour that appears in the deerhound.

13. Faults. — Too light or heavy a head, too highly
arched frontal bone; large ears and hanging flat to
the face; short neck; full dewlap; too narrow or too
broad a chest; sunken or hollow or quite straight
back; bent fore-legs; overbent fetlocks; twisted
feet; spreading toes; too curly a tail; weak hind-
quarters and a general want of muscle; too short in
body.

CHAPTER XII.
THE BORZOI OR RUSSIAN WOLFHOUND.

THERE is no dog of modern times that has so
rapidly attained a certain degree of popularity as
that which is named at the head of this chapter.
Three years ago it was comparatively unknown in
England ; now all well-regulated and comprehensive
dog shows give a class or classes for him, which are
usually well filled, and cause quite as much interest
as those of our own varieties. Indeed, the Borzoi is
a noble hound, powerful and muscular in appearance>
still possessing a pleasant and sweet expression, that
tells how kindly his nature is. He is one of the
aristocratic varieties of the canine race, and the
British public is to be congratulated on its discern-
ment in annexing him from the Russian kennels,
where, too, his reputation is of the highest.

In the early days of our dog shows Borzois,,
then known as Siberian and Russian wolfhounds,
and by other names, too, occasionally appeared on
the benches. Most of them were exactly similar in

208 Modern Dogs.

type to those we see now, and no doubt have a
common origin with the ordinary Eastern or Cir-
cassian greyhound, occasionally met with in this
country. But the latter were usually smaller and less
powerful than their Russian relative. According to
the " Kennel Club Stud Book" a class for " Russian
deerhounds " was provided at the National dog show
held at the Crystal Palace in 1871. This was not
the case, but a foreign variety class was composed
almost entirely of Russian hounds, and one of them,
Mr. S. G. Holland's Tom won the first prize. Lady
Emily Peel and Mr. Macdona were exhibitors at the
same show.

It will be more than twenty-five years since the
Czar of Russia presented the Prince of Wales with
a couple of his favourite hounds, Molodetz and
Owdalzka. These his Royal Highness exhibited
on more than one occasion, and bred from them
likewise. Mr. Cumming Macdona had one of the
puppies, his Czar being a particularly handsome
specimen. Then Mr. Taprell Holland, in 1872,
showed an excellent hound in the variety class at
Birmingham, for which he obtained a prize. Even
before this, specimens of the Borzoi (then called
Siberian Wolfhounds) were met with on the
benches at Curzon Hall. In 1867, Mr. J. Wright,
of Derby, had one called Nijni; and three years

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 209

later the same exhibitor benched an excellent
example of the race in Cossack, a grandson of
Molodetz, already mentioned as having belonged
to the Prince of Wales, and being from the Imperial
kennels. Perhaps the earliest appearance of all on
the bench was in 1863, when the then Duchess
of Manchester showed a very big dog of the variety
at Islington, and bred by Prince William of Prussia.
I have the authority of Captain G. A. Graham for
stating that this hound was 31 inches at the
shoulders, quite equal in size, as he was in
power, to some of the best specimens now on our
shores.

Thus, after all, this fine race of dog is not quite
such a modern institution in our country as would
be imagined, though the earlier strains, I fancy,
must have been lost, possibly on account of the
inter-breeding consequent on an inability to obtain
a change of blood. Communication between the
eastern and western divisions of Europe is much
more rapid and easier of accomplishment than in the
early days of dog shows.

Advancing a few years, Lady Charles Kerr occa-
sionally sent some of these Russian hounds to the
exhibitions, but most of them were small and some-
what light and weedy — far from such powerful
animals as the best that are with us to-day, and

[VOL. I.] p

210 Modern Dogs.

even they in height do not reach that of the late
Duchess of Manchester, and already alluded to.
Of course, long before this, the dog, in all his
prime and power, was to be found in most kennels
of the Russian nobles. Some of them had strains
of their own, treasured in their families for years.
Such were mostly used for wolf-hunting, some-
times for the fox and deer, and bred with sufficient
strength and speed to cope with the wolf-
not, indeed, to worry him and kill him, but, as
a rule, to seize and hold him until the hunters
came up.

In 1 884 a couple of Borzoi, which even then we only
knew as Russian wolfhounds, were performing on a
music-hall stage in London, in company with a leash
of Great Danes. The latter were, however, the
cleverer " canine artistes," though the former the
handsomer and more popular animals. I fancy
their disposition is too sedate to make them
eminent on the boards, something like that of
the St. Bernard or ordinary Highland deerhound,
neither of which we have yet seen attempting to
emulate the deeds of trained poodles and terriers
in turning somersaults and going backwards up a
ladder.

A correspondent, writing to the Field in 1887,
gives the following description of the Borzoi, and it

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 2 1 1

is so applicable to him at the present time as to be
worth reproducing here. He says this

Is one of the noblest of all dogs, and in Russia he is con-
sidered the very noblest, and valued accordingly. Like all things
noble that are genuine, he is rare ; and, like many other highly-
bred creatures, the genuine Borzoi is, from in-breeding, becoming
rarer every year. By crossing, however, with the deerhound and
other suitable breeds, the race will no doubt be kept alive with
stained lineage.

From the earliest times, the great families of Russia have
bred the Borzoi jealously against each other for the purpose
of wolfhunting, but there are now few really good kennels of the
breed. There are, I believe, various kinds of Borzois — the
smooth, the short-tailed, &c. — but by far the handsomest, and
the only one of which I have personal knowledge, is the rough-
haired, long-tailed strain. Of these I have seen but very few
good specimens in England, and in fact have seen prizes given at
shows to very inferior specimens entered in the foreign class
under this name. The true Borzoi is shaped like a Scotch deer-
hound, but is a much more powerful dog. In height he should
be from 26in. to 32in., with limbs showing great strength, com-
bined with terrific speed power. Indeed, their speed is greater
than that of an English greyhound. This quality is clearly shown
by the long drooping quarters, hocks well let down close to the
ground, and arched loins of such power and breadth as to give
the dog almost a hunched appearance. The coat is silky, with a
splendid frill round the neck, well-feathered legs, and a tail
beautifully fringed on the under side. The carriage of the tail is
peculiar, as it is almost tucked between the hind legs, so straight
down does it hang until at the end it curls slightly outwards with a
graceful sweep ; but this, like the bang tail of the thoroughbred
racehorse, adds to the beauty of the quarters. The depth of these
dogs through the heart is quite extraordinary, giving them, with
their enormous strength of loin, a very powerful appearance, and

P 2

212 Modern Dogs.

it seems strange that they do not possess more staying powers
than they are generally accredited with. The head is very
beautiful, being nearly smooth, and with immense length and
strength of jaws, armed with teeth which make one feel glad
to meet the Borzoi as a friend. The eyes are bright and wild, and
have the peculiarity of varying in colour with the colour of the
dog. Thus, a white dog marked, with lemon eyes ; a mouse-
coloured, eyes of the same tinge, and so on.

The favourite colour of all, and by far the rarest for these dogs,
is pure white, but this is seldom met with. The usual colour
is white, marked with fawn, lemon, red, or grey more or less
mixed. Perhaps the prettiest features of all in the Borzoi are its
ears, which are very small, fringed with delicate silky hair, and
should be pricked with a half fall-over like a good colley's. In
his movements he much resembles a wild animal, and has quite
the slouching walk and long sling trot which is a characteristic of
his born enemy, the wolf. Yet to see a Borzoi trot out with his
long swinging action, and then just break into a canter, has
always reminded me of a two-year-old cantering down to the post.
The muscles on the quarters, thighs, and arms should be well
developed, as these dogs are intended, and in fact used, to course
the wild wolf. Strong must be the muscles, long the teeth,
and indomitable the pluck of the Borzoi, who has to encounter
single-handed the wild wolf in his own haunts. No doubt the
Borzoi, on such occasions, remembers the well-known fact that the
favourite meat of the wolf is dog, and acts accordingly. It is
usual, however, to employ two Borzois to course a wolf, and it is
only the best specimens that can be trusted to account for one
single-handed.

Perhaps, before going more fully into the Borzoi
as a British dog, the following extract from an article
by Mr. F. Lowe, who two years ago spent some
time in Russia, will give an idea of the extent of

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 213

the kennels of the Borzoi hounds, and the value
placed upon them in their native country. He says :

In the south of Russia, from which I have just returned, I had
the good fortune to be the guest of a keen and well-known
sportsman Mr. Kalmoutzky, who, since coming into the inheritance
of a magnificent property of something like twenty square miles,
has built kennels which I should say are not surpassed in any
country — being very large in size, and as near to perfection in
detail as can well be imagined. The lodging houses, numbering
three, are benched on two sides, and at each end there is a room
for a man ; three kennelmen being allowed for each kennel, two
of them on duty night and day. This gives nine kennelmen to
the kennels and, with five other officials, the number of men
employed on it are fourteen. It is necessary to have men in
attendance at all times, as the wolfhounds are very quarrelsome,
and terrible fighters. Each kennel has a large yard of more than
three quarters of an acre. In addition to the above there are
commodious kennels for puppies (and these buildings are
heated with hot air), cooking houses, and a hospital. There is
telephone communication from all the kennels to Mr. Kalmoutzky's
house, and he expects everything to be in readiness for a hunt in
ten minutes from the time he sends his orders.

In the kennels above described can be seen perhaps the finest
pack of wolfhounds in the world, numbering twenty-two couples.
They form a magnificent collection, their owner having spared no
expense in getting the best to be found in Russia, and of the oldest
blood. Some of them have cost ^"300 each; and the estimated
worth of the pack is considerably over ^5000.

A perfect wolfhound must run up to a wolf, collar him by the
neck just under the ear, and, with the two animals rolling over,
the hound must never lose his hold, or the wolf would turn round
and snap him through the leg. Three of these hounds hold the
biggest wolf powerless ; so that the men can dismount from their
horses and muzzle the wolf to take him alive.

214 Modern Dogs.

The biggest Scotch deerhounds have been tried, but found
wanting; they will not hold long enough. And to show how
tenacious is the grip of the Russian hounds, they are sometimes
suffocated by the very effort of holding. Some of them stand
32111. at the shoulder, are enormously deep through the girth, and
their length and power of jaw are something remarkable. They
have a roach back, very long, muscular quarters, and capital legs
and feet. In coat they are very profuse, of a soft, silky texture,
but somewhat open.

I took the journey to Russia with eleven couples of foxhounds,
as additions for Mr. Kalmoutzky's pack. I had cases made to
hold two hounds, so that I had eleven of these big packages, which
went as my personal luggage, the weight being a ton and a quarter.
It took me exactly seven days to get to my destination, from
Dover via Paris, Vienna, and Jassy ; and I was met in right regal
state, as there was a carriage and four for myself, another for
Mr. Kalmoutzky's steward, and five waggons, each drawn by four
horses, for the hounds, with seven chasseurs to take charge of
them.

We had nearly forty miles to drive ; and the hardy little Russian
horses did this at a hard gallop, over plains, with no roads, and
there were no changes. We were just under four hours doing this
wild journey ; and my good friend and host, who did not expect
me to arrive so early, had gone out on a wolf-seeking expedition ;
but on his return, the first thing, after a most hearty welcome, was
to inspect the kennel, with which I was, of course, greatly de-
lighted. He would not show me the wolfhounds at this moment,
as that inspection was reserved until after dinner, when they were
all brought into his study, one by one, and their exploits separately
recorded. Noble looking fellows they are ; and by their immense
size and powerful frames, in much the same formation as our
English greyhound, they are admirably adapted to course big
game. They look quiet, but the least movement excites them ; and in
leading them even through the hall, from the study, there was very
nearly a battle royal or two. The Russian chasseurs, though, beat

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 215

any men I have ever seen in handling a hound ; and their influence,
apparently all by kindness, is extraordinary. I noticed that even
the puppies at play made for the same spot in trying to pull each
other down — namely, by the side of the neck under the ear ; and
this mode of attack seems instinctively born in them. - The wolf's
running is perfectly straight, and if he attacks it is straight ahead ;
he will only turn if caught in a manner to do so ; and a dog laying
hold of him over the back or hind quarters would be terribly
punished. The clever wolfhound never gets hurt, no matter
whether he or the wolf attacks first; and some singular trials of
this sort have taken place.

Recently a very big wolf, that had been captured with much
difficulty, was matched against any two hounds in Russia. The
challenge was accepted, and the wolf placed in a huge box in an
open space. The moment the trap was pulled the wolf stood and
faced the spectators ; on the hounds being slipped on him he
attacked them; but they avoided his rush, and pinned him so
cleverly that the wolf was muzzled and carried off without the
least difficulty ; whereupon an enormous price was paid for one of
the hounds.

The Russian style of hunting would not meet all our English
views of sport ; but there is doubtless a deal of excitement about
it. Mr. Kalmoutzky's domain is entirely on a plain, with scarcely
any woodlands at all. It is all like a big sea of grass, the going
being as good as on Newmarket Heath, with here and there
the land turned up in cultivation, but looking much like patches in
the vast expanse ; so also did the reed beds of 300 or 400
acres each, and these are the coverts for the wolves and foxes.
These reed beds are mostly eight or nine miles apart, so English
foxhunters could see what a gallop could be had here ; better than
Dartmoor or Exmoor, as the turf is perfect, no rough ground, and
the hills little more than undulations.

Special hunts would have been arranged on my behalf, but,
alas ! like our own frozen-out sportsmen, I had to be disappointed,
as frost and snow interfered. However, one morning I was given

216 Modern Dogs.

an insight into wolf coursing, by one that had been previously
captured being let loose on the snow. First a very noted hound
was slipped, to show how one could perform single-handed. The
start given to the wolf was about 200 yards, and in about 600
yards the hound had got up, and in the next instant had taken
hold by the neck, and both seemed to turn head over heels
in a mass. The next course two hounds were slipped, and these
ran up to the wolf one on each side, catching him almost at the
same moment ; the foe was then powerless, and seemed to be as
easily muzzled as a collie dog.

I remarked to my host that I did not think the hounds seemed
to go quite as fast as our greyhounds, and he replied, " No, they
do not. We have tried them, and the greyhound is the faster;
but none of your breeds have the hold of our hounds."

The plan of a regular hunt was fully described to me. It is
decided to draw a reed bed, and very quietly a mounted chasseur
with three wolfhounds is stationed on some vantage ground near.
Other points are guarded in the same manner, and then the head
huntsman rides into the covert with a pack of foxhounds. The
oldest wolves will break covert at almost the first cheer given to
hounds ; but the younger ones want a lot of rattling. However,
the keen eyes of the men and hounds soon detect wolves stealing
away ; the three hounds are then slipped, a gallop begins, and
generally, in the course of a mile or less, the wolf is bowled over.
The chasseur then dismounts, cleverly gets astride the wolf,
and collars him by the ears, the hounds still holding on like grim
death. Another chasseur rides up, slips a muzzle on the wolf,
which is then hauled on to one of the horses, tightly strapped to
the Mexican sort of saddle, and taken off to a waggon in waiting
near. Foxes are similarly coursed and killed with foxhounds, the
latter being stopped at the edge of the covert.

Following Mr. Lowe's article, some correspondence
ensued, and Colonel Wellesley forwarded an interest-
ing communication he had received from Prince

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 217

Obolensky on the subject. His Royal Highness,
who has a famous strain of Borzoi of his own,
and may be taken as a leading authority on the
breed, says :

The dogs that have been catalogued at various shows in England
for the last three years are pure Borzois, and have come originally
from the best kennels in Russia. For instance, Krilutt, Pagooba,
Sobol, Zloeem, and others were not ordinary working hounds, but
dogs that were admired in their native country, both on the show
bench and in the field. Pdgooba, for example, who is of excep-
tional size for a bitch, has several times pinned wolves single-
handed.

The English traveller mentions the size — viz., 32in. — of the
dogs he saw as tremendous. There are exceptional cases where
the Borzoi has stood very near that height. At the dog show in
Moscow this year a dog called Pilai measured 31 Jin., or 80
centimetres; but the average height is from 28in. to 2^'m. It
often proves to be the case, however, that, for working purposes,
the smaller dog shows itself to excel in speed, pluck, and tenacity.

For wolf hunting I personally prefer the English greyhound,
acclimatised here (i.e., born in Russia from English parents); but
I am also a great admirer of the Russian rough-coated Borzoi. I
may claim to know something about the latter, because for many
years I have bred and hunted them, and my dogs are the lineal
descendants of those bred by my grandfather, General Bibikoff,
who was himself renowned for his sporting proclivities, and for the
excellence of his breed of dogs. So valued is that strain now,
that it can be found in most of the best kennels in Russia.

In addition to sport with Borzois obtained in the
above manner, occasional meetings are held where
hares are coursed ; and "bagged " or rather "caged"

218 Modern Dogs.

wolves treated in a similar manner. Judging,
however, from what I have been told of such gather-
ings, the sport is by no means desirable or of a high
class, so need not be further alluded to here.

It is but natural that with the popularisation of a
new variety of dog, some discussion should take place
thereon. In the present instance, an attempt was
made upon the name of the hound, but as the word
Borzoi had obtained general acceptance, was easy
to pronounce, and not too long to puzzle even a
child, the " raid " failed. It is now adopted by the
Kennel Club, by the chief Russian authorities, and no
doubt that hound once known as the Russian wolf-
hound will now remain the Borzoi to the end of his
days. On this matter, Prince Obolensky says :
" I am glad to see English sporting papers adopting
the Russian name for this breed, for the word itself
(Borzoi mas., Borzaizfem .) means ' swift and hot-
tempered;' and though poets sometimes apply the
expression to a high-spirited steed, it is, with this
exception, always applied to greyhounds only; for
this reason the English greyhound is called, in
Russia, ' Angliskaia Borzaia,' or English Borzoi."

Some little time before the above was published,
Lieutenant G. Tamooski, writing from Merv, proposed
the term " Psovi," which means literally " thick
coated," as a fit name for the dog as it is known in

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 219

this country, because he says " Borzoi " means any
coursing hound whatever.

The Duchess of Newcastle, Colonel and the Hon.
Mrs. Wellesley, the Duke and Duchess of Welling-
ton, Mrs. Morrison, of near Salisbury ; Lady Innes
Kerr, and Mr. A. H. Blees have of late given
particular attention to the Borzoi, and they, with
Mr. K. Muir, an English resident in Moscow,
who brought over with him, during a recent visit, a
couple of excellent hounds, have had specimens
perhaps as good as can be found in any Russian
kennel. Their best specimens are much stronger, and
more powerful than most of those seen at our earlier
shows. Mrs. Wellesley's Krilutt is measured to be
3oin. at the shoulders, and pretty nearly loolb.
in weight, and Mr. Muir's Korotai is half an inch
taller, and about i lolb. in weight. Both are
Russian born, and have proved their ability to
win prizes at St. Petersburg and Moscow, as well
as in our own country. Like the rest of their race,
they are " thick coated dogs " —the smoother ones
are not liked in this country — not so hard in their
hair as the English deerhound, but the jacket is
closer, and, if not so straight, is perhaps the more
weather-resisting of the two. As the Russians
themselves say that the two kinds of coat, thick and
comparatively smooth, appear in puppies of the same

220 Modern Dogs.

litter, there is no other conclusion to arrive at, that
they are one and the same variety. At any rate,
they are allowed to be so in this the land of
their adoption.

Considerable interest was taken in the extra-
ordinary collection of this hound that appeared at the
Agricultural Hall, Islington, in February, 1892.
Here, many classes had been provided, the result
being an entry of about fifty. These included a splendid
team from the " Imperial Kennels," most of which
belonged to the Grand Duke Nicholas. However,
three were actually the property of the Czar, including
a beautiful bitch called Lasca, and a couple of dogs,
Oudar and Blitsay. Oudar was a particularly fine
hound, and though in bad condition, consequent on
his long journey from St. Petersburg, he stood well
with the best of our previously imported dogs, and in
the end gained second honours in perhaps as good
an open class as was ever seen anywhere. He stood
3o^in. at the shoulders, and scaled about ic»5lb.

Most of these Russian dogs were sold, some of
them for high prices, Oudar realising ^200, and the
bitch already named as much. The Lord Mayor of
London was presented with a handsome specimen,
and most of these Imperial dogs were sold. Their
caretaker had instructions to sell the lot, but none
for less than £20 apiece. The strains in this

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 22

country must be improved by these importations,
and any fears as to degeneracy from inter-breeding
may be set at rest. Another big dog of the race is
Colonel Wellesley's Damon, 3ofin. at the shoulders,
and about i lolb. in weight, but when we saw him he
did not quite equal in symmetry and general exceU
lence such dogs as Krilutt, Oudar, Korotai, and may
be another dog, imported by Mr. Summerson, of
Darlington, called Koat, afterward H'Vat.

To dwell a little more upon the very best speci-
mens seen in England during the past year or so—
Krilutt and Korotai, with Oudar and Ooslad, cer-
tainly bear the palm. The latter, a fawn hound, is
rather smaller than the others, but on one occasion,
at least, he has beaten Korotai, a decision with
which I do not agree ; for if Ooslad is a little finer
in the head, his opponent beats him in coat, colour,
power, size, and in all other particulars. Korotai
is a white dog with slight blue markings. It is said
that when in Russia he has run down and over-
powered a wolf. His strain is of the best and most
valued, and I certainly liked him the best of any of
his race I had seen until Oudar came on to the
scene. However, at the show already alluded to,
the latter was not in good condition, and suffered
defeat ; Korotai winning chief honours in an extra-
ordinary fine lot of dogs. Krilutt had been in the

222 Modern Dogs.

challenge class, and Oudar was first in a division for
novices, and noAV he will be well cared for in the
kennels of The Duchess of Newcastle at Clumber.
He went into her Grace's possession for, I believe,
^"200, and is a portion of one of the finest collections
of the Russian wolfhound ever brought together in
this country. At the time of writing there are over
fifty specimens of the variety kennelled at Clumber
—including several especially fine dogs and bitches.
Mr. Summerson's dog Koat, now known as Mr.
W. E. Allcock's H'Vat, is another good specimen.
Argos (Mr. O. H. Blees's), a black and tan in
colour, is also a very nice hound, excepting so
far as the colour goes, which is not good. The
owner of the last named Borzoi, who is a Russian,
has repeatedly been an exhibitor in this country, and
at the Kennel Club's show, in 1891, he took first,
second, and third prizes in dogs, but was not so
successful in bitches, where Mr. F. Lowe won, with
a powerful and excellent specimen he had brought
with him from Russia, and called Roussalka. She
would, no doubt, have been useful here, but, un-
fortunately, died soon after the show. Colonel
Wellesley's bitch, Pagooba, and Mr. K. Muir's dog,
Pwlai, are both hounds of a very high class, the
latter darker in colour, and built " on less gallopping
lines " than his kennel companion, Korotai.

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 223

Of these very excellent specimens, Colonel
Wellesley must have the honour of being first in
the field with Krilutt, who made an early appearance
—and a most successful one it was — at the Kennel
Club show, when held at the Alexandra Palace in
1889 — the year of the bloodhound trials. Krilutt
had come with a great reputation as the winner
of a silver medal at Moscow, and quite bore out
all the good words that had been said of him.
Exquisite in coat and colour — the latter white with
light markings of pale fawn — he stood taller than
any other dog in his class, and up to this period and
for some time after was certainly the best Borzoi I
had seen. Since, two or three have appeared that
are, I believe, quite his equals. Whether it is worth
while mentioning a dog named Zloeem, which, a
year later, had been purchased in Russia by an
American gentleman, Mr. Paul Hacke, is an open
question. However, it was said that Zloeem could
lower the colours of Krilutt and all other opponents,
and at Brighton and the Crystal Palace was pro-
duced for the purpose of doing so. How com-
pletely he failed is now a matter of history — a
second-rate dog only when at his very best.

Mr. Freeman Lloyd has had a good dog or two,
smaller perhaps than the cracks ; but his Whirlwind
will always be a typical specimen, and if not quite so

224 Modern Dogs.

tall as Zloeem, a better animal all round ; as is
another hound, Molodyets, which was purchased
for comparatively little money a couple of years ago
by the Rev. G. C. Dicker.

It might be well to mention that considerable
risk is run by the loss of these dogs immediately
after their arrival in this country. To my personal
knowledge, three or four deaths have so taken
place. No doubt the changes of food, in their
manner of living, and in other surroundings,
bring on a complication of disorders not unlike
ordinary distemper. That handsome bitch, Rous-
salka, brought over by Mr. F. Lowe, died soon after
it left his kennels — it cost its new owner ^100;
and Mr. Muir's Korotai had a narrow escape,
lying at death's door for several days. Being a
dog of strong, hardy constitution, and well nursed,
he contrived to pull through.

The usual colours of the Borzoi are white with
markings of fawn in varying shades, of blue or
slate, sometimes of black and tan. The latter is
not considered good, nor are the whole colours
which are occasionally seen — fawn and black and
tan. Some of the white dogs are occasionally
patched with pale brindle, which, however, is
not so well defined in its bars or shades as that
colour is found on our greyhounds and bull

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 225

dogs. Many persons object to the brindle or
tiger-coloured marks, and Colonel Tchebeshoff, one
of the great authorities on the breed, disqualifies
black, and black and tan, and white with black
spots, as indicating descent from English or
Oriental greyhounds. Still, against this opinion
there is a famous picture, in the possession of
the Czar, of four Borzois chasing a wolf. At least
one of these animals gives the appearance of
being black and tan, with an almost white face,
very broad white collar and chest, white stern and
hindquarters.

The size of the Borzoi and his coat will have
been surmised from what has already been written.
His general appearance will be seen from the
illustration. As a companionable dog he is highly
spoken of, but, like all other dogs, he must be
brought up for the purpose for which he is
intended. In many of the Russian kennels he is
kept for hunting a savage animal (by a few only to
be used for fox and hare) and to do so successfully
must be savage himself. Those which have been
reared in this manner, and not had the benefit of
civilising home influences, are not to be trusted any
more than would one of our own foxhounds. But,
as I have said, properly brought up and educated,
he will be found as companionable as the best—

[VOL. I.] Q '

226 Modern Dogs.

no fonder of fighting than the deerhound, faithful
as the collie, and as handsome and picturesque
as either. His naturalisation with us is accom-
plished, and I can see no reason whatever why
he is any more likely to be eliminated from " Modern
Dogs " than the St. Bernard. He will be used here
as a purely fancy variety; there are no wolves for
him to kill, hares and rabbits are out of his line, and
deer must be left for the big foxhound and the High-
land deerhound to tackle.

I have written of the Borzoi as we know him
here, and as he will in the future be known, taking
no account of the various strains said to be in the
Czar's dominions.

During 1892 a specialist club was formed to look
after the interests of the Borzoi in this country, but
up to the time of writing this, no description of its
favourite dog has been issued by the members. In
the absence of such a compilation I think it best
to give the description drawn up in 1889 by the
" Russian Imperial Society for the encouragement
of Sport," and which was first published in the
Stock Keeper. This is as follows :

" Head. — Generally lean throughout, with flat
narrow skull, leading over a hardly perceptible stop
to a long snout. The head, from forehead to end of
nose, should be so fine and lean that the shape and

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 227

direction of the bones and principal veins can be
easily seen.

" Nose.— Black.

" Eyes. — Dark, expressive, oblong, almond shaped.

11 Ears. — Small, not quite round at the tips, not
leathery, set on high, and with the tips when thrown
back almost touching behind the occiput.

" Neck. — Not swan-like, though not short nor
rising straight up from the withers.

" Shoulders. — Clean.

" Chest. — Somewhat narrow, but not hollow.

" Back. — Rather bony, and free from any cavity
in the spinal chord (as, for example, is often seen
in English Greyhounds), with a well marked arch
in the male, but level and broad in the female.

" Loins. — Broad and drooping.

" Ribs. — On no account round like a barrel, but
flat like a fish, deep, reaching to the elbow, and
even lower.

11 Groin. — In the male short, in the female
roomy.

''Forelegs. — Lean and straight. Seen from the
front they should be narrow, and from the side broad
at the shoulder and narrowing gradually down to the
foot.

u Hind Legs. — Should be the least thing under
the body when standing still, not straight, and

Q 2

228 Modern Dogs.

the stifle only slightly bent, and the hind legs
not too far apart from one another. Free from
dew claws.

" Muscles. — Those of the hindquarters, shoulders,
and chest should be long and not convex.

" Pasterns. — Short.

" Feet. — Long toes, closely joined together, short
and strong nails, and the animal should stand more
on the nails than on the heel.

" Coat. — Soft, long, silky, and wavy, and in places
somewhat curly. The feet should be covered with
fur like a hare.

" Tail. — Long and sickle-shaped.

" The male should in general be shorter in body
than the female. It should be possible to place
the male in a square, so that the withers, toes
of forefeet, and heels of hind legs should be placed
within the limits of the four lines forming it."

In Russia, although judging dogs by points is
in vogue, the procedure connected therewith is
arranged on different lines to that followed in this
country. For instance, forty-five is taken as the
complement indicating perfection, and each point of
the dog is given five, no particular one having a
greater number allowed than another. However, to
modify this the various points are placed in order of
precedence, according to the Russian standard, they

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 229

being as follows : Hind legs, forelegs, ribs, back,
general symmetry, muzzle, eyes, ears, tail.

As previously stated, the above is given as the
standard of the Borzoi, adopted by the leading
authorities in its native country. Here we should
note the head particularly, and no one will deny that
the correct formation and expression of the head and
face of a dog ought to be of greater value than the
carriage and size of its ears ; nor can we see why
the shape of the back of the dog should differ from
that of the bitch. Again, we in this country will
never agree to allow flat ribs like " those of a fish."
There is no reason why the ribs should not be as
round and well sprung as are those of a greyhound.
xVothing is said about the colour of the Borzoi.
This ought to be white, with blue, grey, or fawn
markings of different shades, the latter sometimes
deep orange coloured, approaching red. Pale
brindled marks on the white ground are often found,
and are not objectionable, and fawn dogs with
or without black muzzles are not unusual. Whole
colours are unsatisfactory. Some leading authorities
would disqualify black and tan and black hounds,
and severely handicap others marked with these
colours on the white ground. Certainly the lighter
marked animals are the handsomest and the most
admired in this country, though, as stated earlier on,

230 Modern Dogs.

one or two heavily coloured dogs of great merit
have been shown in this country.

According to our English notion of awarding
points I should make those of the Borzoi as follows :

Value.

Head and muzzle 15

Eyes and ears 10

Neck and chest 10

Back and loins 15

Ribs 5

55

Value.

Thighs and hocks 10

Legs and feet 10

Stern 5

Coat 5

General symmetry 15

45

Grand Total 100.

The height for a dog should be from 28 inches to
3 1 inches at the shoulder ; a bitch about two inches
smaller. Weight, a dog, from 75lb. to loolb. ; a
bitch, from 6olb. to 75lb.

I do not know that measurements are, as a rule,
any great guide in determining excellence, still the
following figures relating to the Hon. Mrs. Wellesley's
well known Krilutt, and published in the Dog Owner's
Annual for 1892, will give some idea as to what
a perfect Borzoi ought to be when analysed
statistically in inches : " Length of head, 1 1^ inches;
from occiput to between shoulders, 11^; between
shoulders to between hips, 23 ; between hips to set
on of tail, 6| ; length of tail, 21 inches ; total length,
73^ inches. Height at shoulders, 30^ inches ; girth

The Borzoi or Russian Wolfhound. 231

of chest, 33 ; of narrowest part of " tuck-up," 22 ;
girth above stifle bend, 13 ; round stifle, n-|; round
hock joint, 6\ ; below that joint, \\ ; round elbow
joint, 8J; above that joint, 8f ; girth, midway
between elbow and pastern, 6\\ round neck, 17;
girth of head round occiput, 16^; girth between
occiput and eyes, 16^ ; girth round the eyes, i3f ;
and girth of the muzzle between eyes and nose,
9 inches. Weight about 981b.

As to the above, Captain Graham tells me he
measured Krilutt carefully on more than one occa-
sion, but could not make him more than 29! inches
at the shoulders, and I have made his full height
bare 30 inches.

It may be said that I have not entered with
sufficient fulness into the history of the Borzoi, as he
is known in Russia, and given the names of the
various strains some writers claim there are in his
native country. We are, however, contented with
the animal as we have him here, and to tell his
admirers that there is a strain of the hound, known
as the Tchistopsovoy Borzoi, another as the Psovoy
Borzoi, that the Courland Borzoi is extinct, and
other such matter, would be a little too confusing.
And really so much has appeared about this dog since
his popularisation in this country that is of doubtful
truth, care ought to be taken in what is reproduced.

232 Modern Dogs.

One recent writer tells us that, even so far back
as 1800, certain Borzoi of the Courland strain were
sold for from 7000 to 10,000 roubles a piece, which,
in our money, cannot be computed at less than from
iooo/. to 15007. a head ! No wonder that so valu-
able a hound has become extinct (on the principle
that the best always die), and it is interesting to learn
that, at a time when we in England were giving 5o/.
each or little more for our verv best hounds, more
than twenty times that sum was being paid in
Russia for similar quadrupeds.

Still the Borzoi always did flourish in the
dominions of the Czar, and at the present time the
Imperial kennels at St. Petersburg contain sixty-two
full-grown Borzois and an entry of forty-five puppies.
There are fourteen men kept to look after and to
train them to their proper work, and the nature of
this I have already stated. Whatever may be urged
to the contrary, it must further be said that, in pace
and general excellence for hare coursing purposes,
this Russian hound is far behind our own good
greyhound.

I

CHAPTER XIII.
THE POINTER.

ALTHOUGH the Pointer is of comparatively recent
introduction into this country — comparatively along-
side his fellow worker the setter — no animal is
more popular with the shooter. Originally said
to come from Spain, a country to which we are
indebted for other dogs, Sydenham Edwards, writing
in 1805, says it was first introduced by a merchant
trading with Portugal, at a very modern period, and
was then used by an old <l reduced baron," named
Bechill, who lived in Norfolk, and " who could shoot
flying." The same writer eulogises this Spanish
pointer, and so good a dog was he, and required so
little training that there was quite a chance of his
putting the nose of the " setting spaniel " out
of joint altogether. " Shooting flying " came into
vogue about the year 1 730 ; and this may be taken
to be about the date of the introduction of the
pointer into England.

Probably, France had pointers before this time.

234 Modern Dogs.

One of our modern writers falls into a curious error
with regard to a picture by Francis Desportes. The
artist depicts two dogs, which the author says are
examples of the " early foxhound and pointer cross
in France," of the date about 1701. As a fact, the
picture is a portrait of two favourite hounds from the
pack of Louis XV., Pompee and Floressant, and was-
painted in 1 739. There is no mistaking the hound
character of these dogs, and they display no trace,
so far as I can make out, of any pointer appearance
whatever. The pheasant and two other birds in the
background are merely accessories to the picture,
and are not put there to indicate that the dogs
below them are of a game finding variety. Howeverr
there is extant another drawing by the same artist,
of a pointer and two setters, with partridges in front
of them, the smooth-coated dog being quite of
modern type, but with his stern shortened.

By the means of that fine old picture, " The
Spanish Pointer," by Stubbs, and which was engraved
by Woollett in 1 768, we know what kind of a dog
it was : liver and white in colour, heavily and
massively made, big of head, double nosed, strong
loined, shortened stern ; a cumbrous dog, steady
enough, no doubt, but as unlike our modern pointer
as a Suffolk punch is unlike a thoroughbred race-
horse. To one of the London dog shows, I think it

The Pointer. 235

was in 1891, Mr. Walter Gilbey, of Norfolk, sent up
a brace of Spanish pointers. These were short,
thick set, small dogs, fawn, rather than lemon
and white in colour, doubled nosed, with short
stumpy heads — very ugly animals indeed, and, how-
ever staunch and steady they might be on game,
they would certainly be sadly deficient in pace,
and of no use in competition against the high rangers
we at present own. Nor could these Spanish pointers
of Mr. Gilbey's compare with the one Stubbs
had, over a hundred years before, given us upon
canvas. As a fact, they were short and thick enough
in head, and sufficiently heavy in under-jaw, to
give indications of a bulldog cross. Still, they
were pure bred animals so far as they went.

Good as the old Spanish pointer had been, our
English sportsmen required something better. The
old strain tired much, and became slow at the
end of a day's heavy work ; and indeed, it lacked
perseverance generally. So, it was said, a cross
was resorted to. History tells us this was found
with the foxhound, and that the celebrated Colonel
Thornton, of Yorkshire, was the first man to
bring the improved dog prominently to the notice
of the public. This might be so or not, we fancy
not ; for, about the same period, pointers, far removed
from the imported Spanish dog in appearance, were

236 Modern Dogs.

not at all uncommon in England, and they could easily
have been brought over from France. In any case,
if the gallant Colonel was not actually the maker of
the modern English pointer, he had the credit of
being so, and, sportsman as he was, contrived
to get big prices for some of his dogs, and
obtain a reputation for them as being the best in
England.

It was said that two bred by him, Pluto and Juno,
remained on point during the whole of the time
Sidney Gilpin, the animal painter, was taking a
sketch for their portraits, and this occupied about
an hour and a quarter. This was not, however, a
sufficiently extraordinary feat for his dogs, one of
which, the gallant Colonel stated, had stood on point
for five hours at a stretch, and was even then loth to
move in and spring the game ! Such a story as the
latter does not require much further exaggeration to
suggest others, like that dog frozen to death whilst
on point ; or its cousin, where a sportsman lost his
dog (it was not on an Irish mountain), and on
going over the same ground twelve months later
found the skeleton of his old favourite still standing
with one foot raised and on point, whilst six
yards away lay the bones of two brace and a half
of partridges, the feathers of the birds having
long before been blown to the four winds of the

The Pointer. 237

heavens. Surely, then, there are grounds for the
truth of the north country expression, " Shutters is
leears," although this may be qualified by the usual
addendum " but fishers, by gum ! "

The jovial colonel is said to have had an Eclipse
of pointers in his dog called Dash, which was the
produce of a foxhound and a Spanish pointer.
Dash could beat all other dogs, he never omitted to
find birds in front of him, and his extraordinary
intuition enabled him to do this without quartering
his ground as other dogs did. Moreover, Dash was
as steady and staunch behind in backing other dogs
as needs be. We are not told how so extraordinary
an animal could so far be outstripped by some sorry
quarterer of his ground as to be in so backward
a position as to have to back. The fact of the
matter is, that these extraordinarily fast dogs are
never good backers because they have not the
opportunity of being made so ; and they can
scarcely be perfection as such naturally and with-
out some training. Dash sustained his reputation
to the end, for he was sold by his breeder to Sir
Richard Symons for champagne and burgundy to
the value of £160, a hogshead of claret, " an elegant
gun," and another dog. There was a proviso that
should accident befal this canine wonder he must be
returned to his former owner for fifty guineas. This

230 Modem Dogs.

was brought about by the unfortunate Dash breaking
one of his legs.

At the close of the past century, and about the
beginning of the present one, the pointers were pretty
similar in colour to what they are now — brown, or
liver and white, lemon and orange, and white ; some
heavily flecked or ticked with these colours on a
white ground, others black ; and no doubt there
would be pure browns or livers, as there are occa-
sionally now, though we do not read of them.
Sometimes we see pointers with white ticks or
flecks on a brown ground, and they, though odd,
are by no means unsightly. About ninety years
ago the Earl of Lauderdale had a strain of very
small pointers that would be little more than 3olb.
in weight ; they bore a reputation for excelling
in their work, but were generally considered too
diminutive to be so useful as the bigger dogs as
we have them now. They were, however, a novelty,
and were likely enough introduced from France,
where, about that time, a small and lightly made
pointer was quite common.

Earlier than this the Duke of Kingston owned a
celebrated strain of black pointers ; but they, not being
so easy to see when in work as a white dog or one
nearly white, the colour never became popular.
Still a superstition remains to this day, in some

The Pointer. 239

parts of the country, that the black pointers are the
best to kill game over, " because such have the
better noses and the more stamina, and birds lie
better to a black dog than to a white one." The
latter idea prevails in a somewhat similar way as
to wild animals — foxes, otters, &c. — bolting better
to a white terrier than to a coloured one ; but
whether there is anything in such a statement we
cannot give an opinion, though our experience is
by no means a small one in the matter of foxes and
otters.

Before entering on to the show period of the
pointer and the introduction of field trial competi-
tions, he was, no doubt, more used to the gun than
he has been since. Shooting surroundings have been
much changed during the past thirty or forty years.
Battues and artificial breeding of game have been
introduced on a large scale ; improved agricul-
ture and general cultivation have further altered
matters ; so have the close cropping of the land,
the use of machines for mowing and reaping, and
increased drainage. Under the old system the
stubbles remained as high as a pair of shooting
boots, the after grass required dogs to work it, rents
were lower, and the farmer could afford to have a
" rushy pasture " or two on his land, which, being
ill-drained, grew coarse " bent " grass, that afforded

240 Modern Dogs.

lovely shelter for the birds. I am writing of inland
shooting now, and not of the moors. One thing
with another and the old system is changed. On
some of the best partridge land in England, and so
in the world, birds are not usually killed over dogs ;
they are either walked up by the shooters moving
on in a row, or driven where the sportsmen take
their stands or their seats and wait until accumu-
lated coveys of partridges fly within gunshot.

Still, the old style is the best, and nothing prettier
in the way of sport is there than walking behind a
brace of well-trained pointers, either through turnips
or over rough land, and killing your birds as your
dogs find them, first one dog and then the other,
quartering right and left, crossing correctly, and
backing as occasion requires. To kill driven birds
may require a smart shot, to kill them when walking
in a line may require nerve and steadiness ; but to
kill them over dogs, you acquire some knowledge of
the habits of the game you are after, and, moreover,
are proud in the possession of a brace of animals
which, without prejudice, you may believe to be the
best in the universe.

All things in this world pretty much find their
level ; may be, had such not been the case, the race
of the pointer would have died out when he came to
be so little used, through what some are pleased to

The Pointer. 241

call " modern improvements in the way of sport."
But the introduction of dog shows gave him a fillip, and
the establishment of field trials raised his social status
higher than ever. When the great Daniel Lambert,
great in more ways than in obesity, had a noted
strain of black pointers about 1840, he was contented
to give a puppy away to a friend, or to sell one for a
matter of five pounds or even less, and little more
could he obtain for a fully grown dog. No one
disputed the excellence of his kennel, yet, at its
disposal on his death, six brace and a half of pointers
realised but 256 guineas, the highest figure, 46
guineas, being obtained for lot 13, a dog called Bang,
and said to be very good in the field. Swap and
Snake, unbroken, from one of Webbe Edge's bitches
called Bloom, who had been sold for 80 guineas at the
Edge sale, realised 25 guineas each. The three latter
not at all bad prices, when the period and other
matters are taken into consideration.

Even so long ago as this, the Earl of Derby, at
Knowsley, had, and was obtaining, a kennel of good
pointers ; at Edenhall, in Cumberland, the Mus-
graves had some excellent dogs ; so had Lord
Mexborough, the late Marquis of Westminster, Lord
Lichfield, Lord Henry Bentinck, Sir E. Antrobus,
and last, but by no means least, Mr. Webbe Edge, of
Stretley Hall, Nottingham.

[VOL. I.] R

242 Modern Dogs.

Some of the oldest of our modern kennels have
their foundation from the stock purchased at the Edge
sale in 1845, and Mr. Thomas Statter, of Stand Hall,
near Manchester, whose death occurred so recently
as in 1891, was there, and bought a brace of dogs
that did him great good in the future. The late
Prince Consort was likewise a purchaser at the same
sale, and so were the Duke of Portland, who bought
Rake, and others ; and Mr. George Moore, of
Appleby, Lincolnshire, who, for a time, had a
kennel of pointers as good as any man in the
country possessed. Then, just prior to this period,
Mr. Osbaldeston and Mr. Meynell, so great
with foxhounds, had spent considerable time and
expense in improving the pointer, but it may be said
that their blood, with that of the Squire of Thorn-
ville Royal, all lapsed into the Knowsley and the
Edge strains, and from these to others, such as the
few dogs that Lang, the Cockspur Street gunmaker,
sold for such high prices, Mr. Comberbach's, and
Mr. Statham's, of Derby.

The Edge strain appears to have been pretty well
distinct from the others, and has proved of infinite
benefit to the admirers of the pointer who followed
him. His were medium-sized but particularly
elegantly moulded dogs, dark liver and white in
colour, with more than a tendency to a golden or

The Pointer. 243

bronze shading on the cheeks. They carried their
heads well in the field, and in work were quite equal
to what they were in appearance.

More modern kennels were those of Sir R. Garth,
Q.C., and Mr. J. H. Whitehouse, Ipsley Court,
Redditch ; and the latter must be taken as the
connecting link between the present generation and
the past one.

Mr. W. Brailsford informs me that, between 1830
and 1840 or so, the best pointers were certainly to
be found in the Midlands. In addition to the
kennels already named Mr. Cell, Hopton Hall,
Wirksworth, had a choice lot of dogs. Mr. Statham,
of Derby, alluded to before, owned some good look-
ing, double-nosed dogs of the Spanish type ; and
perhaps his other pointers contained more crosses
with those from Mr. Moore, of Appleby Hall, than any
other kind. The double-nosed strain soon died out.

Mr. Martin, at the Laxton kennels, had mostly
black and white dogs, still there were some lemon
and white amongst them. Mr. Edge had given his
sole attention to the liver and white, and no doubt
to him their popularity at the present day is attri-
butable. Lord Chesterfield, at Gedling, whose
kennel was under the charge of the father of my
informant, also had some black and whites of great
excellence.

R 2

244 Modern Dogs.

Mr. Brailsford further says that two of the best
dogs in the Edge kennels in 1841—2 were Rake and
Romp, but the latter, having tan shadings on his
liver-marked cheeks, was not much used for breeding
purposes. Thus, even so far back as half a century
ago, a purely fancy point was not sneered at by even
the greatest of breeders. The Edge strain was in
the first instance obtained by judicious crossing with
dogs and bitches obtained from Captain White, Mr.
Hurts, of Alderwasley, Mr. Mundy, Mr. G. Moore, Mr.
Statham, Sir R. Goodrich, and others. All colours
but liver and white were rigorously excluded, and the
leading feature of the Edge strain lay in its general
uniformity. The best specimens only were saved ;
the kennels were never overcrowded, and no more
dogs than could be used and properly trained for
the owner's own requirements were kept. The latter
an excellent arrangement that does not, however,
find favour now ; and I fancy that already the market
is well nigh glutted with pointers and setters, as
recent sales at Aldridge's prove.

Mr. Garth's dogs were disposed of by auction
at the Lillie Bridge running grounds in June, 1874,
when eight brace of pointers realised 490 guineas.
It may be noted that the plums of this sale were
obtained by Mr. R. J. Lloyd Price, of Rhiwlas, and
by Mr. G. Pilkington, of Widnes ; and no doubt the

The Pointer. 245

celebrity both these kennels obtained later on, was,
in a great degree, owing to the discriminating pur-
chases made at Mr. Garth's. Mr. Price took away
four brace and Mr. Pilkington one brace, the latter
giving 67 guineas and 55 guineas respectively for
Major, by Drake — Mite, and for Doll by Major-
Jill. Mr. Price's lots cost him more money, and
£150 for the grand pointer Drake, then seven years
old, was the highest figure the Welsh squire gave,
and it was a high one for so old a dog.

The Earl of Sefton sold his pointers the same
week, but the prices realised were not noteworthy.

The first Field Trial meeting ever held took place
over Sir S. Whitbread's Bedfordshire estate at
Southall, April, 1866, and at which " Idstone " and
Mr. John Walker, of Halifax, were the judges — both,
unfortunately, deceased. The day was by no means
favourable for good work, being hot and windless ;
notwithstanding this, judging from the points awarded
to the dogs, many of them were of the highest class.
Two of them, Mr. R. Garth's Jill and Mr. Fleming's
Dandy, made the highest number of points possible ;
and Mr. Brockton's Bounce, Mr. Whitehouse's
Hamlet, and Mr. J. A. Handy's Moll had 90 points
given them out of a possible hundred. Whilst
alluding to the maximum of points obtained in a
working trial by a pointer it would be an omission

246 Modern Dogs.

not to mention Mr. Lloyd Price's handsome bitch
Belle, who at the Vaynol trials in 1872 made the
perfect score of 100, though in the champion plate
she was beaten by Mr. Llewellin's setter Countess.

Our modern winners do not appear to have quite
reached these high figures, and, as a comparison,
I will give the following figures awarded at the
Pointer Club Trials, that took place over Lord
Kenyon's estate near Wrexham in 1889. Here
the maximum points were 100, and Mr. F.
Lowe's Belle des Bordes was given 98; Mr. Heywood
Lonsdale's Crab, 96; Mr. C. H. Beck's Quits Baby,
94 ; and Mr. Lloyd Price's Miss Sixpence 88, these
running in the all-aged stake. The puppies did not
do so well, and the maximums reached were 66 and 57
by Mr. Beck's Pax of Upton and his Quail of Upton,
and 62 by the late Mr. T. Statter's Toil. This was
the last occasion in this country upon which a field
trial was judged by points.

The disparity in the above numerals, we should
say, lies more in the method and in the opinion of
the judges rather than in the fact that the modern
pointer is inferior in his work to that of a quarter of
a century ago. As a matter of fact, nowadays the
work got out of the properly trained dogs should be
of a far higher class than was formerly the case, for
the largest owners of field trial dogs have special

The Pointer. 247

men to look after and train them, breaking them in
the first instance for public work alone, though after
their advent as puppies they are well able to do
their duty amongst the grouse in Scotland.

So successful was the initial Field Trial meeting
that others followed, and so they have been continued,
and exist at the present day. Some writers have
endeavoured to make a distinction between the work
done by the liver and white dogs and by the lemon
and whites, one advocating the one colour and others
the other. But let me say colour has nothing what-
ever to do with the work of a dog. Both have
originally come from the same strains, and, given
equal opportunities, will be equally good. My field
trial and shooting experiences over dogs have been
long continued without any material cessation,
and during this period I have seen good and bad
of all colours, excepting, perhaps, I have never seen
a really good field trial performer a whole brown.
Blacks I have seen, and black and whites too, good
enough for anyone, and there are fresh in my mind
Mr. W. Arkwright's ugly black dog Tap, that per-
formed so well at the meetings in 1892, his dam
was, however, a lemon and white bitch. Another,
called Nigger, that Mr. Herbert Brown had two
or three years ago, which came from a strain
Mr. J. H. Salter had in his kennels, and valued

248 Modern Dogs.

highly. Perhaps the fastest pointer I ever saw was
Colonel Cotes' lemon and white Carlo, which gave
old Roberts, his trainer, so much trouble to keep
within working distance.

Of some of the chief dogs at the earlier trials,
" Stonehenge," in his " Dogs of the British Isles,"
says :

Among the liver and whites the celebrated Drake, bred by
Sir R. Garth, and sold by him for ^"150 in his seventh season to
Mr. R. J. Lloyd Price, of Bala, was an example of speed and
endurance. This dog was in his day the fastest and most
wonderful animal that ever quartered a field, and his race up to a
brace of birds at Shrewsbury in the field trials of 1868, when the
ground was so dry as to cause a cloud of dust to rise on his
dropping to their scent, was a sight which will probably never be
seen again. He was truly a phenomenon among pointers. His
extraordinary pace compelled his dropping in this way, for other-
wise he could not have stopped himself in time, but when he had
lost more of his pace he began frequently to stand up.

A very beautiful and racing bitch was Mr. Lloyd Price's Belle,
bred by Lord H. Bentinck, and bought by Mr. Price for £10
after winning a third prize at Manchester. She was at first fearfully
headstrong, and chased hares for many weeks persistently, being
far beyond her puppyhood and unbroken ; but the perseverance
of a young, and till then unknown, breaker, Anstey, overcame
these defects, and being tried in private to be good, she was
entered at Vaynol field trials in 1872, when she won the prize for
braces, and also that for bitches, being left in to contest the
disputed point of priority in the two breeds with Mr. Whitehouse's
Priam against Mr. Llewellyn's Countess and Nellie, both setters.
In this trial she succumbed to Countess, but turned the tables
on her at Bala in 1873. Being possessed of this beautiful and

The Pointer. 249

excellent bitch, Mr. Lloyd Price naturally desired to match her,
and so Drake, as already mentioned, was purchased. Previously,
however, Drake had got several dogs of high class, including
Viscount Downe;s Bang, Drake II., and Mars ; but, considering
the run he had at the stud, his stock could not be said to have
come out as well as might be expected in public, though in
private their character was well maintained. Crossed with Belle,
a litter considerably above the average was obtained, including
Mallard and Beau, but none coming up to the form of either sire
or dam, and not equal to Eos, who was subsequently from her by
Mr. Wm. Statter's Major. Mr. Statter had also bred Dick,
successful at Bala and Ipswich, from a daughter of Drake by
his Major,- who was descended from the good old-fashioned
strains of Lord Derby, Mr. Antrobus, and Mr. Edge. Major
was a fast, resolute dog, and ranged in beautiful style, but he
behaved very badly at Bala in 1867 (his only public appearance),
having just returned from the moors, and not owning the partridge
scent, as is often the case with even the steadiest grouse dogs. It
should be remembered that in these days fast pace is demanded
far more than in those when pointers were used in the south for
beating high stubbles in fields of 20 acres or less, and when the
heavy breeds of Mr. Edge, Lord Derby, and Mr. Antrobus were
able to do all that was desired, delicacy of nose and steadiness,
both before and behind, being the chief essentials required. By
careful selection, and some luck, Sir R. Garth was able to breed
Drake, and Lord H. Bentinck also obtained Belle, while Mr.
Statter has been little behind them with his Major, Dick, and Rex.
In the south Mr. S. Price has produced his Bang, Mike, and
Wagg, the first not quite up to the pace of the above dogs, but
closely approaching it. He is descended from Brockton's Bounce,
one of the old heavy sort, who, however, showed fair pace at
Southill, in 1865, but crossed with the lemon and white strain
of Mr. Whitehouse, which I must now proceed to describe. Mr.
Lloyd Price added Wagg to his kennel for stud purposes, and in
the year 1877 obtained a very fast and clever puppy from Devon-

250 Modern Dogs.

shire, viz., Bow Bells, by Bang out of Leech's Belle ; Mr. White-
house's Rapid is another Devonshire-bred dog of recent celebrity,
being by Clang out of Romp.

Up to the time of the institution of dog shows, the lemon and
whites were little valued in comparison with the liver and whites ;
but Mr. H. Gilbert's Bob and Major (the latter sold to Mr. Smith,
of Tettenhall, on Mr. Gilbert's death in 1862), brought the lemon
and whites into notice on show bench ; while a son of Bob.
Mr. Whitehouse's Hamlet, already alluded to, took 90 points out
of a possible 100 at the Bedford trials. Mr. Whitehouse's Hamlet
also took several prizes on the show bench, and his stock have
quite superseded that of Major, which, handsome as they are
admitted to be, have not shown much capacity for the work
demanded from them in the field. Mr. Whitehouse has bred
from this dog Priam, Rap, Joke, Flirt, and Nina, all winners ;
besides Macgregor, who is by Sancho out of a grand-daughter of
Hamlet. From these successes in the twofold direction of beauty
and goodness in the field, Hamlet was in high fashion until the
appearance of Sir R. Garth's Drake, since which the contest
between the stock of those two dogs has been maintained with
varying results, there being little difference in the number of wins
between Viscount Downe's Bang II., Mars, Grace II., and
Drake II., together with Mr. Lloyd Price's Mallard and Beau, and
Mr. Statters Dick ; and, on the other hand, Mr. Whitehouse's
Priam, Rap, Pax, Nora, and Blanche. Besides these may be
mentioned Mr. Brackenbury's Romp and her produce by Chang,
Mr. Whitehouses Rapid, and Mr. Fairhead's Romp.

I have made this quotation as some proof of what I
had written as to there being nothing in the colour of
a pointer that would indicate either pace, staunchness,
or stamina, and Mr. Whitehouse, by sticking con-
sistently to the orange or lemon and whites, has
convinced most people that the dogs of this colour

The Pointer. 251

are as hardy as those of any other. Priam and Rap
of his never had their superiors, and though Mr.
Whitehouse does not give so much time to his
pointers as formerly, he has been the means of
popularising the "lemons and whites" in such a
fashion that they are not likely to die out. North-
wards, the county of Durham seems to have
obtained a strong strain of this colour, and at the
Darlington shows, held annually at the end of July,
a capital display of them is usually seen, indeed,
nearly all the shooting men in that locality have had
at one time or another, and still have, lemon and
white pointers in their kennels.

There was that good dog Don IX., and several
others with which Mr. Ridley (Ferryhill, Durham),
was so successful. The Peases, too, had them, and
this kennel included some of the smartest small-sized
dogs I ever saw. The dam of the writer's old bitch,
Miss Prim, who did a good deal of winning in her
time, and was as good as anything else in the field,
was from the Durham side — a remarkably handsome
bitch, spoiled by being wide in front, but this was
due to the accident of bad rearing, and was not
constitutional. The late Mr. G. Maw, of Bishop
Auckland, had an extra good lemon and white in
Peg, fast and good, and who was, unfortunately, run
over and killed by a train earlier on that fatal day

252 Modern Dogs.

when her owner received injuries that resulted in his
death.

The peculiar character of the pointer may be
proved by the example of this bitch, and there is
no doubt that, when roused, the pointer is far more
determined than the setter, and can better hold his
own in fight than the longer-coated dog. When
Peg was quite a puppy, it was her misfortune to be
run over by one of those cyclists who in their road
races become such a nuisance, and so bring discredit
upon a useful and healthy pastime. The bitch was
not much hurt, but she bore bicycles a grudge ever
after, and unless her owner had her hard at his heels
when a " machine " approached, Peg went for it
with a vengeance, and never failed to upset the
luckless rider, often to his injury, and, on more than
one occasion, to the cost of Mr. Maw. It was
strange that this bitch, so well trained and broken
on game, staunch and obedient to perfection, should
be quite oblivious to, and heedless of, her owner's
whistle and voice when the ring of the cycle bell was
heard, or the machine itself loomed in the distance.

Whilst on these lemon and white or orange and
white pointers, it may be as well to mention another
strain, though this was more successful on the bench
than in the field. This belonged to Mr. C. W.
Brierley, then living near Manchester, but who now

The Pointer. 253

has left his favourite dogs for the newer love of
" pedigree" shorthorns. Then into the teens of years
ago, Mr. C. H. Mason, Yorkshire, was showing and
winning with a number of good dogs, but when
he went to the United States, where he is now
one of the leading authorities on canine matters,
his kennels were dispersed.

Of late years Devonshire has become the favourite
county in England for its strains of pointers, most
of which are liver and white in colour, though
occasionally those of the lemon and white crop up.
As to these Devonshire pointers, a well-known west
country sportsman kindly contributes the following :

No other country can lay claim to older pointer blood than that
which is found in Devonshire. If we carefully go through the
pedigrees of the field trial performers and bench winners of the
present day, whether in our own country or in America, we shall
almost invariably find that those which take premier honours can
trace back to the old Devon sort. Long before dog shows and
field trials became fashionable Devon pointers were distinguished
for their high quality, for their total freedom from anything
approaching the hound cross, and for their natural working
characteristics, such as staunchness on point, range, and readiness
to back.

Probably the variety of work which this county affords has
something to do with the stoutness and symmetry which were always
reckoned essential to good breeding by our old sportsmen. Steep
hills, often covered with stone and rock, and deep and holding
moorland, render muscle and lifting power, good legs and feet,
a necessity, consequently we find these points kept in the
foreground, and handed down to us almost as heirlooms of

254 Modern Dogs.

the breed. Would that the same care and judgment had
been taken with the brisk little Devon spaniel, whose qualities
were as denned and distinct as those of the pointer, but whose
symmetry of late years has been sacrificed to fashion, which has
rendered him less able to work thick covert and thorny hedgerow.

Whether dog shows are in any way responsible for the deterio-
ration of this useful breed, it is not my intention to inquire ; I will,
however, confidently assert that to dog shows and field trials
we owe much of the all-round improvement so perceptible
in the 'breed of pointers generally, and those of Devonshire in
particular. The opportunities which these meetings afford of
discussing the merits and characteristics of the different strains, is
of incalculable value to breeders, and frequently lead to the
interchange of blood, which above all else is so necessary for the
keeping up of stamina and keen working qualities.

One of our earlier Devon breeders, who recognised the wisdom
of an infusion of fresh blood, was Mr. W. Francis, of Exeter — a
thorough sportsman, whose kennels were never without the right
sort for hard work — his frequent companion in the field was the
late Mr. Samuel Price, of Bow. It is hardly to be wondered at
that two such enthusiasts working together, were successful in
maintaining the reputation of their kennels. At that time dog
shows were in their infancy ; however, that good authority the
Rev. T. Pearce (" Idstone "), while on a visit to Devonshire, had
spoken so highly of the working characteristics and general good
qualities of the liver and white Bounce — a well-known prize
winner, owned by Mr. Brockton, of Farndon — that Mr. Francis
and Mr. Price quickly decided on breeding from him. For this
purpose they selected one of their best bitches, named Belle,
whose dam Dido was bred near Newton Abbot, and was by
Sancho, whose sire, Mentor, came from South Molton. This union
of Francis's Belle with Brockton's Bounce gave us the sensa-
tional litter — Sancho, the black and white Chang, the bitch Vesta,
and Random. So grand a team quickly gained for themselves
a reputation on the bench, and we find Sancho and Chang

The Pointer. 255

amongst the prize winners at Birmingham and other important
shows of that period, while Vesta, judged by " Idstone," at Barn-
staple and other local shows, usually won with ease.

As a matter of course, their blood was greatly sought after,
especially by neighbouring kennels, and wherever it found its way
it proved successful. For example, Sancho, bred to his niece
Sappho, produced that nearly perfect specimen of a pointer Wagg,
which was so successfully shown by Mr. R. J. Lloyd Price, of
Bala, and, bred to the late Mr. R. P. Leach's Fan — whose
ancestors were from the North of Devon — produced Leach's
Belle, probably the most successful brood bitch of that
day. Amongst her numerous offspring were the Champions
Bang II. and Bow Bells, Bonus Sancho, Merry Bells, Belle of the
Ball, and Grant's Maggie, all of which were sired by Price's Bang.
We shall find Chang best represented by his union with Romp,
a small, compactly made bitch, owned by the late Mr. Bracken-
bury, of Exeter ; her performances in the field were of the highest
order, and her excellence as a worker was transmitted to her
progeny. From these Mr. J. H. Salter's well known black and
whites, alluded to later on, are descended.

Besides being the dam of Mr. Sam Price's world-renowned
Bang, Vesta's name is brought down to us through her daughter
Sappho, dam of Wagg, already named, and Pearl, dam of Mr.
E. C. Norrish's lemon and white Beryl, a famous bench winner at
Birmingham and elsewhere, from whom again spring Mr.
Norrish's Revel III. and his Saddleback, that quite recently were
almost invincible in the show way. For size, substance, and
quality combined, Vesta would doubtless compare favourably with
any bitch of the present day, and it has always appeared to me a
regretful circumstance that Mr. Price allowed her to leave this
country at so early a period in her career. From her the most
conspicuous representatives of the Bow kennels are descended,
amongst them being the above-mentioned Bang, who, with his
son Mike, won for Mr. Price the Cloverly Stakes at Shrewsbury
three years in succession ; Belle of Bow, Lad of Bow, Lass of

256 Modern Dogs.

Bow, Mealy, Bang's Boy, and Climax. The two latter were his
favourites in the field, and it will be remembered that he had the
brace actually in his hands at the time of his lamentably sudden
death, the evening before the ist September, 1887.

Random, the last of the team named above, mated with Mr.
Huggins's Juno, gave us the typical Don Juan, sire of the well-
known champions Ponto and Fan, from which Mr. Beck's
celebrated Naso of Upton is descended on his dam's side, and of
Fursdon Juno, dam of Graphic, another of Mr. Norrish's well-
known dogs, and now in America. It is unnecessary here to follow
the successful careers of Devon bred pointers in other countries,
their good deeds would fill a volume.

Returning again to the progeny of Old Bang and Leach's Belle,
Mr. Bulled, of Witheridge, was fortunate in securing one of
these, viz., Belle of the Ball. Not only did she bring his name to
the fore as a prize winner, but she enabled him to hold his own
in the strongest competition. One of the earliest of her progeny
was Sambo the Devil, who from the time of his debut at Margate
in 1879, scored prize after prize, which quickly ran him into
champion honours. Amongst other good ones which the
Witheridge kennel bred from Belle of the Ball was the field-trial
performer, Lass of Devon, who was by Mr. Stranger's Don of
Devon, and Devon Noble. More recently Mr. Bulled has been
successfully breeding from the Village Star, a daughter of Devon
Jack — Bell Bona, litter sister to Bonus Sancho. From her came
his present day field trial and bench winners Devonshire Nero,
Devonshire Sail, and Devonshire Lady.

However, the most successful of all Devonshire kennels,
especially on the show bench, is that of Mr. E. C. Norrish, of
Gays, Sandford, near Crediton. Nor has Mr. Norrish restricted
himself to the ordinary dogs of the ring, he having latterly made
entries at the Field Trials, where dogs broken by himself have, as
a rule, performed fairly, though not quite so successfully as might
be wished. There is no doubt that for some years back the
Sandford pointers have obtained great celebrity and been pre-

The Pointer. 257

eminent almost in sustaining the prestige of the West country strain.
Such good animals as Graphic, Saddleback, Vesper, Saddleback II.,
Revel, Beryl, without others that could be named, and equally first
class, are quite sufficient to gain a reputation for any kennel.

Other noted Devonshire pointers are those of Mr. Lloyd-Lloyd,
of Totnes, who, as far back as 1875, I fin(l exhibiting a bitch
named Adele. From her, by Mr. Sam Price's Old Bang, he bred
Hebe, who, in turn, being put to Lord Downe's Bang II. pro-
duced the field trial winners Fatima, Elias, and Hero, whose
excellence cannot be gainsaid. Hebe's next litter, with Mr. W.
Lort's Naso as their sire, included the good looking brace Totnes
and Daphne, and the former, in alliance with Mr. J. Fletcher's
Young Ponto, produced Nan, who, when the property of Mr. C. H.
Beck, was the dam of Naso of Upton, by many persons con-
sidered to be one of the very best pointers ever bred, at any rate,
so far as beauty was concerned.

To Daphne Mr. Lloyd owes much of his early reputation as a
successful breeder. Her career on the bench was brilliant. Shown
always in the pink of condition, only bitches of extra merit could
compete with her, moreover she transmitted to her progeny many
of her most taking qualities, and some of the best in the Totnes
kennels at the present day are directly descended from her. By
her union with Mr. Norrish's great dog Graphic, she produced
Zasme, Zero, and Zeus. The latter was a frequent winner
at some of our principal shows, and, by mating him back
to Old Hebe, Mr. Lloyd bred the remarkably handsome
brace of bitches lima and Lady Jane. Many connoisseurs con-
sidered Lady Jane the best of the two. She was, however, some
years since, sold to a gentleman in Russia, and we have thus lost
sight of her. lima is with us still, and has, during the present
year, bred a good litter by Mr. Raper's Naso of Strasburg — a
descendant of Price's old champion Bang. Another good litter
which Mr. Lloyd bred from Daphne was that by Mr. Wroth's
Don, the best of which were the well-known Totnes Parody and
the lemon and white Totnes Onyx.

[VOL. I.] S

258 Modern Dogs.

That strain, of which Wroth's Don is a representative, deserves
a passing notice. His dam, Mr. Andrew's Sappho, came directly
from the Croxteth kennels, and was by Lord Sefton's Sam —
his Flirt, while his sire, Mr. Norrish's Old Bob, was equally well
bred, being by Mr. Whitehouse's renowned Hamlet — Pearl,
Hamlet's granddaughter.

Mr. Norrish's Donald, Revel, and Digby were all of the same
family as Wroth's Don. Donald, it will be remembered, won at
Birmingham in the small sized dog class in 1879. After scoring a
few more prizes, he went to America, where he continued his
successful career, and his blood was sought after by some of the
most prominent breeders of that country. Revel ran well at the
Kennel Club Field Trials at Blandford, and also won on the
bench, but unfortunately died when young in Mr. Arkwright's
kennels. Digby proved himself sire of Lady Digby, from whom
sprang Count de Beauffort's Master Dan, a large-sized dog, whose
debut at the Alexandra Palace, where he won first prize, caused
quite a flutter. One other representative of this family I must not
be forgetting, namely, Mr. Leach's Mina Juno, a daughter of
Wroth's Don — Fursdon Juno. From Mina Juno came Mr.
Norrish's Sandford Vesper and Saddleback Secundus, both by
Saddleback.

A familiar name amongst pointer breeders at the present day is
that of Mr.. R. Stawell Bryan, of South Molton. Coming out
first as a successful poultry exhibitor, principally in the game and
Azeel classes, it was not a very big jump from poultry to pointers ;
and all the more easy as he had been a thorough sportsman from
his boyhood, and knew practically what a pointer's work should
be. Possessing a good strain to start with, he has consistently
bred for size, substance, and working characteristics. Well do I
remember Beta some ten years ago, when she was on a stud visit
to Mr. Leach's grand old Bang II. One of the offspring of this
union was Molton Broom, who can surely claim to be the very
corner stone of Mr. Bryan's kennels. Her litter brother, Molton
Baron, was also extra good, his best progeny at the present day

The Pointer. 259

being Mr. Bulled's Devonshire Nero, already mentioned, Molton
Byrsa, and Banker. The latter was good enough to win at
Barn Elms, the Crystal Palace, and other large shows. Beta's
pedigree traces back on her dam's side to Mr. Whitehouse's blood,
while her sire was a brother to Mr. Stranger's well-known Don of
Devon. Probably no pointer bitch of the present day has been
more successful than Molton Broom, whose chief progeny, by
Saddleback, are Molton Banner, Molton Brake, Molton Bronte,
Sandford Bang, Sandford Quince, Sandford Revel, Beau o' the
Border, and Heather Graphic, all of which have gained their
laurels in high class company. Molton Broom also bred well to
Mr. Lloyd's Totnes Milo, a son of Zero — Zoe, and produced
the stoutly-made Bracken, from whom again sprang Sandford
Graphic, sire of Mr Norrish's Graphic Secundus, who was
first in the open and first in the Novice Class at the Kennel
Club Show last July, but unfortunately succumbed to distemper
shortly after.

It would be by no means difficult to find other kennels of
pointers in our county. Mr. Scratton, of Ogwell, always has
some good dogs, as also have Mr. Cross, of South Molton, Mr.
Pring, of Exeter, and Mr. Elias Bishop, of Ogwell. Mr. C. Ford,
of Stoke Cannon, deserves especial notice, as being the breeder of
this year's (1892) leading field trial performer, Blanche of Bromfield,
winner at the Shrewsbury, Pointer Club, and Irish Trials. This
bitch is by Mr. Ford's Okhay Mars, out of his Okhay Juno, a
litter brother and sister, by his Mars — Belle, bred by Mr. Norrish,
out of old Fursdon Juno, champion Graphic's dam, while Mars
was by Bacchus out of Norrish's Pearl, litter sister to Price's Bang.

Devonshire pointer breeders must be congratulated on the
success which has attended their efforts in spite of the fact that so
many good dogs have left that county for other parts of the world.
Devonshire is essentially a breeding corner, favoured by climate,
winter puppies can easily be reared, and as nearly as possible
brought to perfection. Fortunately, too, the driving of partridges
is almost unknown in the west, and, so long as the pointer is used

S 2

260 Modern Dogs.

as a sporting dog, he will undoubtedly hold his own, but directly
his hunting instincts are allowed to rust, and he is only kept for
the show bench, his best days are numbered.

Of course, in addition to these Devonshire dogs,
equally good pointers are to be found in various
kennels in different parts of Great Britain. For
instance, at Rhiwlas, near Bala, in North Wales,
Mr. R. J. Lloyd Price possesses dogs that are equal
to the best of them, some of which have already
been alluded to. For many years past, the Rhiwlas
kennels have been well represented at the field trials,
running as a rule consistently, and with success.
Drafts are sold annually at Aldridge's, in St. Martin's
Lane, and bring excellent prices. At his last sale, in
June, 1892, the bitch Saule, that had won at field
trials, realised 80 guineas, and others brought up to
36 guineas each.

So far as these important sales are concerned,
they have of late been looked forward to with great
interest, as they enable those who have shootings,
and do not keep dogs all the year round, to fill their
kennels with either pointers, setters, spaniels, and
retrievers that have been well broken. At Mr.
Pilkington's sale, in June, 1884, four and a half brace
of puppies sold for 418 guineas; Lymm, by Lake,
realising no guineas; Peace, 60 guineas ; Pardon,
56 guineas; Lincoln, 57 guineas; others, smaller

The Pointer. 261

sums. At the same auction the old dogs sold almost
as well, Dingle bringing 63 guineas ; Lilac and
Lake, 61 guineas each ; Moffatt, 55 guineas ; and
Druid, 46 guineas.

All the dogs offered by auction do not realise the
good figures one would expect, and it was almost
sad to see the kennel of the late Mr. T. Statter
dispersed one Friday afternoon in June, 1892, for
almost an old song — seven brace of pointers, as
good as man could produce, and upon which their
late owner had spent much money and much thought,
realising only 143 guineas. His setters brought
even a lower average.

Another celebrated kennel of pointers is to be
found near Whitchurch, Salop, and owned by Mr.
Heywood Lonsdale, of Ightfield Hall. The Ightfield
pointers have, during the past few years, been more
successful than any others in field trial work at the
English trials. But this has not satisfied their
owner, for, in 1890, a team of his was sent over
to America for field competition there. Notwith-
standing the fact that the English dogs had never
had an opportunity of hunting quail, the game
bird of America, as the partridge is here, they
soon took a liking to their new quarry, and ac-
quitted themselves most satisfactorily, the liver and
white bitch, Deuce, taking the highest honours,

262 Modern Dogs.

as she had done in this country before and has
done since.

Also in Shropshire, there is another valued kennel
of pointers kept by Colonel Cotes, at Pitsford, and in
work they are just as good as any others. It may be
stated that the majority of these field trial dogs are,
as a rule, rather higher on the leg, and generally
built in more racing lines, or not so cobbily and
heavily made as the pointers we see winning on the
show bench. As a rule, they are good-looking
enough for anything, and dogs like Ightfield Dick,
and Ightfield Deuce, both shown at the Kennel Club
Show, in June, 1892, are particularly smart, in this
respect, the first named especially.

The Rev. W. J. Richardson, in Oxfordshire, and
his neighbour, the Rev. J. Pooley, in the same
county, ought likewise to be mentioned as owners of
pointers of undoubted excellence, Mr. Richardson
having been especially successful with dogs of his
breeding, both in the field and on the bench ; his
dogs are usually of the small or medium sized strains,
and excelling in quality. Then, in Northumberland,
the Rev. W. Shield has another useful kennel of dogs
that can do good field work as well as appear to
advantage in the ring. In Kent, Mr. F. Warde has
another useful strain ; so have Mr. F. C. Lowe, Sir
T. B. Lennard, Mr. J. H. Salter, Mr. W. Arkwright,

The Pointer. 263

Mr. R. Chapman, Glenboig, Mr. James Bishop, who,
with many others in various parts of the country,
have made a name for themselves as the owners of
pointers of more than usual excellence. Mr. Barclay
Field, who died in the early winter of 1892, also
possessed a lot of dogs that had done good work at
Field Trials.

Near Macclesfield, in Cheshire, Mr. C. H. Beck,
at Upton Priory, has perhaps bred as good pointers
as anyone during the present generation. His
Rapid Ben, Busy Ben, Quail of Upton, Quits Baby
were equally good in looks and work, and Naso of
Upton, so successful on the bench, has already been
mentioned.

Perhaps no one has had a more successful lot of
pointers, so far as field trial work is concerned, with
the slight addition of good looks, than Mr. J. H.
Salter, of Tolleshunt d'Arcy, Kelvedon, Essex.
Some of his very best dogs have been black or black
and white, and, in one or two cases, brown, or liver
and white ticked, oddly marked, almost, approach-
ing " roan " in appearance. They were originally
descended from Mike and Romp, the latter being
by Francis's Chang out of Brackenbridge's Romp ;
Mike by Price's Bang — Miller's Sella, and moreover
they went back to Brockton's Bounce and White-
house's Hamlet. There never was better blood

264 Modern Dogs.

than this, and, judiciously used, Mr. Salter has
produced therefrom some of the fastest dogs of the
present day. He had given Mr. Samuel Price, of
Bow, Devonshire, a long price for Mike in 1876,
and perhaps this dog, with his sire Bang, were as
good a brace of pointers as ever ran, and Romp
was not far behind them.

One who has often shot over both Mike and
Romp said there was nothing between the two,
excepting that when any particularly brilliant piece
of work came to be done it was the bitch that did it.
Mr. Salter believes that the excellence of the strain
arose from the dam's side rather than that of the
dog, and, from what I have seen of Bang and
Romp's progeny in other kennels, I believe this
supposition to be quite correct.

At our English field trials the Mike-Romp strains
have won, in the United States likewise ; and there
is no reason to doubt that the most valuable kennel
of pointers in the States at the present time is that
of Mr. Dexter. Such dogs as his Rip- Rap, Maid of
Kent, and one or two others, one would very much
like to see competing in this country, for, from the
reports in the American Press, their work, and
especially that of Rip- Rap, must be well-nigh
perfect.

Romp, a black and white mottled bitch, ran at

The Pointer. 265

Horseheath and other meetings in 1876-7, and she,
no doubt, got her colour from Francis's strain,
which were, as a rule, black and white. Mr. Salter
speaks in the highest terms of them, of their
great sense, speed, nose, and endurance. He says
they are difficult to break because the " ordinary
breaker will not give them credit for knowing more
than he does ; hence the whip comes in, a thing
they never want and never forget." Mr. Herbert
Brown has perhaps been most successful in training
these pointers. " He never flogged, and patience
and careful study told him that, when he and they
disagreed in opinion, the dogs were almost always
right and he wrong."

I have repeatedly seen this strain of dogs perform
at our English Field Trials, and at times their work
could not be surpassed. The dogs had pace, nose,
and knowledge — the latter often caused their down-
fall. However, no pointer kennel of the limited
dimensions of Mr. Salter has ever produced such
excellent performers as Romp, Mike, Romp's Baby,
Monitor, Mainspring (a great winner in America),
Malt, Hops, Shandygaff, and some others have
proved themselves to be.

Malt's visit to old Priam (then Sir T. B. Len-
nard's) was most successful, for it produced,
amongst others, Osborne Ale and Stout that ran

266 Modern Dogs.

respectively first and third in the Field Derby in
1885, and she herself had won at Stratford-on-Avon
the year before. * To Naso of Upton she bred
Shandygaff and others. Some other crosses did
not appear to "nick" so well, and since then she
has failed to breed. It is a great pity that this
same strain had not been kept in more than one
kennel. It would have allowed some in-breeding,
and I am afraid that, in the long run, it may be lost.

The dog Mike, from 1874 to 1876, won nine
prizes at field trials, six of them firsts, the remaining
three he divided with other dogs. During the same
period he was successful on the show bench, com-
mencing with a second at the Alexandra Palace
in 1875, and a first at the Crystal Palace next year.
Mike died in 1884, leaving behind him a reputation
as one of the hardiest and best pointers that ever
ran, and I am not aware that any other pointer has
approached his record, both in the field and on the
bench.

Somewhat at random, I have mentioned these
names in order to show that the pointer, in all its
excellence, is a common commodity, although a
valuable one with us. His pedigree is rigorously
kept in the stud books, and his performances in the
spring are studiously repeated in the columns of the
Field, and to give the names of all the best dogs

The Pointer. 267

that have appeared during the past twenty years
would be but repetition, and a difficult thing to
accomplish satisfactorily. Prince Solms, at Braun-
fels, in Prussia, has, at one time or another, had
English pointers equal to the best that have remained
in this country, and the writer will never forget the
excellent work his brace, Naso of Kippen and Jilt of
Braunfels, did on the dry fallow field near Shrewsbury
in 1885, at a time when every one had come to the
conclusion that there was no scent.

Since the establishment of the Pointer Club, in
1887, a special Field Trial Meeting has been held
by its managers, and at the same time special prizes
have been offered by the Club for competition at the
principal shows. This support, has, without doubt,
proved of considerable advantage to the pointer,
and, for the present, there is little likelihood of its
popularity waning.

As a sporting dog, the pointer can work as hard
and as long as a setter ; on account of his smooth
coat, he does this in hot weather better than any
other dog, and is not so soon knocked up, through
want of water, as the setter is. There is no reason
to compare the varied excellencies of the two varieties,
for here it may be said " Jack is as good as his
master." One day, one may do the best work;
another day, the others may excel ; both are

268 Modern Dogs.

sufficiently perfect in their way for modern require-
ments, and there is, in reality, no ostensible reason
for the preference of the one over the other, ex-
cepting, as I have stated, where a scarcity of water
is concerned. In fact, they are equal ; with similar
surroundings and in similar health there is nothing
to choose -between the two, nor is there in staunchness.
It has been said that the setter is less steady, more
difficult to command, and not so easy to break as
the pointer. Such is not so.

There are strains of both that are equally wild and
headstrong, and, as a matter of fact, such, when
once brought under command, produce the most
successsful dogs as field trial winners ; and, when
birds are scarce, and the extent of land to be worked
over very extensive, they are the best dogs in the
field for practical work. In a wet stormy country,
where the climate is cold and chilly, the going
rough and covert thick, the ordinary pointer may be
at a discount, and he has been found to be so in
some parts of Scotland, the Highlands and else-
where ; but, excepting where the circumstances and
surroundings are exceptional, our modern pointer will
do all that is required of him ; work a long day, and
come up the following one ready to do another, and to
assist his master to fill the game bag.

I consider the usual light colour of the pointer is to

The Pointer. 269

the advantage of the shooter, who can much more
easily distinguish his dog against the dark outline of
heather and bracken, when being used on the moors,
and the idea that the birds better see a white
coloured dog, and therefore do not lie so well to him,
is altogether fallacious. All who have shot over the
wide expanses of Scottish moors or Irish mountains
with wide ranging dogs doing the work, will agree
with me that the dark colour of many of the setters
requires so much strain on the eyes to discern
them at even comparatively short distances, as to
decidedly interfere with the average of the shooter.

Before entering at length into his description it
may be as well to state that the classes at the
more important shows are arranged to meet his
different sizes, for the pointer varies in this respect
more than any other sporting dog. Such classifica-
tion is usually for " large-sized " dogs 55lb. weight
and over, and bitches 5olb. weight and over; the
u small size " including dogs under 55lb. weight, and
bitches under 5olb. in weight.

The pointer is an elegantly shaped dog, smooth in
coat, which, though close and weather-resisting,
ought not to be hard and coarse. In some strains
there is a tendency to be rather coarse in the stern,
which in reality is no detriment, though smooth and
fine caudal appendages are fashionable. The latter

270 Modern Dogs.

is so much the case, that it is not unusual to find it
trimmed by singeing or other means, until it resembles
that of a bull terrier. Not long ago one of the prize
pointers at Birmingham was so very much " done "
that disqualification ought to have resulted. The
stern is nicely set on from the back, carried straight
out, with a downward tendency rather than otherwise.
A hound carried stern is a great detriment. In work
it is dashed from side to side until the animal obtains
" a point " when all the muscles are rigid.

The head should be fairly long and broad at the
skull, and at the muzzle without any undue tapering ;
where the latter occurs a snipy appearance is given
that is not at all correct. The development at the
occiput should be nicely defined, but not too much
so ; there may be more stop than in the setter, and
the head is generally rather shorter and broader than
in the latter variety. Ears soft and hanging grace-
fully ; although set on moderately low, not so low as
in the hound, nor should they fold, rather lying close
to the cheeks. The nose broad, nostrils wide, and
such as will give the impression of being particularly
useful in finding game by scent. In lemon and
white, orange and white, and in light coloured speci-
mens generally, the nose should be of a so-called
" flesh colour"; in dark coloured specimens black
noses are desirable. However, a dark brown or a

The Pointer. 271

liver coloured nose is often seen, and when in unison
with the body markings of the dog is not objection-
able. Eyes, pleasant in expression, dark in colour ;
pale lemon or " yellow gooseberry " coloured eyes
are on the increase, and such are objectionable,
ugly, and ought to be a severe handicap on the dog
possessing them. They are certainly not a sign of
amiability. The lips should be square, and very
slightly pendulous, or rather, less tight than those of
a terrier. Neck well placed and free from throatiness
in any part of it. As in all dogs good sloping
shoulders are desirable. Chest deep, powerful, and
ribs nicely sprung behind and carried so to the loins,
which ought to be strong and muscular. Stifles
well turned and powerful, and generally the muscular
development in the hind quarters must be great, for
the work a pointer has to do is arduous.

The fore legs and feet are important for a similar
reason. The former strong, without being too
massive and cumbersome ; elbows fairly well let
down, but not turned out, neither ought they to be
turned inwards, for when the latter is the case the
dog is likely to be flat ribbed and have his fore legs
set too closely together, like many of the modern
fox terriers. The legs ought to be well set on, and if
carried too far back are objectionable, as a chicken-
breasted appearance is given ; and a dog so made

272 Modern Dogs.

cannot gallop. As to the feet, the Pointer Club has
adopted " Stonehenge's " description, with which I
quite agree. This is as follows : " Breeders have
long disputed the comparatively good qualities of
the round cat-like foot, and the long one, resembling
that of the hare. In the pointer my own opinion is
in favour of the cat-foot, with the toes well arched
and close together. This is the desideratum of the
M.F.H., and I think stands work better than the
hare-foot, in which the toes are not arched but still
lie close together. In the setter the greater amount
of hair to a certain extent condones the inherent
weakness of the hare-foot ; but in the pointer no
such superiority can be claimed. The main point,
however, is the closeness of the pads combined with
thickness of the horny covering." So far as hare
feet are concerned, an ordinary foot of this descrip-
tion would be severely handicapped by modern
judges who persist in a hard close thick foot, which
in reality is squarer and more angular than a round
foot, but equally thick — even thicker.

Shape and symmetry are something in every
animal, especially in short coated dogs. In colour,
whether the pointer be liver or white or lemon or
white, it makes little difference. Once the lemon
and orange and whites were fashionable, now the
liver and whites appear to be the more popular ;

The Pointer. 273

the paler lemon with a tendency towards whiteness
is not good nor nice. Black and white pointers are
handsome, and, possibly, were some breeders to intro-
duce three or four perfect specimens on the show
bench they might put the noses of the liver and
whites out of joint. Liver and white heavily ticked
is not a bad colour, but, as it nearly approaches whole
colours, liver and black — because they are less easy to
distinguish whilst being worked than the others — is
not to be recommended, and in the ring ought to be
handicapped accordingly. The best colours are liver
and white, orange and white, lemon and white and
black and white, having the precedence as written.
I should allot the points of the pointer as follows: —

Value. Value.

Skull

10

Legs, elbows, and hocks

10

Muzzle

10

Feet

10

Ears eyes and lips

10

Stern

c

Neck

c

Symmetry and quality

1C

Shoulders and chest
Back, quarters, and stifles

10
10

55

Colour and coat

s
45

Grand Total 100.

Perhaps I might be deemed guilty of a serious
omission were I to overlook the fact that American
and foreign admirers of the pointer have been more
successful in producing good animals from stock

[vol. 1.1 T

274 Modern Dogs.

obtained from us, than has been the case with others
similarly situated, who have sought to breed St.
Bernards, Setters, Spaniels, and any other variety of
dog in perfection ; and more money has been spent
on any of them than on the pointer.

South Carolina produced a Beaufort, whose
excellence as a show dog has never been gainsaid,
and for whom that good judge, Mr. C. H. Mason,
of New York, paid a very large sum of money.
Count de Beauffort sent from Belgium Master
Dan, who beat our cracks at the Kennel Club
Show in 1889; Mr. G. Raper had Naso of Strasburg
from Germany, a dog that, when in his prime,
must at any rate have been as good as the best;
and other foreign bred pointers have on several
occasions more than held their own at our usual
field trial meetings. Nor does this short list by
any means exhaust the names of the good dogs of
the variety produced outside the British Isles.

CHAPTER XIV.
THE SETTER.

THE setter has been called by his many admirers
the handsomest of all varieties of our English sport-
ing dogs, and whether he be rich red in colour, like
the Irish strain ; glossy black and tan, as the
Gordon ; or gaudily blue and white, or orange and
white, as in the English race, there is no more beau-
tiful dog seen in our fields or on the show bench.
Other canine varieties are bigger, some, of course,
are more diminutive ; in temper he is excelled by
none, and, so long as his kindly countenance is not
disfigured by light yellow eyes and a heavy cumbrous
dewlap, nothing in the way of live-stock can be
handsomer than he. His intelligence and utility in
the field and on the moor no one will gainsay ; so
there is little wonder that his popularity has gradually
but surely increased during the past quarter of a
century.

There was a time when the setter was unknown in
this country by his present name, and this cannot

276 Modern Dogs.

have been at a far distant date. His old cognomen
of spaniel still attaches to him in certain country
districts remote from the railway, and in which
old customs and old names die hard. Two years
ago, whilst on a visit to Ireland, I repeatedly heard
the modern setter dubbed a spaniel, and early in
the present century the same dog was quite as
often called a spaniel as not. " Kunopaedia, a
practical essay on breaking and training the English
spaniel and pointer," by the late William Dobson, of
Eden Hall, Cumberland, was published in 1814, and
in this, one of the earliest works of its kind specially
devoted to breaking sporting dogs, the word spaniel
must be read to mean setter. The instructions given
throughout the work are those likely to be useful in
training a dog to stand, point, and do his work
according to the modern idea of excellence in his
line.

A history of the setter should, of course, commence
at the very earliest portion of his career, but old
writers are particularly silent on the point, even more
so than when they have attempted to trace the rise
and advent of other dogs, those used in the field for
hunting, those trained to guard the flocks and
the household, or others used as companions, as
lap-dogs, for fancy and amusement alone.

In Great Britain the domestic dog has for hundreds

The Setter. 277

of years been held in high estimation as a useful
addition to the sporting equipage. From time
immemorial almost has he been utilised for the pur-
pose of hunting wild animals, both by scent and
sight, but when a variety of his kind was first trained
to " set," " couch," or stand the smell of game, do
so without going sufficiently near to alarm and
disturb it, and so afford the sportsman accompanied
by such a dog an opportunity of killing such game
with an arrow from his bow or taking it in his net,
history is not very explicit. H. D. Richardson,
who, about forty years ago, wrote several little hand-
books on country matters, including one about dogs,
says that the spaniel was first broken to sat
partridges and other feathered game as an assistant
to the net by Dudley, Duke of Northumberland, in the
year 1335. Whether this date be correct or not I
cannot say, for the author does not say where he
obtained his information. However, other writers,
and perhaps more reliable ones, including Delabere
Elaine (1840), say that "Robert Dudley, Duke of
Northumberland, as early as 1555, is said to have
trained a setter to the net ; and that other authorities
of antecedent dates notice the sitter, or setter, as a
dog used for sporting purposes. It must not, there-
fore, be concluded that the application of him by
Dudley was his advent, although he might not until

278 Modern Dogs.

then have been employed as " sitting or crouching
to the game he found."

That the spaniel was well known earlier than
the middle of the sixteenth century, and dogs of a
certain kind were used for finding birds, under
somewhat similar conditions as are observed to-day,
long prior to the introduction of firearms, there is no
doubt whatever.

First of all, such dogs as spaniels were trained
to find birds at which the falconer flew his hawks.
Strutt, in his " Sports and Pastimes," quotes from a
fourteenth century manuscript, in the reign of
Edward III., father of the Black Prince. This old
writer, and interesting antiquarian, says the spaniel
was of use in hawking, "hys crafte is for the perdrich,
or partridge, and the quaile ; and when taught to
couche he is very serviceable to those who take
these birds with nets." This is the earliest allusion
I can find to trained dogs so nearly approaching in
their work the broken setter and pointer of modern
times.

The spaniel must have been a steady, highly-
trained dog even then, and this taking of game by
nets is, in some localities, unhappily, still practised
by the poacher, especially at night time, when a
lighted lantern is fixed on the dog's back. The blaze
enables the poacher to see his dog, which, stand-

The Setter. 279

ing and drawing up to his game, when sufficiently
close, comes to a full stop, and a net is drawn or
cast over birds and dogs alike. Five hundred years
ago there was some excuse for taking game by means
of nets, but with modern firearms, breach-loading
guns so quickly loaded and emptied, the net ought
to have disappeared entirely. Still, its use is now
confined entirely to some few ill-conditioned, grasping
hill farmers, or the more sporting-like poacher.

There is an engraving (of the early part of the
fourteenth century) still preserved in the Royal
Library which depicts two ladies and one attendant
hawking. Here are two spaniels of that day, odd
looking creatures enough, with pendulous ears and
long hound-like tails, evidently in the act of going
carefully up to some game or other, and the attitude
of the huntresses, with their hands raised and care-
fully poised, gives the idea that they are steadying
their dogs with their ancient equivalent of " So ho!
careful, good dogs ! " The girl carrying her hawk
on her hand is drawing the attention of her bird to
the action of the dogs.

An earlier MS. than this is illustrated by the figure
of an archer in the act of shooting a bird on the
wing. This is from the Saxon of about the eighth
century ; the sportsman here is not accompanied
by a dog of any kind ; but this would scarcely be

280 Modern Dogs.

evidence that a dog of some kind was not used as
an assistant by the bird shooter, even at that early
date. Such an animal, too, would be the original of
our present race of setters though bearing scarcely
any resemblance to our modern productions.

Naturally for information about the setter one will
turn to the earliest book on English dogs, and this
was written in Latin as far back as 1570, by the
often quoted Johannes Caius, a Doctor of Physic of
the University of Cambridge. This valuable and
interesting treatise was, six years later, translated into
English by Abraham Fleming, and published by
Richard Johnes, who sold the book " over against
St. Sepulchre's Church without Newgate," and no
doubt it told all that was known about dogs at that
time. Still, lovers of the canine race might to their
advantage have had a more profuse chronicler, for,
though fairly complete as far as it goes, there must
have been more to write about dogs, even in the
sixteenth century, than Caius put on paper. How-
ever, what there is we give, the quotations being
made from the reprint published by L. U. Gill, at
170, Strand, London.

The first author of a book on English dogs says :

Such dogs as serve for fowling are to be accounted of a gentle
kind, and there be two sorts : the first findeth the game on the
land, the other findeth the game on the water. Such as delight

The Setter. 281

on the land play their parts either by swiftness of foot, or by often
questing, to search out and to spying the bird for further hope of
advantage, or else by some secret sign or privy token betray the
place where they fall.

The first kind of such serve the hawk, the second the net or
train. The first kind have no particular names assigned them,
save only that they be denominated after the bird which by natural
appointment he is allotted to take. Thus, some be called dogs for
the falcon, some for the pheasant, some for the partridge, and such
like.

The common sort of people call them by one general word,
namely, " spaniells," as though these kind of dogs came originally
and first out of Spain. The most part of their skins are white, and
if they be marked with any spots, they are commonly red and some-
what great, the hairs not growing with such thickness but that the
mixture may be easily perceived. Others be reddish or blackish,
but of that sort there are but few. There is also at this day a new
kind of dog brought out of France (for we Englishmen are marvel-
lous greedy, gaping gluttons after novelties, and covetous cor-
morants of things that be seldom, rare, strange, and hard to get)
and they be speckled all over with white and black, which mingled
colours incline to a marble blue, which beautifyeth their skin and
affordeth a seemly show of comeliness. These are called French
dogs, as is above declared already.

The dog called the Setter, in Latin Index. — Another sort of dog
there be serviceable for fowling, making no noise either with foot
or tongue whilst they follow the game. These attend diligently
upon their masters, and frame their conditions to such becks,
motions, and gestures as it shall please him to exhibit and make,
either going forward, drawing backward, inclining right hand or
yielding to the left. In making mention of fowl my meaning here
is of partridge and quail. When he hath found the bird he
keepeth sure and fast silence, and stayeth his steps and will proceed
no further, and with close, covert, watching eye, layeth his belly to
the ground and so creepeth forward like a worm. When he

282 Modern Dogs.

approacheth near to the place where the bird is, he lays down, and
with a mark of his paws betrayeth the place of the bird's last abode,
whereby it is supposed that this kind of dog is called Index —
setter, being, indeed, a name both consonant and agreeable with
his quality.

Caius then proceeds to tell how the fowler ensnares
the birds in his net, and he does not look upon the
performance as very extraordinary, for such a dog
is a " household servant, brought up at home,
with offals and the trenchers and fragments of
victuals ; " and a hare, " a wild and skippert beast,
has been trained to dance a measure, play upon a
tabbaret, and nip and punch a dog with her teeth
and claws." This performing hare Dr. Caius saw
in the year 1564.

There is no mention of shooting birds over
such dogs, but in a later chapter, when writing
of the water spaniel, our author alludes to him
as useful in bringing back the boults and arrows
that have missed their mark [game], and also such
water fowl as be stung to death by any venomous
worm.

Although Caius uses the word index or setter
in application to a dog used in a manner very similar
to that in which he performs his duty in the present
day, his tone of writing conveys the idea that such
a dog was not generally known at that time. Still

The Setter. 283

there were certainly setters in the sixteenth century,
and I very much regret Caius did not give us a
picture of one " crawling along the ground like a

worm."

As he did not, a search elsewhere must be made
for an illustration, and this I found, and bearing
an earlier date than the year when Caius first
wrote his little book. In the summer of 1891 an
exhibition of " Sport illustrated by Art," was held
in the Grosvenor Gallery, London, and here were
hung a large number of most valuable subjects of
the painter's art. To me not one was nearly so
interesting as a canvas upon which was painted one
of the many delineations of the patron saint of
hunting, St. Hubert, by Albrecht Diirer, the great
painter, who died in 1528. In one corner of the
picture was a black tan and white setter, extra-
ordinary in its resemblance to many of the modern
stamp. Indeed, so great was the likeness that one
was tempted to look and re-look at the picture until
the wonder was aroused where the painter obtained
his model from which he made the sketch, or
whether this modern setter on an ancient canvas
was an emanation from his own brain. The head,
coat, ears, character, and colour of the dog were
all there, a typical specimen of the modern English
setter in black, white, and tan — a dog similar in all

284 Modern Dogs.

other respects, but higher on the leg and not so
massive and inclined to the spaniel type as that
excellent tri-colour dog shown by Mr. J. B.
Cockerton, and winning recently under the name
of Royal Rap.

Albrecht Diirer was a Flemish painter. Had he
been from Spain, I might have taken his production
as some sort of evidence that our spaniel or setter
did originally come from Spain. All authorities say
so, but produce no proof of the fact. The country
of bull-fights appear to have been generally a happy
hunting-ground for the discovery of valued strains
of the dog, for, it has been said, the bulldog had its
origin there. One great English admirer of the
latter actually took a journey into Spain for the
purpose of bringing back new blood of pure bulldog
race, with which to cross and improve what he con-
sidered the degenerating bulldog of Great Britain!
John Bull allowing his fidus Achates to degenerate !
What an idea ! I may say en passant that the big,
vulgar Spanish dog, with his ears shorn off, that
was imported, did not improve our native breed, nor
has our British bulldog degenerated in the least.
Even now, as in the day of Johannes Caius, we
like something foreign in the form of dog flesh, and
to Spain have we likewise flown fora coarse pointer;
to. France for poodles ; to Holland for pugs ; and to

The Setter. 285

the north of Europe and China for ladies' pets and
toy dogs.

Before leaving the subject of old painters and
setters, allusion must be made to a picture by
Alexander Desportes, a French artist of great skill,,
to whom allusion has previously been made.

He was expressly employed at the court of Louis
XIV. as historiographer of the chase, a position
which his abilities enabled him to fulfil much to the
satisfaction of his royal master. The painting in
question is one of dogs and partridges. There are
three of the former, two of them evidently setters
and one of them pointing a covey, with one foot
forward, is very much like the dog painted by
Diirer, and already mentioned — namely, a black, tan,
and white ticked animal, of quite the modern setter
type. Another dog, on the point, is black and
white, and a setter ; whilst the third, also black
and white, might be a cross between pointer and
setter. Anyhow, it is much smoother in coat than
either of its companions. I think little more
evidence than the above pictures of great artists,
need be given to convince those who may be
interested in the matter and still doubtful, that the
setter is not quite so modern a creature as some
writers would have us suppose. At any rate, we
have here proof that a dog remarkably similar, if not

286 Modern Dogs.

actually identical, with our modern English setter,
was. known as early as the sixteenth and seventeenth
centuries.

There are many other paintings of sporting
scenes and accessories that include dogs of some
kind or other ; but the writer has not met with any
so old as those already alluded to where the artist
has so nearly delineated the English setter of the
present day.

Aldrovandus, who died in 1607, had written an
immense work on Natural History, a portion of which
was published posthumously. Amongst other sub-
jects, he wrote about dogs, but, his history being in
Latin, and somewhat scarce, a reference thereto has
not always been attainable. He illustrates two varieties
of what are called the Spanish dog, and one of them
is described as having " pendulous ears, chest and
belly white, with black spots, the rest of the body
black." The engraving accompanying this descrip-
is an odd-looking creature, one that might by
courtesy be considered a bad spaniel. The stern is
setter-like in length, but carried gaily over the back.
The ears are very long, set high on the head, and
there is a fair amount of feather and coat both on
them, on the body, and on the legs. Aldrovan-
dus's second specimen is a rather bigger dog than
the other, and the colour might be black and white.

The Setter. 287

Here the ears are not so long, and generally this
illustration is more of the setter than the one first
named.

Strangely enough, this great historian, who bore a
reputation for extreme reliability, gives us a third
sporting dog of somewhat similar variety. This he
describes as " a spotted dog used for taking quail."
It has evidently had its tail amputated, or may-
be it is a natural " bob- tail" some people are so fond
of telling us about. In any case, whether the curtail-
ment was natural or artificial, here is a bob-tailed
dog, spotted almost as much as a Dalmatian or
coach dog, in the act of flushing a bird. Unfortu-
nately, Ulysses Aldrovandus does not tell us much
about these dogs, but it is interesting to mention
them here as early specimens of the dog from
Spain, from whence it is said our modern races of
setters and spaniels are derived. But when they
came from that peninsula, or who introduced them
eastward throughout most countries, there is nothing
to show.

Then Conrad Gesner, whom dear old Izaak Walton
was so fond of quoting, tells us something about
dogs, but not much. Born at Zurich in 1516, he
died of the plague in 1565, and between these two
dates he wrote his chief work, " Historiae Animalium,"

volume that obtained for him the name of the

288 Modern Dogs.

Pliny of Germany. Gesner says there were two
sorts of dogs that follow their masters, who use
a small firearm (minor bombarda) for the purpose of
taking fowl. He, however, only alludes to them
as bringing birds to their masters ; but naturally
education in the art of retrieving would follow
that of finding the birds. So there is little doubt
that these sixteenth century dogs that Gesner
wrote about, not only found the game, but brought
it to their masters when shot, just as a well-trained
dog of the present would do.

Firearms and gunpowder had been introduced long
prior to this, and, although the earliest firearms were
big cumbrous weapons that had to be fired from a
rest, tubes for firing gunpowder from the shoulder
were introduced into England about 1440. From
this date until approaching the middle of the follow-
ing century appears an extraordinarily long period for
the development of the firearm from an implement of
warfare to one for sporting purposes. We must not,
however, forget that in these early days of firearms,
the wounds caused by them were almost always fatal,
possibly not so much on account of the nature of the
wound, but because the surgical treatment at that
time \vas of an unskilful character. Such being the
case, those whose pleasure it was to kill birds or other
creatures would not care to do so with either a

The Setter. 289

" minor bombarda " or a " scorpion " —the latter a
name given to the first shoulder firearm used in this
country — for the flesh would be considered more
or less contaminated by the influence of the missile
used, so rendered less fitted for the cook in the
kitchen to dress up for her noble master's repast.

This appears to me a reasonable conjecture for the
slow progress made at this time in the popularisation
of the firearm as an implement for the sportsman.
Besides, the latter would be the more proficient with
the bow, for the " scorpion " was but a sorry article
with which to take aim, and the priming of the
guns was something of a job to do. There were no
flints then, and percussion caps had not even been
thought of. As a fact, so recently as the end of the
eighteenth century — viz., in 1792, a match was made
and shot at Parton Green, in Cumberland, in which
the merits of a musket, a brown Bess, were tested at
a mark against a bow and arrow. The latter came
out victorious in the contest, scoring sixteen hits out
of twenty shots at 100 yards to twelve hits made
by the supposed to be deadlier firearm. Looking
back upon a match of this kind, one cannot help
forming an opinion that the result was not because
the bow and arrow were superior to the old brown
Bess, but was solely owing to the lack of skill
possessed by the handler of the musket.

[VOL. I.] U

290 Modern Dogs.

When the prejudices against the new weapon
had worn themselves out, no doubt its popularity
increased apace. The Game Laws on the conti-
nent being less stringent than in England in 1555, it
became necessary to have some legislation whereby
the use of firearms should be restricted. Then we
have the Elector of Saxony at that time issuing an
order prohibiting the use of them excepting under
certain conditions, and this because " the carrying
of firearms had become so general in our dominions,
that not only travellers but shepherds and peasants
used them." Shot of some kind was used at that
time, but not the well regulated pellets that came in
somewhat later, and are used e\en to-day. In
Mecklenberg in 1562 a Government regulation pro-
hibited the use " of hail shot entirely and absolutely,"
so no doubt many birds in the duchy at that time
would have a considerable respite. The dogs, too,
would require to be somewhat steadier, for they must
remain standing and quiet during the time their
masters are taking aim at the quail or partridge,
or the more timid hare.

Some time after this James I. was reigning in
England, and no doubt he with " his shuffling trot
and his jerkin " would be giving some attention to
the dogs of the field, for was he not one of our most
sporting kings? though he did not love the weed

The Setter. 291

tobacco. His Majesty took his dogs out with him
on his favourite hawking expeditions, and they
couched to and flushed the game at which the
peregrine falcon and the goshawk were flown. One
would have expected to find something relating to
dogs of the field in the King's " Book of Sports," but
the pastimes mentioned therein do not include game
shooting, nor was it likely that his Majesty would
deem an amusement of this kind fitted for the
Sabbath day.

The early writers on sport, the " Stonehenges" of
the seventeenth century, all allude in pretty much
the same terms to the setter, and Gervase Markham,
in his chief work with the odd title " Hunger's Pre-
vention, or the Art of Fowling" (1655) describes
what a " Setting dog" should be to be perfect in the
eyes of the sportsman of his time. Markham says :

A setting dogge is a certaine lusty land spannell taught by nature
to hunt the partridges before and more than any other chase what-
soever, and that with all eagernesse and fiercenesse, running the
fields over so lustily and busily as if there were no limit in his
desire and furie ; yet so qualified and tempered with art and
obedience, that when he is in the greatest and eagerest pursute,
and seems to be most wilde and frantike, that even thus one hem or
sound of his master's voyce makes him presently stand, gaze
about him, and looke in his master's face, taking all directions
from it whether to precede, stand still, or retire. Nay, even when
he has come to the very place where his prey is, and hath, as it
were, his nose over it, so that it seems he may take it up at his own
pleasure, yet is his temperance and obedience so made and framed

U 2

292 Modern Dogs.

by arte that presently, even on a sudden, he either stands still or
falles down flatte upon his bellie, without daring once to open his
mouth, or make any noise or motion at all, till that his master
come unto him and thus proceedes in all things according to his
directions and commandments.

This extract is somewhat interesting, if a little
complicated, and without any further reference to
the " has beens " of the setter, we must break into
what he is in more modern days, when he is divided
into three divisions — the English, Irish, and Gordon
or black and tan varieties, and the former will have
the preference.

Until well into the present century the setter was
not so commonly used as an adjunct to the gun as
the pointer, and even the writer of the article in the
" Sportsman's Cabinet " said that at that time (1803)
it was oftener used for the purpose of finding par-
tridges to be taken with nets than otherwise. It
had been trained to drop on point, and thus more
readily was the net dragged over him and he and the
birds encircled in its meshes. But he was highly
valued as a sporting dog long before this, and
there is extant a copy of a bond, dated October yth,
1685, which carefully specifies the particulars of a
contract for training a dog. This is as follows :

Ribberford, Oct. 7, 1685.

I, John Harris, of Welldon, in the parish of Hartlebury, in the
county of Worcester, yeoman, for and in consideration of two

The Setter. 293

shillings of lawful English money, this day received of Henry
Herbert, of Ribberford, in the same county, Esq., and of thirty
shillings more of like money, I have promised to be hereafter paid
me, do hereby covenant and promise to and with the said Henry
Herbert, his exhors. and admors., that I will from the day of the
date hereof until the first day of March next, well and sufficiently
maintain and keep a spanill bitch named Quand this day
delivered into my custody by the said Henry Herbert, and
will, before the said first day of March next, fully and effectively
train up and teach the said bitch to sitt partrages, pheasants, and
other game, as well and exactly as the best sitting dogges usually
sitt the same. And the same bitch, so trained and taught, shall
and will deliver to the said Henry Herbert, or whom he shall
appoint to receive her at her home at Ribberford aforesaid, on
the first day of March next. And if at any time after the
said bitch shall, for want of use and practice, or orwise., forget
to sett game as aforesaid, I will at my cost and charges maynetayne
her for a month or longer, as often as need shall require, to
trayne up and teach her to sett game as aforesaid, and shall
and will fully and effectually teach her to sett game as well
and exactly as is above mentoyned.

JOHN HARRIS, x his mark.

The above is, doubtless, one of the earliest
records to be found for training a sporting dog,
and as such is worth reproduction here, especially as
it evidently applies to the setter of that time, then
known as the spaniel.

The varieties, as we have them now, came to be
separated from each other much later, but they all,
some time or another, must have been descended
from the smaller and shorter legged dogs — the
spaniels. I consider it unfortunate that there is so

294 Modern Dogs.

little information extant as to the early history of
the setter. What there is I have endeavoured to
compress into suitable shape and form, and,
perhaps, from the three following chapters, those
readers who are interested in the subject will be
able to obtain some idea as to the period when the
ordinary setter came to be divided into the three
distinct races, as he is found at the present day, and
of which I should say that the black-and-tan is the
youngest variety of all.

296 Modern Dogs.

reality, had his first setter from Mr. Laverack
himself.

It appears that some forty years or more ago,
the author of " The Setter" was in the habit of
going into the neighbourhood of Mr. Cockerton's
residence to shoot during September, and he left
behind him, with the uncle of the latter, one or two
setters, from which the present breed has, with
the aid of slight infusions of other strains, been con-
tinued with extraordinary success. Thus they are
more or less inter-bred, and resist very much the
introduction of new blood. This, Mr. Cockerton has
repeatedly found to be the case, he having on several
occasions introduced a new strain by the purchase
of a stud dog. In no instance has the progeny
answered expectations. They were destroyed, and
their sire came to a similar end. Latterly he has
tried a well-known field trial winner, Dr. Wood's
Fred, of great excellence in the field, and by no
means indifferent in appearance. How the result
has turned out it is yet too early to tell.

However, to the origin of the " Laveracks." We
are told that Mr. Laverack first obtained his strain
from the Rev. A. Harrison, who resided near Carlisle,
and he informs us in his book, published in 1872
when he was seventy-three years of age, that he had
been breeding setters for fifty years. His first fancy

The English Setter. 297

for them must have been well on to seventy years
ago. At that time, and for long after, the pedigrees
of dogs were of little value, and, so long as the strain
was good for work, and not bad to look at, people did
not care a jot what the blood was. Mr. Laverack,
however, had found that he could, by a few genera-
tions of judicious crossing, breed setters more true
to type than others had done.

He was a sportsman, spent most of his time in
shooting and in sub-letting shootings, travelled
much in Scotland and the North of England, and so
became acquainted with the various strains of setters
then extant. Two or three years before his death
the present writer repeatedly met Mr. Laverack, and
a mutual admiration of the dog led to a considerable
interchange of ideas on the subject, and on setters
in particular. Although he would never acknowledge
any cross from the original Old Moll and Ponto,
which he had obtained from Mr. Harrison in 1825, I
am not quite certain such was not tried. There
were strains in the North of England that he valued
highly, and which, no doubt, he would find useful
for the purpose of putting vigour and size into his
puppies, for it is a little against nature to produce in
so short a time such good dogs as he owned by
breeding from brothers and sisters, as he did with
Dash I. and Belle — the one a black and white, the

298 Modern Dogs.

other an orange and white. However, the pedigrees
of Dash II. and Moll III. — the latter black, white, and
tan, both great, great grandchildren of the original
brace — are fully set out in his book, and, of course,
cannot be gainsaid. It is, however, strange that the
black, tan, and whites, and the liver and whites, of
the same " pure " strains did not come out until the
later generations, nor, until actually pressed upon
the point,. did he acknowledge that a liver and white
puppy was the genuine article.

His friend Rothwell, who had the use of the
bes't Laveracks for breeding purposes, wrote him
that one of his puppies was liver and white. To
this a reply came to the effect that it was all
right, and that the colour came back from a
strain of the " Edmond Castle" breed, Cumberland,
which he had introduced about thirty years before !
Rather a peculiar period for a cross to remain in
abeyance before it came out, and which no scientist
would believe possible. It is extremely likely that,
up to a comparatively late date, Mr. Laverack
crossed with the Cumberland and Northumberland
dogs, most of which were liver and white ; and so
we have that colour in the setter to this day, and
there it will remain. Fifteen years or more ago I
saw several of these liver and white dogs that had
more than a tendency to the top knot, which was a

The English Setter. 299

prevailing feature with the Naworth Castle strain,
and in another which Major Cowen keeps at Blaydon
Burn, near Newcastle-on-Tyne.

Whatever crosses may have been used by Mr.
Laverack, or by his friends, there is no doubt that
such proved extremely useful, and have been the
means of fully establishing the strain on a sound
and substantial basis. In his own kennel, towards
the close of his career, Mr. Laverack was not
fortunate in rearing his puppies, and at the time
of his death there were but five setters in his actual
possession. These were Blue Prince, Blue Rock,
Cora (lemon and white), Blue Belle, and Nellie or
Blue Cora. The two latter were own sisters, and
Mr. Laverack's housekeeper sold Prince, Belle, and
another to Mr. T. B. Bowers for about ioo/. The
remaining brace ultimately went to Mr. J. R. Robin-
son, of Sunderland, who held a sort of partnership
with the late Mr. Laverack, and had laid claim to
the whole of the kennel ; but the three dogs Mr.
Bowers bought were sold even before poor
Laverack was laid in his grave near the quiet little
church at Ash, not far from Whitchurch. The
Kennel Club Stud Books tell us how the blood of
these setters has been disseminated since that time.

Mr. Laverack claimed for his dogs excellence
all round in the field, and unusual stamina ; indeed,

300 Modern Dogs.

he talked to me of working them ten, twelve, and
fourteen hours a day for a fortnight. That they were
good dogs goes without saying ; but " Stonehenge "
did not care about their work in the early days of
Field Trials, for he said they had not good noses,
carried their heads low, and were lacking that fine
tail action that he so much valued either in pointer
or setter.

As a show dog, Mr. Laverack's Dash II., better
known, perhaps, as old Blue Dash, was a typical
specimen; and, about 1869 to 1872, was about the
best setter appearing on the bench. He had size,
bone, coat, and general symmetry to commend him,
though his shoulders were rather upright and his neck
not quite of the best, and his appearance would
certainly have been smarter had he been cleaner
cut under the throat. He was good enough to
win at Birmingham, the Crystal Palace, and
elsewhere, and in looks was far the best dog
that I ever saw in his owner's possession. Another
beautiful setter of Laverack's early strain was
Mr. Dickon's Belle, and, it was said, both excellent
in the field as well as in the show ring. So far
as field trial dogs are concerned, Mr. Laverack
mentions Mr. Garth's Daisy and Mr. Purcell
Llewellin's Countess as the best ; but, although
both were fast, very fast, the one had but a mode-

The English Setter. 301

rate nose and the other was said to be somewhat
addicted to false pointing. Both were alluded to in
the reports of the trials where they competed as
faults, which Mr. J. H. Walsh considered to arise
from in-breeding.

Allusion must be made to Mr. Llewellin's Dan,
Novel, Bondhu, Dash III., Count Wind'em ; Mr.
Field's Bruce, and Lord Downe's Sam, who also
went into the Llewellin kennels ; Armstrong's Old
Kate was extremely useful as a brood bitch to that
family of skilled dog trainers ; to Mr. S. E. Shirley's
Rock, who, when tried, and subsequently perhaps,
won more bench prizes than any other setter; to
Mr. Barclay Field's Duke, a great field trial winner
in 1866 and 1867; to Mr. T. B. Bowers' Frank,
the handsomest orange and white setter of that
time; to Mr. Armstrong's Dash, sold to Mr. Brewis.
Mr. G. Lowes's Tarn o' Shanter ; Mr. Cunnington's
Sir Alister; and many other celebrities in their day
might likewise be mentioned.

Some of these improved Laveracks are not now
so successful at the field trial meetings as they
ought to be ; but whether this arises rather from
the lack of opportunity or from other causes it
is difficult to say. As a fact, those persons who
own the handsome dogs, mostly of the Laverack
strain, that win on the show bench, do not, as

302 Modern Dogs.

a rule, train them for field trial work. This has
been noticed to such an extent as to draw forth
the remark that the field trial dog and the show
dog are two distinct articles. I am of opinion
that the absence of the show dog from the public
field arises from the fact that he has not been
afforded training opportunities, and is not from
natural unfitness. Of course, there are good and
bad dogs of all strains, and it is not every dog, even
from the best of parents that ever wrorked at a trial,
that will come forward creditably in a similar
position, and I am fully certain that, did Mr.
Cockerton, already alluded to, enter his dogs for
field trial work as Mr. Llewellin and others do
their's, the former would give quite as good an
account of themselves as the others.

Monk of Furness, one of show strain and a bench
champion, was as good a dog in the field as ever ran,
and at times, says Nicholson, had done better work
than any other of his kennel. He performed credit-
ably at the National Trials, though it was not
one of his best days. He, however, was the sire
to Mr. Nicholson's Master Sam, Mr. F. Lowe's
little bitch, Nun of Kippen, and Mr. T. Lauder's
Sweep the Green, whose public work was quite as
good as any one need wish to see ; and a bitch
that Mr. Cockerton has now— one of the very best

The English Setter. 303

of her day in appearance, Cash in Hand — can
gallop almost as fast as a greyhound, possesses
a fine nose and good natural hunting capabilities.
If ever I saw a dog likely to do well at field trials
when properly trained Cash was that one. Monk
of Furness was sold to go to Canada for 2307.

Few of these show dogs are, as I have hinted, put
into proper hands to bring out their working powers,
hence, what may be called, the cross-bred dogs do
best. Of these, the liver and whites appear to excel
all others, especially some of those that had Baron
Doveridge for sire. He was bred by Lord Water-
park, was by Fred V. from Rue by Drake — Rival ;
Fred, by Blue Prince — Dicken's Belle; thus com-
bining two distinct strains.

These are by no means handsome dogs, but they
never appear to tire, have good noses, and are
always on the look out for game. Mr. Lonsdale's
Woodhill Bruce and his sister Woodhill Beta I have
seen run trials that could not well have been beaten ;
and both Mr. F. Lowe and Mr. F. Warde have had
liver and white dogs of the same strains that did
excellent work, Trip of Kippen not only running
well as a puppy, but when an old dog it took
some luck and a better animal to beat him. These
dogs are, however, difficult to train, for as puppies
they are very fast and terribly wild and head-

304 Modern Dogs.

strong. When once finished it is not easy to find
their superiors.

At the National Trials in 1892 Colonel Cotes
ran a puppy called Dash, which was the result of
the first cross between a Gordon Setter of Lord
Cawdor's strain and an English setter. It per-
formed very well, indeed ; so well, in fact, as to win
the stake, and make one believe that a combination
of the strains would lead to working animals that
would probably have no superior. This one had a
fine nose, carried his head well, quartered his ground
beautifully, and appeared to be persevering through-
out, his natural qualities being good ; and I take it
that in the latter most important attributes u Stone-
henge " considered the early Laveracks deficient. I
do not think those that I have seen run from Mr.
Llewellin's kennels of recent years are to be found
fault with either as regards their pace or other
capabilities. I think it was in 1889 that a nine
months' old puppy of Mr. Llewellin's was entered
at the National Trials, when he ran over a rough
fallow, and by no means a level one either, in such
a perfect, natural style, and at such a pace that I
with others thought the stake at his mercy. How-
ever some trivial fault later on put him out of court.

Some years before this there was a much lauded
setter called Ranger, whose pace and nose were

The English Setter. 305

such as to make him almost invincible. Unfor-
tunately, I never saw him run, and have heard so
many different opinions as to his merits that I
can say very little upon the subject. He was an
uncertain dog, but, this notwithstanding, he must
be included with the dogs of his time — such as
Count Wind'em, Phantom, Drake, Dash II., Belle;
with Countess and Nellie, who, at the Vaynol trials,
in 1872, ran so well as a brace that they were given
by the judges the full hundred points — as near the
head of his race, and it has been said of him
that when in the humour he was " as steady and
dependable as a steam locomotive." During
Ranger's career from 1873 to 1877 he won seven
stakes and special prizes, and, if at times his work
was not quite perfect, he, in the opinion of the
judges, usually made up for some little delinquency
by finding and standing birds in an extraordinary
and brilliant manner. Ranger was a plain-looking
—indeed, an ugly little dog, white with black and
slight tan marks. He was bred by Mr. Macdona
from his Judy by Paul Hackett's Rake — Calver's
Countess; his sire being Quince II. by Jones'
Quince I. — Lort's Dip.

An interesting trial would, no doubt, have been
fought could he have been brought against Dr.
Wood's lemon and white Fred, who proved himself

[VOL. I.] X

306 Modem Dogs.

one of the best field trial dogs of more recent
years. Unfortunately, he had not a long reign,
flourishing, as our history would say, between 1891-
92, both dates inclusive. Bred by Mr. T. Webber,
of Falmouth, in August, 1886, Fred was by Prince
W.— Moll W. ; Prince by Sam IV.— Moll III. ; Sam
by Young Rollick — Nell ; but Fred's dam does not
appear in the stud books. He was a lemon and
white ticked dog, well made and symmetrical, but
scarcely up to high-class show form in appearance,
his head being more characteristic of the Irish
rather than of the English setter. Fred made his
mark as a Field Trial dog, and perhaps on all points
had never many superiors ; although, on his first
appearance in 1890, he was put out of the aged
competition at the National Trials because he failed
to back, and Mr. Llewellin's Satin Bondhu won the
stake. The latter, if not quite so fast as Fred, had
shown a better nose by finding birds the scent of which
Dr. Wood's dog failed to hit, though the latter was well
in front at the time. As is the case with almost all
fast dogs, this failing to back was, at any rate in the
early portion of his career, Fred's chief defect.
He won four stakes outright, the special cup on
two occasions, once he was placed third only, when
without injustice he should have been second, and
on two other occasions he owed defeat to his

The English Setter 307

unwillingness to back a point made by his op-
ponent. Fred, who had alwrays been a delicate
dog, died during the summer of 1892.

Most of the best bench setters of modern times
have come from the Ravensbarrow kennels of Mr.
Cockerton, who has had them for some forty years,
though he did not commence showing, excepting at
a local gathering, until about 1881, since which time
he has taken pretty much all before him, especially
in the bitch classes at Birmingham. His best dogs
have been Sir Simon, Madame Rachel, Cash in
Hand, Belle of Furness, Monk of Furness, and there
are more whose names do not occur to me. Mr.
John Shorthose, of Newcastle, has winning dogs of
much the same strain ; so have Mr. G.^ Cartmel,
Kendal; Mr. G. E. Pridmore, Coleshill ; Mr. T.
Steadman, Merionethshire ; Mr. G. Potter, Carlisle,
Mr. Robertshaw, Lancashire, and others.

Mr. W> Hartley, Kendal, has had good dogs of
this blood, Mr. W. H. B. Cockerton's Lune Belle
and the writer's Richmond being the best of his, and
he who breeds such a brace in a lifetime cannot be
considered at all unlucky. At Birmingham, in 1892,
after wiming in their respective classes, they were
placed first and third in competition for special
prizes awarded to the best setters of all varieties.

The best colours for these "improved Laveracks"

X 2

308 Modern Dogs.

are blue or black and white ticked (or blue beltons,
as they are called, taking this name from a village in
Northumberland), orange and white ticked, lemon
and white ticked, and liver and white ticked. The
orange, lemon, and liver or brown, are found in various
shades, but the lighter ones are the most desirable.

Allusion has already been made to the setters
bred by Mr. Purcell-Llewellin, and by many persons,
both in this country and America, known as the
"Llewellin" Setter. Whether the strain has by its
characteristics merited a distinguishing title of its
own is a question upon which opinions are divided,
but, as to the excellence of the breed in work, and
many of them in appearance, there cannot be two
opinions. . In the field and on the moors they hold
their own anywhere ; but of late years, with a single
exception, Mr. Llewellin's dogs have not bee i shown.

The following interesting description of the
Llewellin setter with which I have been favoured
will, I believe, form a valuable contribution on a
subject with which the admirers of the strain are not
well acquainted :

" This is a strain of English setter, formed by its
owner, Mr. R. LI. Purcell-Llewellin, of Dorrington,
near Shrewsbury. The late Mr Laverack, in his
book * The Setter,' describes him as one ' who has
endeavoured, and is still endeavouring, by sparing

The English Setter. 309

neither expense nor trouble, to bring to perfection
the setter,' and has for over thirty years experi-
mented largely in breeding and crossing strains of
setters. In due course he succeeded in producing
the remarkable family of setters which now bears
his name.

u Mr. Llewellin many years ago kept black and
tan setters ; though he did not in those days
exhibit. These dogs, however, although he spent
much time and pains over their breeding, fell
short of the ideal in his mind of the highest type of
sportsman's dog, and, having moors in Scotland, and
shootings in England and Wales, to test his ideas
on, he, rightly or wrongly, was fully persuaded in his
own mind that it was hopeless to spend more time
over the black and tans ; and, after full considera-
tion, he finally discarded them. This conclusion
was not come to without long trial and experiment
of all the best strains of the day, having, besides the
well known sorts, many of a kind not generally
known, such as those of Mr. Hall, master of the
Holderness, and, above all, those of his intimate
friend 'Sixty-one' (the Rev. Hely Hutchinson),
which were bred and used long before the days of
dog shows for work in the Lews, where ' Sixty-one '
for many years held some 70,000 acres of moors.
Mr. Llewellin had his own reasons for discarding

310 Modern Dogs.

black and tans after experience of them for several
years.

" He next tested the Irish setter, and in experi-
menting with this breed he followed on the same
lines as in the case of their forerunners, the black
and tans, i.e., sparing no expense and trouble to get
at the best possible specimens, and to try as many
of the leading strains as possible. We find him
therefore purchasing for ^150 the famous ' Plunket'
from Mr. Macdona, and dogs from the breed of the
Knight of Kerry, from Colonel Whyte, of Sligo,
from those of Cecil Moore, Colonel Hutchinson, Mr.
Jephson, and several others. With these he bred,
and some of the produce he exhibited, and his Kite,
Samson, Knowing, Carrie, and Marvel, were excel-
lent specimens of the Irish setter, winning him
prizes on the show bench ; whilst Kite, Marvel, and
Samson, were successful in field competition.

" Nevertheless, after long trial, Mr. Llewellin
reluctantly confessed that, though superior to the
black and tans, there were certain peculiarities in
the Irish setter which he wished to see modified.
Hereupon he commenced a long course of blending
and crossing of these breeds with others. The
result of one of these experiments was a handsome
bitch, called Flame, a show winner, and for reasons
which Mr. Llewellin deemed sufficient, he sold her.

The English Setter. 3 1 1

The blood of this bitch is still to be found in
many of our leading bench winners at the present
time.

" With all these crosses, however, Mr. Llewellin
failed to satisfy his aspirations for a perfect working
setter. Handsome many of them were, but he
desired to develop certain peculiar field styles and
methods of hunting in them, and which, as yet,
neither the comparatively pure breeds alluded to, nor
the crosses, had shown themselves possessed of.

" Mr. Laverack's breed was just about that time
at its zenith, and, attracting Mr. Llewellin's atten-
tion, he hoped that at last he might obtain, in the
so-called ' pure Laveracks,' what he had been
seeking. He therefore, at a high price, secured
the choicest Laverack blood, i.e., that of Dash —
Moll, and Dash — Lill. By this means Mr. Llewellin
had succeeded so far in gaining all he desired,
owning, as he now did, the beautiful Countess, and
her half sister Nellie, and later on, Mr. Garth's Daisy,
three of the most famous Laveracks in the field that
ever lived. He also owned Prince, brother to Nellie,
a very handsome blue belton dog and a great show
winner for his enterprising owner, who, moreover,
owned Lill and Rock, the latter afterwards drafted
by him and known as Lort's Jock. Mr. Llewellin
bred several pure Laveracks, amongst which were

312 Modern Dogs.

the handsome bitches Phantom, Puzzle, Princess,
all great show winners.

" Now, although Mr. Llewellin thus had the best
possible opportunities and means of estimating the
Laverack breed, he finally came to the conclusion
that, however handsome at that time they were, and
in the case of Countess, Nellie, and Daisy, good in
some respects in the field, yet that, on the average,
the pure Laveracks had too many unsatisfactory and
inconvenient peculiarities of mind, habit, and instinct,
to fit them for attaining his ideal. This discovery
set Mr. Llewellin once again on the track of experi-
ment, and, this time, with far more satisfaction to
himself than anything he had previously experienced.
The result was the breed of dogs which bears his
name, and which has scored its mark so deeply in
setter history. Mr. Teasdale Buckell, the gentle-
man who handled so many of his winners at field
trials in former years, materially assisted in showing
this variety to the world.

"The particular strain which is known as the
' Llewellin ' setter is, therefore, a blend of the pure
Dash — Moll and Dash — Lill Laverack, with blood
represented by Sir Vincent Corbet's Old Slut, and
with that of the late Mr. Statter's Rhcebe, as shown
chiefly in Dick, Dan, Dora, Daisy, Ruby, &c., but,
whilst those for the most part were somewhat coarse,

The English Setter. 313

withal powerful workmanlike dogs, the Llewellin
combination has retained the size, bone, and power,
and added improvement in shape and make, so that
the tendency towards coarseness, slackness of loin,
and want of refinement, has been improved away,
and the characteristic of the Llewellin is size with
quality. That they possess quality and beauty of
appearance their show bench achievements have
proved, whilst at the same time their field trial
record as a setter kennel has never been approached.

" In the days when the feeling for show bench
honours was keener in Mr. Llewellin, his kennel had
only to put in an appearance at a show to take
nearly all the prizes. For years this was the case at
the two great gatherings, Birmingham and London,
the only places were they were exhibited.

"The sight presented by the setter benches in
1884, tne first year that the Birmingham authorities
offered special prizes for field trial winners, is well
remembered by sportsmen. On that occasion Mr.
Llewellin entered twelve field trial winners, viz.,
Count Wind'em, Dashing Bondhu, Dashing Duke,
Sable Bondhu, Novel, Dashing Beauty, Dashing
Ditto, Countess Bear, Countess Moll, Countess
Rose, Nora, and Norna. Although there were some
absentees, the team made a show of setters in itself,
representing field as well as show champions — Count

314 Modern Dogs.

Wind'em, a field trial and also bench show champion,
for whom Mr. Llewellin had been offered, and refused,
^750 and £ 1 200 ; Novel, equally a champion winner
in the field and bench shows ; and that beautiful bitch
Countess Bear, winner of the first field trial c Derby/
besides other field trials, and several show prizes,
both here and in America. Countess Rose was
also a bench winner, and with Novel, winner of the
Brace Stakes at the National Field Trials, on
which occasion that well known judge, the late Sir
Vincent Corbet, declared them the best brace he
had ever seen. For these two bitches Mr. Llewellin
was offered on the spot £1000. This same Bir-
mingham team ikewise included three winners of
the field trial ' Derby,' Countess Bear, already
alluded to ; Sable Bondhu, and Dashing Ditto ;
also Norna, Nora, and Dashing Beauty, all gainers
of first prizes at field trials ; besides Dashing
Bondhu, winner of more field trial prizes than any
dog, pointer, or setter, that ever ran, according to
the field trial records in the Kennel Stud Book.

" The peculiarity of this kennel is that the same
dogs unite in themselves, in a measure no others
have done, first class show, as well as field trial
quality. There are owners who have dogs with
which they win on the bench but not in the field.
Others, again, there are, which perform in the field

The English Setter. 315

but would take a low place at a show. The
Llewellin dogs, on the contrary, have proved them-
selves capable bench show champions ; yet the
doings of the self-same dogs at field trials would
alone have been sufficient to place them at the
head of the list, even if they had possessed no
other qualification.

" Mr. Llewellin has never, at any time, cared
to keep so large a kennel as some other setter
breeders, nor does he rear many during the year,
a fact, which should not be lost sight of when the
large proportion of show and field trial prizes which
have fallen to his setters is considered.

"The 'blue ribbon' of field trials is held to be
the ' Braces Stakes,' and, next in estimation is
the field trial ' Derby,' the latter being a Kennel
Club event, and the former that of the National
Society. Mr. Llewellin's setters have won the
' Braces Stakes ' twelve times, and the ' Derby ' four
times, whilst running second for those events on
additional occasions. The ' Derby ' was won three
years in succession by his dogs Sable Bondhu,
Dashing ditto, and Dashing Clinker. On the
occasion when Sable won in 1882, three other
puppies from the same kennel ran, and the four
were placed equal, though the owner preferred
that Sable Bondhu should have the honour, and

316 Modern Dogs.

so she was selected to run against the wi ning
pointer puppy for the championship, which, as indi-
cated above, she won. When Clinker won in 1883
something of the 'same happened, as he, with his
kennel companion Duke Phoenix, had beaten all the
other puppies, and Clinker was given the honour of
running against the best pointer puppy, which he
beat, and so won the great prize.

11 Mr. Llewellin has not been a competitor at the
Kennel Club Trials since 1883, he not approving of
the action of that body in certain matters appertain-
ing to sporting dogs.

" It should be noted that several leading American
sportsmen imported some of his dogs several years
ago, and that their workmanlike qualities and suit-
ability to the peculiarities of American field sport
brought them rapidly into favour, both in the States
and Canada. The place they hold both at bench
showrs and field trials in that country is quite as
prominent as it has been in the one of their origin,
It is a question, however, whether the breed as it
is now7 preserved in America is in all respects up to
its original standard.

" It is interesting to state that Mr. Llewellin has
never departed from the lines of blood with w^hich he
began to form his breed nearly twenty years ago.
No outside cross of any sort or kind has been

The English Setter. 317

allowed to invade those lines. The various
families are strictly preserved, and the strong
family likeness, with the peculiar habits and
methods of working, and their power to transmit
those to others, justify, I consider, their title to
rank as a distinct breed, which fact is perhaps more
fully recognised in America than here."

From time to time there have cropped up
other so-called strains of English setters, but they
have never possessed sufficiently distinguishing
features to entitle them to a name or classification
of their own. Personally, I have known more than
one breed that better deserved a position of their
own than some that strived to attain it. In West-
moreland, fifteen or twenty years ago, the shooting
men in the neighbourhood of Crosthwaite had black
setters, not more than forty pounds in weight, with
little coat and no lumber about them. They were
not of very great pace, because the small allotments
there were not suitable for fast dogs, but their noses
were excellent ; they required little training, and had
stamina enough to hunt every alternate day during
the season. I believe that in Wales there was a
similar strain of setter to this, which has likewise
been lost — maybe by continual inbreeding.

Another class of dog I saw in the north many
years ago was a pale red setter, with a double

31 8 Modern Dogs.

nose. Their owner said " they were the best
in the world," but difficult to rear, and seldom
producing more than a brace or three puppies
at a time. I fancy both these strains have dis-
appeared with the " statesman " of the dales who
shot over his own land, and could go over that
of his neighbour were the latter not a sportsman
himself. The surroundings of shooting have of late
years changed in the north, and with this change
such strains of setters as I have alluded to have
disappeared.

There was another valued strain to be found in
the kennels of the Marquis Breadalbane, and which
I should not be surprised to find that Mr. Laverack
had used freely. They were called " red marbles "
or " blue marbles," the latter word possessing a
similar meaning to that we attach to " mottle,"
" ticked," or flecked." Of this strain were a
brace or two that " Sixty-one" owned, on which he
set great store, and called Balloch setters. They
were long, low dogs, with great bone ; they had
nicely-shaped, but rather short, heads ; their peculi-
arity lay in having a thick coat of, so to say, " fur,"
almost wool, at the roots of the ordinary jacket — an
undercoat, in fact, like that a good collie should
possess. No doubt the extra coat, not noticeable
without examination, was provided by nature to with-

The English Setter. 319

stand the cold climate in which they lived all the
year round. In other respects both coat and feather
were soft and silky. These dogs were excellent in
the field, carrying their heads high, and working
for the body scent in beautiful style. I believe,
too, that Mr. Llewellin had one or two of these
setters, and his opinion of them as working dogs
was high.

Much has at times been written of the Llanidloes
setter, which, as its name implies, has its habitat in
Wales. At a show at Welshpool, in 1889, a class
was provided for them, but no prizes were awarded.
The chief exhibitor was Mr. J. J. W. Dashwood, of
Huntington Court, Kingston, Hereford. It seems to
me that this Welsh setter is no more than an ordi-
nary English setter, with little distinguishing type,
excepting a coarse, hard, curly coat, and a thick,
though long, head, may be deemed to constitute a
type, which I do not think is the case. It bears a
reputation as a close, slow, and methodical worker,
and better able to perform the duties of an all-round
dog in a rough country than the more fashionably
bred animal, which is, however, fast supplanting
the older-fashioned and more spaniel-like article.
From what I have heard by men who have used
the Llanidloes setter, it appears to be hardy, is
not spoiled by being allowed to hunt covert for

.320 Modern Dogs.

cock and pheasant, and is thoroughly suitable for
.a " one dog man."

The Anglesea setter, the Newcastle setter, the
Featherstone setter, and others that could be men-
tioned are but local strains of the general variety
as it is diffused throughout the country. In no case
have they been kept sufficiently pure to justify any-
one placing them as varieties of their own. The Earl
-of Tankerville has had good setters, and so has Lord
Waterpark ; likewise, Mr. Jones of Oscot, the late
Mr. F. R. Bevan, Mr. W. Lort, Mr. Bayley, Colonel
Cotes, Mr. R. Lloyd Price, Mr. Cunnington, Mr.
Paul Hackett, but none of them laid claim to any
particular strain of their own.

The Russian setter has often been alluded to by
previous writers. " Stonehenge " gives us a picture
of one, but such a dog has either died out altogether
or been returned to the country that gave him birth.
As a fact I do not believe the Russians ever
had a setter of their own. For years Mr. Purcell
Llewellin offered a prize for him at the Birming-
ham show, but in no instance was there an entry
forthcoming. Possibly, in promising such a thing
the Welsh squire was poking fun at the breed, and,
in a way of his own, endeavouring to prove to the
public what he thought himself, that such a thing
as a " Russian setter" had only existence in fancy.

The English Setter. 321

Our English Setter Club was formulated in 1890;
following, a description of the breed was drawn
up and adopted, and I fancy its foundation was
taken from Mr. Laverack's description in his book.
However, I with others do not consider the club
standard by any means what it ought to be, so
in preference to theirs I give one of my own, which
in the main is similar to u Stonehenge's " the one
generally adopted.

1. The skull (value 5) has a character peculiar
to itself. It possesses considerable prominence of
the occipital bone ; is moderately narrow between
the ears ; and there is a decided brow over the
eyes. A sensible forehead with width enough for
brains.

2. The nose (value 5) should be long and wide,
without any fullness under the eyes. There should
be in the average dog setter at least four inches
from the inner corner of the eye to the end of the
nose. Between the point and the root of the nose
there should be a slight depression — at all events,
there should be no fullness — and the eyebrows
should rise sharply from it. The nostrils must be
wide apart and large in the openings, and the end
should be moist and cool, though many a dog with
good scenting powers has had a dry nose. In dark
coloured specimens the nose should be black, but in

[VOL. I.] Y

322 Modern Dogs.

the orange and whites, or lemon and whites, a
coloured nose is desirable, though it must not be
spotted. The jaws should be exactly equal in
length, " pig jaw," as the receding lower one is
called, being greatly against its possessor, nor
should he be undershot.

3. Ears, lips, and eyes (value 10). — With regard
to ears, they should be small, shorter than the
pointer's. The " leather " should be thin and soft,
carried closely to the cheeks, almost folding from
their roots, so as not to show the inside, without the
slightest tendency to prick; the ear should be partly
clothed with silky hair, but there must not be too
much of it. The lips also are not so full and
pendulous as those of the pointer, but at their angles
there should be a slight fullness, not reaching quite
to the extent of hanging. The eyes must be full of
animation, and of medium size, the best colour being
dark brown, and they should be set with their
angles straight across. The head and expression of
the English setter are pleasing.

4. The neck (value 5) has not the full rounded
muscularity of the pointer, being considerably
thinner, but still slightly arched. It must not be
" throaty," though the skin is loose.

5. The shoulders and chest (value 15) should
display great liberty in all directions, with sloping

The English Setter. 323

deep shoulder blades, and elbows well let down. The
chest should be deep rather than wide. The ribs
well sprung behind the shoulder, and great depth
of the back ribs should be especially demanded.

6. Back, quarters, and stifles (value 15). — An
arched loin is desirable, but not to the extent of
being " roached " or "wheel-backed," a defect
which generally tends to a slow up-and-down gallop.
Stifles well bent, and set wide apart, to allow the
hind legs to be brought forward with liberty in the
gallop.

7. Legs, elbows, and hocks (value 12). — The elbows
and toes, which generally go together, should be set
straight; and if not, the "pigeon-toe" or inturned
leg is less objectionable than the out-turn, in which
the elbow is confined by its close attachment to the
ribs. The arm should be muscular, and the bone
fully developed, with strong and broad knees, short
pasterns, of which the size in point of bone should
be as great as possible (a very important point),
and their slope not exceeding a very slight deviation
from the straight line. The hind legs should be
muscular, with plenty of bone, clean strong hocks,
and hairy feet.

The feet (value 8). — A difference of opinion exists
as to the comparative merit of the cat and hare foot
for standing work. Masters of foxhounds invariably

Y 2

324 Modern Dogs.

select that of the cat, and, as they have better
opportunities than any other class for instituting the
necessary comparison, their selection may be ac-
cepted as final. But, as setters are specially
required to stand wet and heather, it is imperi-
tatively necessary that there should be a good
growth of hair between the toes, and on this
account a longer but thick foot, well clothed with
hair on and between the toes is preferred. This
hair on and between the toes acts as a protection on
rough stony ground, and it is said that amongst the
flints of some countries a setter can on this account
work for a day where a pointer would be placed
hors de combat in half an hour.

9. The flag (value 5) is in appearance charac-
teristic of the breed, although it sometimes happens
that one or two puppies in a well-bred litter
exhibit a curl or other malformation, usually con-
sidered to be indicative of a stain. The setter's flag
should have a gentle sweep downwards ; and the
nearest resemblance to any familiar form is to the
scythe with its curve reversed. The feather must be
composed of straight silky hairs ; close to the
root the less hair the better, and again towards the
point, of which the bone should be fine, and the
feather tapering with it.

10. Symmetry and quality (value 10), — In

The English Setter. 325

character the setter should display a great amount
of " quality," which means a combination of
symmetry, as understood by the artist, with the
peculiar attributes of the breed under examination,
as interpreted by the sportsman. Thus, a setter
possessed of such a frame and outline, as to charm
the former would be considered by the sportsman
defective in " quality " if he possessed a curly or
harsh coat, or if he had a heavy head, with pendant
bloodhoundlike jowl and throaty neck. The general
outline is elegant, and very taking to the eye.

i it. The texture and feather of coat (value 5)
are much regarded, a soft silky hair without curl
being a sine qua non. The feather should be con-
siderable, and should fringe the hind as well as the
fore legs.

12. The colour of coat (value 5) is not much
insisted on, a great variety being admitted. These
are as follows : Black and white ticked, with large
splashes, and more or less marked with black, known
as " blue belton ; " orange and white, ticked and
marked as in the blacks or blues ; liver and white,
ticked in a similar manner; black and white ticked,
with tan markings; orange or lemon and white ticked;
black and white ; liver and white. Pure white, black,
liver, and red or yellow are sometimes seen, but are
not desirable.

326

Modern Dogs.

Weight, dogs from 48!!}. to 6olb. ; bitches rather
smaller.

STANDARD POINTS OF THE ENGLISH SETTER.

Value.

Skull 5

Nose 5

Ears, lips, and eyes 10

Neck 5

Shoulders and chest i =;

Back, quarters, and stifles 1 5

55
Grand Total 100

Value.

Legs, elbows, and hocks 12
Feet . 8

Flag .

5

Symmetry and quality... 10

Coat

Colour ..

5
5

45

CHAPTER XVI.

BLACK. AND TAN (OR GORDON)
SETTER.

US variety of the modern setter had its name
;>n£inally from the fact of being first introduced to
ifr public from Gordon Castle, Fochabers, Banff-
shifr -he Highland seat of the Dukes of Richmond
and 4.'r*,:don. For what length of time the lamily
poft»***v «i the strain no one appears to know, but
that it 4fa& not there in 1803, when Colonel Thorn-
ton *4i the place, may be taken for g-raPUM
a* rha s sportsman, in his " Northern Tourrv"

makes nQ allusion whatever to any such dogs. He
s,- howewt mention the Highland deerhouiul!
gives aft account of a somewhat duh
tike ht-. t*en a wolf and & Pw&t&Man

vhich, on being A! a «kvr tore its

Si ver, have

k and i r the ' • -i setter.*1

ar n Gray; in his n })• t. '

.

328 Modern Dogs.

become general, as the more popular name has
obtained the voice of the public.

According to the late Rev. T. Pearce(u Idstone"),
who must be taken as an authority on the variety,
about 1820 was the period when the then Duke of
Gordon took his special strain of setters in hand ;
but as to where they came from, or how they were
produced, no facts are forthcoming, and the result
is left to imagination.

It is somewhat strange that two such observant
sportsmen as Mr. Charles St. John and Mr. John
Colquhoun, who, the former in " Highland Sports,''
and the latter in " The Moor and the Loch," wrote
so charmingly of what appertains to dogs, shoot-
ing, natural history, and fishing in Scotland, should
have little or nothing to say about the Gordon setter.
They wrote some fifty years or so ago, and this
silence must be taken as an indication that the
Gordon setter was not a common dog then.

One much regrets that at the present time (1892)
this old variety of setter is not to be found at Gordon
Castle. Years ago the dogs there were bred to
English setters, principally of Laverack blood, with
the result that the valued and true type of black, tan,
and white Gordon was entirely lost. The setters at
the kennels now, as I write, and for some years, have
been all useful working dogs of modern strains.

The Black and Tan (or Gordon) Setter. 329

In England no doubt there had been setters of a
black and brown colour from the earliest manufacture
or introduction of the breed, and Gervaise Markham,
in " Hunger's Prevention ; or, the whole Art of
Fowling by Land and Water" (1655), mentions
black and fallow dogs as the hardest to endure
labour. This description must be taken to mean
black and tan, but not to imply that such dogs were
similar to the Gordon setter of to-day. Again, a
writer in 1776, who calls himself " A Gentleman of
Suffolk, a staunch sportsman," says there were fifty
years before he wrote two distinct tribes (strains) of
setting dogs " the black tanned, and the orange or
lemon and white." But from other sources we
find the latter colour the commonest. Sydenham
Edwards (1805), in " Cynographia Britannica," gives
an illustration of three setters, one of which is
undoubtedly black and tan in colour, but in type it
has very little if any resemblance to the modern
strain. Twro white and orange setters are given in
Bingley's Natural History (1809), and no mention is
made of black and tan setters.

Our old friend " The Druid" (Mr. H. H. Dixon,
of Carlisle), who visited Gordon Castle about thirty
years ago, says : "We beguiled the way by a chat with
Jubb, the head keeper, whose seven and thirty black,
white, and tans, were spreading themselves out like

33° Modern Dogs.

a fan in the kennel meadow. . . . Originally
the Gordon setters were all black and tans ;
now, all the setters in the Castle are black, tan, a d
white, with a little tan on the toes, muzzle, root of
the tail, and round the eyes. The late Duke of
Gordon liked it, as it was both gayer and not so
difficult to back on the hillside as the dark coloured.
They are light in frame and merry wwkers, and
1 better put up half a dozen birds,' says Jubb, ' than
make a false point.'

Various opinions have been expressed as to how
the original black and tan setter of the heavy type
was obtained. He was a bigger and coarser dog
than any other of his race, and his deep rich colour,
heavy head, preponderance of haw in many cases,
and strong dewlap, betrayed a not very remote cross
with the bloodhound ; and, judging from appearances,
I have not the slightest doubt that, at one time or
another, this hound blood has entered into his com-
position. A single dash would do the trick nicely,
and such would account for the tendency in some of
the heavier Gordons to, like the Irish setter, hunt the
ground when at a loss, rather than carry the head
high and sniff the wind.

Impure blood such as this in the strain has never
been acknowledged, but even admirers of the breed
in " all its purity " have not objected to the state-

The Black and Tan (or Gordon) Setter. 331

ment that at no very remote date a cross with the
collie had been found useful. The latter may have
been the case, the former more likely ; and, as blood-
hounds were not uncommonly used in some localities
in Scotland for hunting the roe, no difficulty would
be experienced in quietly putting a bitch to such a
hound, and no one be any the wiser. The collie
cross, some writers have said, could be plainly traced
in the strains of many modern Gordon setters; in
quite as many, the bloodhound cross may be more
strongly noticed in the shape of head and general
expression.

At Tattersall's, in July, 1837, five and a half brace
of setters from Gordon Castle, and most of them
black, white, and tans, were sold by auction, reaching
417 guineas, an excellent price. The highest
figures were given by Lord Chesterfield for young
Regent and Crop, they reaching 72 guineas and 60
guineas respectively, although the latter had had one
of her ears eaten off by a ferret. Lord Douglas gave
56 guineas for Saturn ; Mr. Martyn 106 guineas for
a leash of bitches, and Lord Abercorn and the Duke
of Richmond paid 34 guineas each for a dog and a
bitch. This was but a draft from the kennels, for
others had been privately purchased by the then
Dukes of Abercorn and Argyle, and Viscount Boling-
broke got some likewise. This sale took place on

33 2 Modern Dogs.

account of the death of the Duke of Gordon, and
forms an interesting example of the price obtained
for sporting dogs at that time.

In " Dogs of Scotland," by Mr. Thomson Gray
(1891), a contributor gives some interesting par-
ticulars of the setters at Gordon Castle, and from the
extract below it will be noted that he differs from
what " The Druid" wrote and says. The original
strains were black, tan, and white. " These dogs
were seventy years ago of different colours," says
the correspondent, " the majority being black and
tan, and black, white, and tan. Some were liver and
white, and black and white, and lemon and white was
sometimes seen. They were famed for their work-
ing qualities, and, dog shows being unknown, good
looks were of secondary importance, although the
whole of the dogs were very stylish, and many of
them exceedingly well marked. The black, white, and
tans were heavily marked, black and white, with tan
spots above the eyes and on the cheeks — the black
and white clearly defined but not spotted. . . . ,

11 The black and tans were of a lighter tan than
the black and tans of to-day, and often had white
breasts and feet. The dogs on the whole had a
heavy look about them, with spaniel looking earsr
but excellent legs and feet, with wealth of coat and
feather, beautiful heads and well set on sterns.

The Black and Tan (or Gordon) Setter. 333

Light eyes were not allowed on any account, nor
snipy noses. As workmen they were undeniable,
and when the writer in question used them on the
moors twenty-five or thirty years ago, they could
easily have held their own with any modern cracks.

"The late Mr. Jubb, who had the care of the
Gordon Castle setters for many years, could break a
dog to perfection ; the strain, though, was easy to
break, and naturally backed well. They were not
fast, but excellent in staying powers, keeping on
steadily from morn till night, had good noses, and
seldom made a false point." The same writer goes
on to say, " As to the original colour, I had the
particulars from an old man named Bill Rogers, who
was about the kennel at Gordon Castle before the
battle of Waterloo (this would be a very, very early
period of the formation of the kennels), that the dogs
were black and tan, black tan and white ; liver and
white (and sometimes lemon or orange and white),
the black and tans, which often had white feet and
chests, predominating."

Another authority, who often saw the Gordon
Castle dogs, and was acquainted with Jubb, the
head keeper, viz., Mr. E. Laverack, said that these
setters were black, tan, and white.

Seemingly most of the noted kennels in Scotland
had obtained their dogs, at one time or another, from

334 Modern Dogs.

Gordon Castle, as Lord Lovat, Sir A. G. Gordon of
Cluny, Major Douglas, Mr. Thompson (Broughty
Ferry), Lord Panmure, the Marquis of Huntley,
Lord Saltoun, Sir James Elphinstone, and Mr.
McNicholls (Glenbucket), could all trace their
strains to one common origin. From some of them
I firmly believe the bloodhound cross must have
come, for in no other way can be accounted the
hound-like type that was not uncommon about
twenty years ago.

Not very long since I was given a Gordon setter,
said to be of the best blood, and it had cost
thirty guineas in Scotland as a broken dog. Never
look a gift dog in the mouth, but its breaking was a
myth and its value in shillings ! The first day I had
him out the parish was not big enough to inclose
him. He chased everything, and got into a plan-
tation where, with nose down, and a whimper every
now and then, he chevied the hares and rabbits to
his heart's content — to my disgust. I was sorely
tempted to shoot the brute. When tired he came to
my whistle and had a right good thrashing ; a five mile
walk home along a hard road in pouring rain tamed
him a bit, and as he had a sensible look about him I
gave him another treat next day, over the roughest
land I could find. Here, after a long trudge of some
eight hours or so, he became amenable to discipline —

The Black and Tan (or Gordon) Setter. 335

hunted and found birds by their ground scent, and
worked more like a hound than a pointer or setter.
Had he done like " Idstone's " Gordons, crossed with
his collie, and gone round his birds as his ancestors
would have done round a flock of sheep, I should
have noticed it. He did not do so. His head was
always down. A third day he worked well within
range, answered to the whistle, and his old training
had come back to him. He was, however, no use to
me, so I gave him away. Now, this Gordon setter
was good-looking, and from a strain that bore a
reputation of being " pure even amongst the pure,"
but his manners and appearance were too hound-
like to please me.

There is no doubt a screw loose somewhere in
the Gordon setter, else he would be more popular
now than he appears to be. With the early Field
Trials he had much to do, with the later ones next
to nothing. The Rev. T. Pearce's Rex and Kent,
Mr. Adey's Kate, Young Kent, and Mr. J. H.
Salter's Rex all performed creditably in the field ;
so did the Earl of Dudley's Claret and Dandy
(Mr. J. N. Fleming's, Maybole, N.B.), the champion
at Southill trials in 1865, but somehow or other
this good work did not continue, and was uneven.
Some dogs were slow and stupid ; others fast and
disobedient, and as a fact I have only seen two

336 Modern Dogs.

Gordon setters performing at Field Trials during the
past ten years that I have attended them, and I
think this must be taken as proof positive that he
is not so good as either the English or Irish strains.

Even on the show bench he is not what he was.
Mr. Jobling's Dandie won the first prize at the first
dog show ever held, and took the cup as the best
setter in the exhibition. Then " Idstone's " Kent in
his day (1863-65) won pretty well all before him in
the ring, and created quite a furore when he first
appeared at Cremorne in 1863, exhibited by Sir
Edward Hoare. He there won the first prize, and,
notwithstanding the fact of his being without pedi-
gree, was purchased by Mr. Pearce for about ^30.
Although Sir Edward Hoare had obtained this dog
from a rabbit catcher on the Hothfield estate, who
said it had been suckled on a cat, pains were taken
to find out that he had a pedigree. In the end
his dam was said to be a black and tan bitch of
" Adamson's," his sire Shot by Mr. Jobling's
Scamp — his Nell, the latter by a liver and tan dog
of Sir Matthew Ridley's. No doubt Kent was
properly bred, for his stock were so far satisfactory
both in field work and in appearance.

Perhaps there may be a brighter future for the
Gordon setter now that a club has been established
to look after his welfare. Still, it should have held

The Black and Tan (or Gordon) Setter. 337

Field Trials in 1892 that did not come off, nor have
any of the cups offered by the club for competition
at the Kennel Club Trials yet obtained entries. As
a fact, on the show bench, almost all the prizes are
won by the very handsome dogs that have been
introduced by Mr. R. Chapman, of Glenboig, Scot-
land. For many years he has taken considerable
pains to produce neat animals. Those he shows us
now, are very perfect specimens, and, as a rule, do
not display the slightest trace of either bloodhound
or collie cross. They are of the accepted black and
tan colour, free from white, and in their prime,
peculiarly rich and bright in their markings. I
fancy to them we must look for any improvement
that may be made in this variety, and with the
assistance of the Gordon Setter Club in their
popularisation. Mr. Chapman, who speaks highly
of his strain as field dogs, considers them quite
equal to any other race of setter he has ever used.
It may be said that Mr. Chapman annually lets out
teams of dogs for the moors, and his general
surroundings and tastes allow him to speak with
some authority on the subject. Still, we know that
everybody's geese are swans and every man's dog
the best.

Colonel Le Gendre Starkie, at Huntroyde Hall,
near Burnley, Lancashire, has given considerable

[VOL. I.] £

338 Modern Dogs.

attention to the Gordon setter, and at times has
had excellent specimens. The gallant colonel
repeatedly sends a dog or two to compete at the
Field Trials, and where he has often judged, but I
cannot call to mind any occasion upon which he
had run a black and tan setter in public. No doubt
had he had one fast enough and smart enough for
the purpose he would have done so. Messrs.
Greenbank, of Sedbergh, Yorkshire, have on occa-
sions exhibited a good specimen or two, their White
Heather II. being a particularly smart dog. At Maid-
stone, in Kent, Mr. J. R. Tatham is an admirer of the
breed, and possesses several ; so does Mr Manning^
at Norwood» the secretary of the specialist club.

Another very old strain of Gordon setters is in the
kennels of the Earl of Cawdor, at Cawdor Castle,
Nairn. They have been there and highly valued
about as long as similar dogs have been at Gordon
Castle, and for a period of at least eighty years
kept pretty well free from cross with the
English or Irish varieties. Some of the dogs are
heavily marked with black and tan, but none are
without some white — tricolours in fact — handsome
animals in appearance, and reliable to shoot over.
At Beaufort Castle, Beauley, N.B., Lord Lovat has
a similar strain, which has been in his family for
many generations.

The Black and Tan (or Gordon) Setter. 339

Although these old breeds have been kept as
nearly pure as possible, and may be found useful in
crossing with the ordinary English setter, especially
when work more than actual beauty is required, I
do not see any great future before the black and
tan setter. He is not easy to follow with the eyes on
the moors, and, as a rule, is not nearly so smart as
either the English or Irish varieties, and I cannot
imagine why even his most ardent admirers prefer
him to others, excepting that a team of them match
well. The latter fact has been at times of consider-
able advantage to Mr. Chapman in the show ring,
where on several occasions a couple of brace or so
have beaten all comers in the competition for the
team prize. This they did, and quite deservedly, so
recently as June, 1892, at the Kennel Club's show
and at the Crystal Palace a few months later.

The following are the description and points of the
Gordon setter as adopted by its Club, and from the
facts I have given of some of the leading and oldest
kennels being entirely confined to tri-coloured dogs,
i.e., black, tan, and white, it seems a pity such are
not allowed in the Club's standard ; nor do I agree
with what it says about the " bloodhound " type
in the dog generally and in the expression of the
eyes. Such a cross has been there some time
or other, but pains have been taken to "breed" it

Z 2

34° Modern Dogs.

out, and in no case where it appears so marked
should a prize be given the dog, or should it be
used for stud purposes. However, I give the
following chief portion of the club's description
because it was issued by an authoritative body : —

There seems to be little authentic information as to the origin
of the Gordon setter. Authorities, however, agree that originally the
colour was black, white, and tan ; the opinion of the late Dr. Walsh
(" Stonehenge ") — that he is a compound of collie, bloodhound, and
English or Irish setter, and that the foundation of the breed was
derived from a mixture of these — is to a large extent borne out by
the general character of the dog, as exhibited in the best speci-
mens. Of late years no doubt the breed has been tampered with
for show purposes, and crosses, more particularly with the Irish
setter, with the idea of improving the colour, have been resorted to
to the detriment of the dog, both for show bench and field pur-
poses. Probably the pale buff in the place of tan frequently verg-
ing on stone colour, and the diffusion over the body, instead of
being developed on the recognised points, is mainly due to this
cause ; if so, it will require careful breeding through many gene-
rations to eradicate. ... In the best bred Gordons we almost
invariably find the leading features of the colley, the bloodhound,
and the setter, and perhaps in about equal proportions, giving what
we call the type.

The head of the Gordon is much heavier than that of the
English setter, broad at the top between the ears, the skull slightly
rounded, the occiput well developed, and the depth from the
occiput to the bottom of lower jaw much greater than in the
Laverack or English Setter ; the width between the eyes should
perhaps not be too great, speaking with caution ; the nose mode-
rately long and broad across the top giving room for the nerves of
scent, in fact the opposite of snipyness, the nostril well distended,
making this the widest part of the nose ; the shape of the under

The Black and Tan (or Gordon) Setter. 341

jaw is perhaps a matter of fancy : old Kent had a very heavy
muzzle and under-jaw, with remarkably bright and penetrating
eyes, in these his likeness has been transmitted to many of his
descendants in a remarkable degree. Many Gordons show slight
" haw " and " dewlap/' a proper development of these is probably
the true type ; the ears vary considerably, some being long, silky,
and hanging close to the face, others much shorter ; these are also
matters of fancy, and therefore of minor importance. The body
of the Gordon is also heavier than that of the English setter, but
may be judged on the same lines ; the tail is often long, giving
bad carriage, this does not interfere with good work. The great
beauty of this dog is his lovely colour, and as this in perfection is
in no way antagonistic to his working qualities, great prominence
should be given to it in judging. Formerly, without doubt, the
prevailing colours were black, white, and tan, of late there has
been but little white seen on the bench, this, too, is a matter of
fancy; the black should be a jet, not brown or rusty; the tan
should be a rich dark mahogany, and should be exhibited on
inside ' of thighs, showing down front of stifle to the ground, the
front legs to the knees ; the muzzle also should be tan, the spots
over the eyes well defined, not blurred, and on the points of the
shoulders also : blurring and diffusion over the belly and other
parts of the dog probably indicate contamination with other blood.
It is of the highest importance, if we are to get back the real hunt-
ing qualities of this breed and the show qualities also, that purity
of blood should be the chief aim in breeding ; a first cross may
sometimes appear to answer, but succeeding generations will
certainly show the cross, and will deteriorate in all the qualities
we prize.

A splendid intelligence, fine scenting powers, and great
endurance are the main characteristics of the Gordon ; if purity of
blood is maintained, we may not only recover the qualities
which some fear we have partly lost, but also develop their
natural powers to an extent hitherto unknown. A well formed
head is of the first importance, if we are to develop and maintain

342

Modern Dogs.

that intelligence which is the great charm and usefulness of

the dog.

SCALE OF POINTS.

Value.

Head and neck 35

Shoulders and chest 12

Loin and quarter 12

Feet and legs 1 6

75

Value.

Colour 10

Coat, feather, and quality 10
Tail '. 5

Grand Total 100.

H AFTER XVII.

THE IRISH SETTER.

•.••*!**! I struck me as being extraordinary that
known of the origin of the Irish setter

:!iat he is an old dog in his purity there is not
he slightest doubt. He has been alluded to by

hers early in the present century, but they have
•v.K-'d to tell us what kind of a dog he was, either in
olour or form. I; believe him to have been a red,
*r a red and white dog, a smart active animal, full
f courage; rather headstrong, an untiring worker,
wi. olfactory organs quite as' good as any oth*-*
log used for a similar purpose.

And how strange it seems that the nativ> Irish
logs are for the most part red or brown This
fcfc)T be a favourite Milesian colour, or <* may be
V result of accident. One cannot say that tb-/

^h red setter, the Irish terrier *nd the twrtv
nu-1 of Ireland, came at anv

344 Modern Dogs.

Failing to find anything of particular interest in
the early days of the Irish setter, I turned to Mr. W.
C. Bennett, of Dublin, a gentleman who has made
the variety his hobby, and he most kindly promised to
do what he could for me in the matter. The
following particulars from his pen will no doubt be
read with interest :

My inquiries relative to the above breed have tended to
convince me that, so far at least as the Midland and Western
Counties of Ireland, Dublin, and its vicinity, were concerned
(which were best known to my three first named informants, whose
experience and opinions are given below), the red setter was but
seldom encountered, and that red and white Irish setters (differing
in many essential qualities and in general appearance from the
English variety) were well known and highly esteemed.

That this assertion will be met with an indignant denial from
the owners and exhibitors of the red dogs at present gracing the
bench and holding their own in Field Trials, I am quite prepared
for, but how far back does their recollection carry them ? The
first gentleman I interviewed on the subject was Mr. Mahon, one
of the old Ross Mahon stock, of Galway fame, now over eighty
years of age, and son of the Rev. H. Mahon, of Castlegar, an
ardent sportsman and owner of many setters, all of which were red
and white, and who held the opinion often expressed to his son,,
that this was the true colour of the Irish setter. This gentleman's
recollection carried him back to the last century (he having died
in the year 1838.)

The present Mr. Mahon informs me that in his early days dogs
wholly red were rare, though such, he admits, existed, and were
considered more difficult to break than the red and white, which,
he says, were smaller. A strain of them, called the " Ahascragh
breed," kept in his family were highly prized, but which, from being

The Irish Setter. 345

bred in and in by the gamekeeper, Jemmy Fury, degenerated into
weeds. He especially mentions one, called Sylvie, which he
obtained from Charles Mahon, of Mount Pleasant, co. Mayo ; she
was a big bitch, beautifully feathered, very enduring and staunch,
and with her he hoped to resuscitate the Ahascragh strain. Owing,
however, to the death of his father, he abandoned the attempt.
Mr. Mahon purchased two dogs from Mr. Buchanan for Sir St.
George Gore, about the year 1838, which were wholly red in
colour, and this gentleman appears to have kept the whole coloured
almost, if not entirely, in his kennels.

Mr. Baker, of Lismacue, co. Tipperary, was a firm adherent of
the red and white variety, and Mr. Mahon considers his breed a
particularly good one ; they had black noses, and were fine up-
standing dogs, selected with care, with good feathering and low
carriage of stern.

My next informant was Mr. John Bennett, of Grange, King's
County, who hunted the county for over 30 years, and whose
recollection goes back to the early part of the present century. So
far back as the year 1835 he owned a light red bitch called Cora,
which he mated with a red dog, the property of the late Capt.
Vaughan, of Golden Grove, King's County, one of the O'Connor
breed, which, so far as he can recollect, were all red. Capt.
Vaughan had two brace of the strain in his kennels, and all these
were red with black noses, sterns carried low (a point then, as now,
highly valued), large sized and muscular.

Mr. Bennett considers the O'Connor and Yelverton O'Keeffe's
strain of red and white setters the best he ever shot over. The
latter paid great attention to keeping them pure, and adhered
to the parti-coloured in preference to the whole coloured variety,
though, strange to say, the last of the race was a red dog in the
possession of the late Charley O'Keeffe of Parsonstown, son of
Yelverton O'Keeffe. This Mr. Bennett accounts for by Yelverton
O'Keefe's admission that he had used a red in his strain, having
bred from a handsome specimen in the possession of Long, a
coachmaker in Mary-street, Dublin, which had a cross of the

346 Modern Dogs.

O'Connor breed; but Mr. Bennett says the wholly red were scarce,
and much more difficult to break than the red and white dogs.

It is to be observed that neither Mr. Mahon nor Mr. Bennett
ever exhibited setters, but used them solely for work. I myself
shot over a dog and bitch, Beau and Belle, the property of Mr.
Darby, of Leap Castle, Roscrea, which he obtained from Judge
O'Connor Morris, a descendant of Maurice Nugent O'Connor
(before mentioned), and both these were dark red with black
noses, but with, to my eyes, a strong suspicion of a Gordon or
other cross, as their coats were too deep in colour, and were,
moreover, inclined to be broken, not silky and fine as they
should be.

I next consulted Mr. John G. King, of Ballylin, King's County,
who may be fairly looked upon as the father of the breed in this
country. He has been a constant attendant and exhibitor at
dog shows, not alone of setters, but of pointers and foxhounds.
He is still as keen as possible, notwithstanding that he paid
for his first game licence in 1837, and his experience is
golden, for not only does he remember clearly the dogs of the
past, but he can recollect the names of winners at dog shows, in
what he calls recent years, from the show in the Rotunda Gardens,
Dublin, about 1863, down to the last field trials in Cookstown.

At the Rotunda show he pointed out that there were numbers of
red and white setters exhibited. Although Mr. King keeps a note
book in which he, from time to time, jotted down names of dogs
and incidents connected with them, he seldom has to refresh his
memory of either the owner, breeder, or dog, and he firmly
adheres to the assertion that the entirely red coloured dog was
not only in the minority, but difficult to obtain at all. He quotes
an instance of a gamekeeper from Roscommon, from whom
he was in the habit of purchasing dogs, bringing him a red dog,
and urging him to purchase it because of its rarity. He gives the
palm to the O'Connor strain as having been selected with the
most care, and kept for years pure from extraneous crosses. In
confirmation of his assertion that the red and white were, in

The Irish Setter. 347

former years, the favoured breed, he refers to a picture at
Sharavogue, the seat of the late Earl of Huntingdon, who married
the only daughter of the late Colonel Westenra (the owner of the
famous racehorse "Freeny") representing Lord Rossmore, the
ancestor of the Westenra family, anil an enthusiastic sportsman,
shooting over three or four setters. Only one of these is whole
coloured, and this dog is a pale golden red, with a white snip on
the forehead, all the others are red and white.

Amongst noted breeders in the past Mr. King quotes Mr. La
Touche, of Harristown, who had the O'Connor strain; Mr. Dunne,
of Brittas ; Mr. Samuel Handy, of Parsonstown ; Miss Lidwell, Lord
Howth, Lord Waterford, Mr. Trumble, of Malahide, Dublin, and
Mr. Reeves, of Dublin. Mr. King — when only verging on man-
hood as a Trinity College student, was even then a sportsman,
— and can recall Dycer's red dog " Don " (the reputed father of
Captain Hutchinson's famous " Bob ") and often sought " the
Repository " for the purpose of a ramble with old " Don." Miss
Lidwell (or Ledwich, as she was sometimes erroneously called),
had then a reputation for keeping good dogs, and Mr. King on a
visit to her cottage, near Beggar's Bush Barracks, Dublin, saw
the then crack " Pluto," a red and white. The lady had shortly
before been interviewed by the late Mr. Edward Laverack, who
wished to take her dog to England to cross with his breed,
but the lady was obdurate, even indignant, and refused to lend or
sell her favourite.

Of later breeders Mr. King is equally familiar, and can recall
the faults and perfections of champion Palmerston ; Miss
Warburton's Lilly; Mr. Giltrap's Garryowen; Mr. Xuttall's Maybe,
and Loo VII.; Captain Milner's Frisco; and at last Ballsbridge
show he was as interested in the awards as the most recent exhibitor.
He disagrees with Mr. Bennett as to the colour of the O'Connor
breed, as he maintains they were red and white. A few words in
conclusion of his remarks. He confines his observations to those
localities with which he personally was acquainted, and as these
did not extend either to the bleak north, or the wilds of Kerry, he

348 Modern Dogs.

cannot say that the red setter may not, in these favoured districts,,
have existed in considerable numbers.

Now it has often been mooted, and always met with a most
decided opposition from the Irish Red Setter Club, that a class
should be given for red and white dogs, and surely if they are
more easily broken than the whole coloured dogs and more
easily seen on mountain or moor, it would not be a step in
the wrong direction to try and resuscitate so valuable a strain.
There must be many specimens still existing when so com-
paratively recently as the Rotunda show, before referred to,
several red and whites were exhibited on the benches. There
is another point worth observing, and that is the red dogs
of the past, and even those shown at the earlier shows were not
nearly so deep in colour as many now before the public on the
benches. The Irish Red Setter Club's own rules state that the
correct colour is " a rich golden chesnut." How many of this
colour do we now see winning at our leading dog shows.

My next informant (says Mr. Bennett) was Mr. Cecil Moore, the
breeder of champion Palmerston, Kate (afterwards Mr. Perrin's),
and numerous other celebrities. This gentleman is from county
Tyrone, and informs me that in that locality the red dog was
the favourite, and numbers of them were to be found in the
possession of sportsmen about the town of Omagh, and as he has
turned " the three score and ten years allotted to man," and is a
good shot, and kept dogs of the right sort, his opinion is
valuable.

That the red and white were in existence he freely admits, but
that they were Irish setters at all he denies, as he holds to the
opinion that they were imported from England, and were a
distinct breed. Amongst breeders of the pure red sort he
mentions Mr. Jason Hazzard, of Timaskea, county Fermanagh,,
who, so far back as the year 1812, kept nothing but whole coloured
specimens. The Earl of Enniskillen, grandfather of the present
Earl, about the same period had a different strain of the red
colour, on which he set great value. Between these gentlemen

The Irish Setter. 349

a friendly rivalry existed, and both evidently admired each other's
breed, as they eventually bred their favourites together, a red
bitch, the property of the commoner, visiting a dog of the Earl's.

Mention may also be made of Mr. Evans, of Dungannon (land
agent to Lord Ranfurley), who had a kennel of red Irish setters,
and kept no others. Mr. Moore relates a curious instance of a
pure bred red bitch, which he used to one of the red and white
variety, and which, when mated with whole coloured dogs, in every
subsequent litter threw a pup or two of similar marking to the first
cross.

Mr. Moore seldom exhibited his dogs in the early days of dog
shows, preferring them for their working qualities alone, and
the famous old champion Palmerston had a narrow escape of
being lost to the admiring gaze of the public. Mr. Moore, finding
him rather a delicate dog for field work (though most persevering
and with an excellent nose) ordered his man to drown him,
as he did not wish to give him to any one who would use
him for shooting purposes, as he had then passed his prime.
The late Mr. Milliard met the poor old dog on the way to what
was expected to be his watery grave, and begged him from Mr.
Moore. The dog was given conditionally that Mr. Hilliard would
keep him for show purposes alone. The result is known to most
of my readers.

It would appear from Mr. Moore's remarks that a white patch
on chest or white on the feet was little regarded, and he has
frequently known a patch on the back of the neck appear in the
best red setters, and that this is still the fact is well known to
breeders. Now, may it not be reasonably asked, is not this some
former cross with the red and white variety repeating itself ? For,
although in all self-coloured breeds, such as the black retriever,
the black Field spaniel, the Irish terrier, a patch on the chest is
but little thought of, while on the toes, and, worse still, on the
neck or body the mark is regarded with much disfavour.

The Palmerston strain, as most breeders are aware, frequently
had what the late Mr. Lort called " the Palmerston snip," a thin

350 Modern Dogs.

thread of white running down the forehead, and in some of his
descendants this amounted to a pretty broad " blaze '' on the
forehead.

It should be borne in mind that in early days men kept dogs
of all breeds for their good working qualities alone, and I think
it reasonable to suppose that if an enthusiastic sportsman had a
particularly excellent red dog and his friend and neighbour an
equally good red and white bitch, or vice versd, they were pretty
certain to breed them together. Be it also remembered that
travelling in those days was not the easily accomplished matter
it is now, nor were dogs advertised at stud or for sale to any great
extent, if at all. Dog shows were wholly unknown, consequently
the dogs of those days were only locally famous.

It is somewhat difficult to reconcile the apparent difference in
opinions existing between the various gentlemen whose experiences
are quoted by me as to whether the original breed was red and
white or wholly red. Mr. Mahon, who may be taken to have a
good knowledge of the west, and Mr. King, who knew the
Midland counties, and as a college youth the vicinity of Dublin,
held the opinion that the original breed was red and white, but
both admit that the red dog was then existing, but not to any
great extent.

Mr. Bennett, who knew the Midland counties, and Dublin, holds
the opinion that the red and white predominated, but that the red
was kept in comparative purity in certain kennels, but believes
that there were few, if any, men in those days (save Mr. Maurice
O'Connor, perhaps), who would not use a red and white if he
were a well proved good one in the field. Do not these facts tally
with Mr. Moore's assertion, that he himself did so on one
occasion ?

It is easy to suppose the red dog existed in greater numbers in
the north, and the red and white in the midland and western
counties, but that the red and white was imported from England
in sufficient quantities in those days of slow sailing boats, and with
no accommodation for dogs, and the stupendous difficulties to be

The Irish Setter. 351

encountered on stage coaches, &c., to establish a breed of red and
white English setters, I think, wholly untenable, therefore the
. natural conclusion appears to be that the red and white Irish
setter was the favourite in certain counties crossed with the red
Irish setter when the latter was a good performer, and that the red
setter was held in highest esteem in other counties crossed with the
red and white, when occasion demanded.

An interesting pamphlet (now I believe out of print), has been
lent me by Mr. Giltrap, secretary of the Irish Red Setter Clubr
and which was published by Dr. Wm. Jarvis, of Claremont, New
Hampshire, U.S.A., in the year 1879. -It purports to contain the
pedigree and performance of the two famous setter champions
"Elcho" and "Rose"; the former dog was born in the year
1874, and after gaining a second prize in Dublin, found his way
to America, where he had numerous successes on the bench, and
was the sire of Captain Milner's Ailleen, Berkeley Ben, and Joe
junior, and a host of other winners. Rose, bred by Mr. Cecil
Moore, was born the same year as Elcho, and was by champion
Palmerston out of Flora, and, after winning two prizes in Ireland
and one in England, went to Dr. Jarvis's kennels; and the
following is an extract from the pamphlet, which is not, I think,
without significance on the question of the purity of the breed.

"About 1796, the then Earl of Enniskillen, of Florence
Court, county of Fermanagh, had a remarkably fine breed
of Irish setters, and in 1814, he and Mr. Jason Hazzard, of Tima-
skea, same county, also had an equally fine strain which they
crossed. Mr. Jackson Lloyd, of Tamnamore, obtained this breed
from Mr. Hazzard; and in 1819, Mr. Robert Evans, of Gost-
merron, Dingamore, county of Tyrone, obtained the breed from
Mr. Lloyd, and crossed it with the then noted strain of Irish red
setters possessed by Captain McDonald, husband of the Countess of
Antrim. Mr. Evans was a then noted sportsman throughout the
north of Ireland, and his Irish setters were famed for their beauty
and field qualities. In 1846, Mr. Moore obtained the breed from
Mr. Evans, and has since kept it pure.''

352 Modem Dogs.

There is sufficient evidence in Mr. Bennett's
communication to prove that the original Irish
setter was red and white, and that the fine red race
were the rarer of the two. Even among the earlier
days of dog shows few of the best dogs were wholly
red, and one of the most shapely and successful of
them, Dr. Stone's Dash, was red and white. But
the rage was even then abroad for the whole-
coloured dogs, and those who procured them would
not look at any other, and attacked Dash wherever
he won, and called him a mongrel.

As a fact the red and white dog is the more
useful, and the wholly red dog's popularity is the
result of the show bench. Those who have ever
shot on the mountains and bogs of Ireland cannot
fail to have noticed the difficulty there is at times
in discerning the red dog, when on a wide range, with
a brown heather background, he comes to a point.
By no means is it unusual to lose your dog under
such circumstances, and if he is not altogether lost,
and his skeleton found still pointing when the
shooter goes that way in twelve months time, it is
through the good sense of the dog, who would never
commit suicide under such conditions. A couple
of years ago, at the Field meeting, held in county
Tyrone, Mr. J. G. Hawkes lost one of his dogs
under such circumstances whilst running a trial.

The Irish Setter. 353

An hour or more later one of the keepers found the
dog on a stiff point. Had it been red and white
such a thing could not have happened. At
the same meeting and at others the difficulty of
distinguishing the red dogs was brought prominently
forward when they were running against liver and
white or lemon and white pointers or setters, for the
latter could be observed with less than half the
difficulty it took to discern the native animals.

Nor have I found that birds lie one bit the better
to dark coloured dogs than they do to those of a
lighter hue.

The Rev. Thomas Pearce (" Idstone"), writing of
the Irish red setter twenty years ago, remarked that
he would not be surprised were they to become
popular. That they have done so there is no doubt.

For many years the Rev. J. C. Macdona's Plunket
stood alone in his race as the one Irish setter that
had ever proved his excellence at Field Trials.
This dog, after winning second prize in the aged
stake, to Mr. Statter's Bruce, at the National
Meeting, Shrewsbury, in, 1870, was purchased by
Mr. Purcell-Llewellin, who won the prize for setters
with him at Vaynol the same year, and other field
trials and bench honours subsequently. Plunket,
who was bred by the Hon. D. Plunket, had Captain
Hutchinson's Bob for his grandsire ; he was a

[VOL. i.] A A

354 Modern Dogs.

fairly good-looking dog, and perhaps all round no
Irish setter that has yet appeared could beat him.
But, of course, this is purely a matter of opinion, for
it is very difficult indeed to judge of the work of two
dogs without seeing them together, especially when
there is an interval of about twenty years between
him and the best of recent years — Aveline, Drogheda,
and some others. In appearance either of the two
named would easily have beaten Plunket in the
show ring, whatever might have been the result in
the field.

When the Irish Setter Club was established, in
1882, considerable impetus was given to the red
setter, but even before that time he was beginning
to make his mark as a good worker at field trials.
He had long borne a reputation for being wild and
headstrong, and another fault he had was a tendency
to put his nose down and hunt the foot scent like a
hound rather than seek for it in the wind. This was
said to be on account of some remote, may be
fabulous, cross, years and years ago with a blood-
hound. However, that he was fond of hunting on
the ground there is no doubt whatever, any more
than there is of his wilfulness and difficulty in
breaking. When properly and perfectly trained, the
red setter has shown us that no other variety can
beat him.

The Irish Setter. 355

I should conscientiously say that, from what I
have observed in his work of late years, and I have
seen all the best dogs run, that the Irish setter
is as dashing, as energetic, as stylish as the best
English dog I ever saw. I believe he, as a general
rule, will do a long and hard day's work better than
any other breed of setter. His stamina is extra-
ordinary. I shall never forget that big, strong dog
"Wrestler" (Mr. W. H. Cooper, of Derbyshire),
that ran at the Irish Trials in 1891. Each morning
he followed, or rather preceded, the cars, during
the long ten miles' drive to the moors, on his way
racing over the fields and inclosures, and, indeed,
doing an ordinary day's work before his trials com-
menced, and when he did run his first heat he was
even then too wild. No Laverack or Gordon setter
would have been allowed to do this, and it must
have proved even too much for those untiring
liver and white little dogs to which allusion has
previously been made in the article on English
setters.

Perhaps after Plunket most attention was attracted
to Irish setters by the good work of a bitch, called
Aveline, belonging to the Rev. R. O'Callaghan, which
ran at the Kennel Club meeting in the spring of 1885.
She was a handsome bitch, so much so, indeed, as
to obtain the cognomen of " beautiful," and as the

A A 2

356 Modern Dogs.

<l beautiful Aveline " she was often known. I recollect
how the stake appeared at her mercy, when, unfortu-
nately, a very little rabbit jumped up almost between
her legs, and the high couraged bitch, unable to
resist the temptation, committed a fault so grave
that quite prevented her taking that precedence in
the stake her pace, style, and nose, would have
entitled her under more favourable circumstances.
Later on she won all before her on the show bench,
and was not long in attaining her degree as
champion.

For many years Mr. O'Callaghan has given
considerable attention to the production of the Irish
setter in its purity. I have seen his dogs, when
properly broken and handled at field trials, do
excellent work, and the Kennel Club Stud Books
tell how successful they have been in the show ring.
There are enthusiasts of the variety who consider
this strain usually too dark in colour, too deep in
their bright redness, which is indeed a lovely hue. I
have a peculiar fondness for this colour so long as
it does not show any actual blackness, indicative of
Gordon cross, the latter so marked in many of
the earlier show dogs — Mr. Jones's Carlo to wit,
who did a considerable amount of winning in his day.

Possibly, at some time or another, these red setters
were so crossed, Mr. Laverack writes of a red dog he

The Irish Setter. 357

saw at Cockermouth, in Cumberland, which he would
much liked to have used to his setters. He found
on inquiry that this dog always produced one or
more black puppies, and, although he was fast
and had a good nose, he was so headstrong that he
could not be broken. I fancy some of our modern
skilled trainers would soon have brought him to his
senses.

Richardson, who said little of the Irish setter,
says he is perhaps the purest of all setters, and that
his colour is ua yellowish red." Writing fifty years
since, he remarks, such dogs "are the genuine un-
mixed descendants of the original land spaniel, and,
so highly valued are they, that a hundred pounds is
by no means an unusual price for a single dog."
This was a very unusual price for such a dog, fifty
years or so ago when Richardson wrote, but another
authority on the breed, who flourished rather before
this period, says that so valued were some strains of
the Irish setter that on one occasion an estate was
given for a brace of dogs. We are afraid that there
are at the present time in the unfortunate Emerald
Isle, certain estates that would be dear at the price
of one of our best dogs.

It may be right to allude to Youatt's opinion as
to the colour of Irish setters when he wrote about
1845. He says they are " either very red, or red and

358 Modern Dogs.

white, or lemon coloured, or white patched with deep
chesnut ; and it was necessary for them to have a
black nose and a black roof to their mouth." The
same writer tells us that an Irish setter will obtain a
higher price than an English or Scotch one, u fifty
guineas being no unusual sum for a brace, and even
two hundred guineas have been given." It is just as
well to make these quotations here, as they will
remind a modern and a future generation that the
Irish setter had a reputation of its own before it
came to be repopularised by working at Field Trials,
and its appearance in the show ring.

How the variety has been re-popularised during
the past few years, may be judged from the fact that
at the first Birmingham show, held in 1860, there
were but four entries in the bitch class, and these
so little deserving that no prize was awarded. At
the same exhibition, in 1891, there were something
like eighteen red setter bitches in competition, and,
of course, the classes for them are much better
filled at the exhibitions held in Dublin, Cork, Bel-
fast, and other large towns in their native country.
When the Kennel Club Stud Book was published,
in 1874, the Irish were the only variety of setter
grouped dogs and bitches together. Matters have
changed since that time, and the red dogs now get
their due.

The Irish Setter. 359

One of the handsomest Irish setters following
immediately after Dr. Stone's Dash was Mr.
Milliard's Count, a most typical specimen, lovely
in colour, which was not too dark, but just dark
enough. Then there was Mr. Giltrap's Garryowen,
who, in his day, had been considered almost
invincible. Mr. Cecil Moore's Old Kate, who did a
considerable amount of winning between 1878 and
1882, when she was the property of Mr. Abbot and
others, was certainly one of the best bitches I ever
saw, and Mr. Milliard's Palmerston, an immense
dog, 64-lb. in weight, and with an abnormally long
and narrow head, monopolised the leading prizes at
most of the best shows about this date.

Although such men as Mr. Milliard, of Dublin ;
Mr. Waterhouse, Killiney ; Mr. Giltrap, Dublin ;
Captain Milner, Booterstown, Dublin ; Mr. McGoff,
Tralee ; Mr. L. F. Perrin, Kingstown; Mr. J. G.
Hawkes, Kenmare ; Mrs. Grattan Bellew, Ennis-
kerry ; Mr. JE. Falkiner Nuttall, of co. Sligo ; and
other Irish families have latterly done much to give
the variety its present popularity, more has been
done in a similar manner by breeders this side the
water, for the Rev. R. O'Callaghan, R.N., Wickham
Market ; Mr. C. C. Ellis, Suffolk ; Mr. H. M. Wilson,
Holmes Chapel, Cheshire; Mr. W. H. Cooper,
Ashbourne ; Mr. A. Taylor, B.A., Beaminster,

360 Modern Dogs.

Dorset ; Major Jameson, Ashbourne ; Mr. A. E.
Taylor, Cheadle (there are others likewise) have
proved thorough enthusiasts in keeping up the
strain.

Captain Milner has been very successful with
his dogs, both on the bench and in the field ; his
Frisco, who died so recently as November, 1892,
was certainly one of the crack dogs of the day,
as his red puppy Airnie was one of the best
youngsters of the Trial season during 1892. She
won first honours at the Kennel Club, at the
National trials, and at the Irish trials, and could not
be deemed lucky in so doing. Airnie was one of the
most careful and steady Irish setters I ever saw,
and although she could go fast enough when so
inclined, in a great measure lacked that dash and
fire usually found in her strain. Her kennel
companion, Spalpeen, has likewise performed well
and steadily in public trials, and is also an
exceedingly steady dog. It may be mentioned here
as somewhat extraordinary that at the Kennel Club
trials, when Airnie won, the whole of the winning
setters in the puppy stakes were Irish setters.

Mr. O'Callaghan's Aveline we have alluded to, and
his bitch Coleraine, in 1891, created quite a sensation
by the brilliant manner in which she ran through
the puppy stakes at both the National and Kennel

The Irish Setter. 361

Club trials, and was placed third in the open com-
petition at the latter meeting. She had greater style
and dash than either of the dogs that ran so well
for Mr. Milner, and I fancy could have beaten both
of them. She went to America.

Mr. McGofFs Mac's Little Nell, born in 1884,
and purchased by Mr. Ellis, was one of the
most wonderful little setters I ever saw, though
she could barely be 4olb. in weight. She went as
fast as the big ones, had an excellent nose, and
dropped on scent instantaneously ; in her day no
one would have been surprised to have seen her beat
anything that she was ever put down against. Her
field trial successes, when she died in the winter of
1892, had been greater than those of any other Irish
setter.

Mr. Perrin's dogs, although fair performers at the
trials, excelled more on the show bench, his Hector,
Kate, and Wee Kate being cracks in their line.
Similar remarks apply to the Killineys of Mr.
Waterhouse, and to the several dogs Mr. Giltrap,
the popular secretary of the Irish Setter, has from
time to time owned, and still owns. At Glengariff,
Kenmare, Mr. J. G. Hawkes spends his leisure
in training his dogs, several of which have run
successfully at the Irish trials. His Blue Rock,
first prize Birmingham in 1890, and such animals as

362 Modern Dogs.

his Signal, Muskerry, Miss Signal, are quite as
good dogs as any man might be proud of owning.
Muskerry, the sire of most of Mr. Hawkes' dogs
and other winners, I have not seen, but am told he
is a valuable and handsome animal, and has shown
extraordinary stamina, though on several occasions
he has been terribly hard run. Mrs. Bellew has
a large and valued kennel at Tenchurch, Enniskerry,
and her Susi, who won in the bitch class, at Curzon
Hall, in 1890, is a particularly good specimen. Mr.
W. W. Despard, Rathmoyle, Queen's County, has
at times shown some excellent dogs, and an
omission would be caused were no mention made of
the many Irish setters that Mr. W. H. Lipscombe
has so often brought from Dublin to compete at our
English trials, though they may have not met with
that amount of success such enterprise deserved.
Mr. Falkiner Nuttall, of Cullinamore, co. Sligo, has
for years had many good dogs, of which perhaps
Loo VII. was his best.

Mr. O'Callaghan's success with the " beautiful
Aveline" has already been noted, and not inferior
to her was his Coleraine, a bitch previously alluded
to. On the bench, too, this kennel is often at the
big shows seen pitted against that of Mr. Ellis for
supremacy, and victory is sometimes one way, and
sometimes another. But such dogs as Fingal,

The Irish Setter. 363

Shandon III., Finglass, and Geraldine, are good
enough whether beaten or not ; and Mr. Ellis's
Drogheda, and his Dartrey, Rossmore, Tarbat, &c.,
formed, perhaps, as fine a team of red setters as ever
stood a grouse. The first named was an unlucky
dog in the trials, making some serious mistake or
other, either through his own fault or his handler's,
just as he appeared to be winning the chief prize.
By show goers Mr. H. M. Wilson's Nellie will long
be remembered for her successes on the bench, a
bitch whose beauty we have brought to our recol-
lection by an excellent portrait of her by the great
animal painter Basil Bradley.

Mr. W. H. Cooper, at Ashbourne, in Derbyshire,
has for some time had, perhaps, a larger kennel of
Irish setters than anyone else, and their excellences
have been known both on the bench and in the field.
The names of his Wrestler, Finnigan's Wake, Sure
Death, Vicar, and Woodbine, will, we fancy, be
found in future pedigrees where a combination of
the "best blue blood" is desired; for such will
ensure that its possessors can gallop and stay with
any dog pitted against them during the most arduous
field trial work imaginable. At the Irish trials at
Omagh, in 1889, there were a number of extraordinary
dogs running, amongst them Henmore Sure Death,
and Woodbine (bred by Mr. Hawkes), fast and

364 Modern Dogs.

brilliant in the extreme. The former made a unique
performance by winning both the puppy stake and
the all-aged stake, the latter including all varieties
of setters and pointers, and she was second, too, in
the open puppy stake, beaten by Mr. Lonsdale's
Ightfield Rosa. She also, if I mistake not, was
third with Woodbine in the braces. Such a per-
formance as this over a rough country, at once
stamps the excellence of the strain from which she
comes. Other good dogs of Mr. Cooper's were
winning at the Irish trials in the autumn of 1892.
Here his kennel performed unusually well, Clonsilla,
a smart bitch, especially distinguishing herself.

Mr. Taylor's (Dorset) dogs, though successful on
the bench, have not yet been tried in public on
the mountains, nor have those of his namesake
Mr. A. E. Taylor, of Cheadle ; neither have I seen
Major Jameson's great bench dog Ponto, or his
kennel companion Drenagh anywhere but in the
show ring, where they appear to be pretty nearly as
good as they can be.

In what I have written an endeavour has been
made to do justice to a handsome and valuable
variety of the dog, which, from some cause or other,
did not receive its due during a certain era, say from
about 1840 to 1880. The development of field
trials, the spirited and concerted action of several of

The Irish Setter. 365

his admirers, and the formation of the Red Setter
Club have, however, wrought a change, and
naturally an improvement in the dog both in work
and appearance.

At the present time there are more good show
specimens extant than at any previous period in their
history, and in work the Irish setter is steadier and
better than he was once upon a time. This, no
doubt, arises from the greater pains taken in his
breaking ; moreover, most of the best modern dogs
are produced from animals whose ancestors for two
or three generations have been highly trained. This
continued for a few years longer, and, may be, the red
setter will be the shooting dog of the future. He is
fortunate in having so many enthusiasts to work for
his good, and, so long as they breed for a combina-
tion of working capabilities and good looks,
abstaining at the same time from introducing
strains other than so far pure and tried ones, we
may look for a continued improvement in this
favoured dog.

I have said that, for work on the moors and
mountains, a red and white dog is better than the
deep, bright red, which is difficult to discern amid the
brown heather on the hillside. But, if the breeders
like the whole colour, let them stick to it by all
means, and allow their failing sight to be assisted

366 Modern Dogs.

by tying a white handkerchief around the neck of
their dog, for something of the kind is certainly
required. And the shooting man who has a wide
expanse of moor upon which birds are scarce and
require a great deal of finding, and the walking is
arduous, can have no better dog for the purpose
than a properly trained and staunch red setter.
Such a one will work hard all day and not give up
in disgust about noon because he has failed to
locate more than an odd bird or so. Shortly, the
red setter appears to me to be the most persevering
of all sporting dogs used with the gun.

His points and description, as issued by the Irish
Setter Club, are as follows :—

" Head. — Should be long and lean. The skull
oval (from ear to ear), having plenty of brain room,
and with well-defined occipital protuberance. Brows
raised, showing stop. The muzzle moderately deep,
and fairly square at end. From the stop to the
point of the nose should be long, the nostrils wide,
and the jaws of nearly equal length, flews not to be
pendulous. The colour of the nose dark mahogany
or dark walnut, and that of the eyes (which ought
not to be too large) rich hazel or brown. The ears
to be of moderate size, fine in texture, set on low,
well back, and hanging in a neat fold close to the
head.

The Irish Setter. 367

" Neck. — Should be moderately long, very mus-
cular, but not too thick, slightly arched, free from
all tendency to throatiness.

" Body. — Should be long — shoulders fine at the
points, deep, and sloping well back. The chest as
deep as possible, rather narrow in front. The ribs
well sprung, leaving plenty of lung room. Loins
muscular, and slightly arched. The hindquarters
wide and powerful.

"Legs and Feet. — The hind legs from hip to hock
should be long and muscular ; from hock to heel,
short and strong. The stifle and hock joints well
bent, and not inclined either in or out. The fore-
legs should be straight and sinewy, having plenty of
bone, with elbows free, well let down, and, like the
hocks, not inclined either out or in. The feet small,
very firm, toes strong, close together, and arched.

" Tail. — Should be of moderate length, set on
rather low, strong at root, and tapering to a fine
point ; to be carried in a scimitar-like curve on a
level with or below the back.

" Coat. — On the head, front of legs, and tips of
ears, should be short and fine, but on all other parts
of the body and legs it ought to be of moderate
length, flat, and as free as possible from curl or
wave.

"Feathering. — The feather on the upper portion of

368 Modern Dogs.

the ears should be long and silky ; on the back of
fore and hind legs long and fine ; a fair amount of
hair on the belly, forming a nice fringe, which may
extend on chest and throat. Feet to be well
feathered between the toes. Tail to have a nice
fringe of moderately long hair, decreasing in length
as it approaches the point. All feathering is to be
as straight and as flat as possible.

" Colour and Markings. — The colour should be a
rich golden chesnut, with no trace whatever of
black; white on chest, throat, or toes, or a small star
on the forehead, or a narrow streak or blaze on the
nose or face not to disqualify."

Value,

Head 10

Eyes and ears 10

Neck 4

Body 20

Hindlegs and feet 10

Forelegs and feet 10

Value.

Tail 4

Coat and feather 10

Colour 8

Size, style, and general

appearance. 14

64
Grand Total 1OO.

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE RETRIEVER.

OUR retriever was produced when the British
sportsman found out that it was not good for his
pointer or setter to fetch his game, and that his
spaniel would not do this so well and quickly as a
bigger dog ; so the retriever became a necessity.
As a sporting dog, he is purely of modern growth.
In America it is still the fashion for the pointer and
setter to do the double duty of finding and standing
his game and bringing it to his owner who has shot
it. A dog that does this is no doubt useful, answers
the purpose of two dogs, and so keeps down the
kennel ; but the luxuriousness with which we are
surrounded will not take the latter into consideration,
and a man's kennel is incomplete without it includes
retrievers of one or other of the few varieties.
Again, in walking up the birds — which is almost the
common procedure nowadays in the south of Eng-
land and other good partridge countries — retrievers
.are required, and could not be done without, and so

[You I.] B B

370 Modern Dogs.

they are in grouse driving, duck shooting, and for
bringing a wounded hare or a winged pheasant out
of the covert. I incline to the opinion that a
well-broken, soft-mouthed retriever is the best all-
round dog a man can have — one whose means are
limited, who is fond of sport, and has not accommo-
dation for more than one dog. Let such an animal
live in the house and be constituted a constant
companion, and there is no knowing how sensible a
creature he will prove when his services are required
in the field.

The retriever is a creation within the past fifty
years, and he was no doubt, in the first instance, pro-
duced from crossing the old English or Irish water
spaniel with the setter, the collie, and the smaller
Newfoundland, usually known as the St. John or
Labrador Newfoundland. Colonel Hutchinson, in
his admirable work on dog breaking, gives us
pictures of various crosses, and in general appear-
ance these illustrations are of dogs bearing very
much the characteristics of the modern retriever.
Colonel Hutchinson published his book in 1847.
Still, there were retrieving dogs long before Colonel
Hutchinson's time. Dr. Caius wrote of dogs that
brought back the " boults and arrows " that had
missed the mark, and also such waterfowl as had
been stung to death by some " venomous worm."

The Retriever. 371

Conrad Gesner, in the early part of the sixteenth
century, wrote of dogs trained to bring back birds to
their masters ; but such animals as these were the
spaniels commonly used at that time.

It must be taken for granted that our modern
retriever, be he either curly-coated, straight or
wavy-coated, black, brown, or pale liver in colour,
at some time was produced from one or other of
the crosses I have named. The " nick " answered
well, and what is now an actual and distinct variety
resulted therefrom — one that with careful crossing
produces a type quite as well defined as is to be
found in the mastiff, bloodhound, and bulldog, which
may be taken as our oldest British varieties of
the canine race. With the improved farming,
close cropping, increasing wildness of game arising
from a variety of causes, and a disinclination
in the modern shooting man to fill his bag
over pointers and setters, the retriever is in many
quarters considered to be the dog of the future.
Whether this will prove to be the case or not, time
will tell.

Field trials for retrievers were held at Vaynol
Park, the seat of Mr. Assheton Smith, in the autumn
of 1871-2, but on neither occasion do they appear
to have been particularly successful. The usual
competitions for pointers and setters took place at

B B 2

372 Modern Dogs.

the same time, the retrievers doing their work in
conjunction with the other dogs. Birds were scarce,
and " Stonehenge," in his Field report, said the
only dog that did really good work was Mr. Parr's
Cato, who took the chief prize on the second
occasion. Two stakes, one for aged dogs, the
other for puppies, were arranged at each meeting,
and amongst those who made entries were Lord
Downe, Mr. Purcell Llewellin, Mr. Lloyd Price,
and others.

Whatever report may be as a rule in a matter of
truthfulness, on this occasion it could not be far
wrong when retriever trials by its rumour were pro-
nounced a failure ; for, although Mr. Price subse-
quently offered to find ground at Rhiwlas for a
continuation of them, the kindly offer was not
accepted, nor has anything of the kind been
promoted since, though over twenty years have
gone by since " Retriever Trials " were run. As
a fact, the best work of such dogs would not be
seen under surroundings so public, for the real
excellence in a retriever lies in its intelligence in
finding dead or wounded game under circumstances
so exceptional as to preclude any possibility of
opportunity being afforded them so to do, as
occasion required.

Black Rttrieuer.

!?f-X GATED BLACK RETRIEVER.

t**»rtrr$ oi this variety cannot have failed

h<-Ts have done, its gradual decadence

dog, and that its position is slowly but

usurped -by the flat- or wavy-coated

• This, I think, must be taken as another

•>i the survival of the fittest. Those who

fc\* -fre leading strains of. 4< curlies," will, however,

am acknowledge this, as they believe their own the

M dogs in the world for their purpose — harder in

-.smution, more shapely, and better able to do

•!t»i;-h work than their cousins.

SnlS. there is no getting away from the fact that

the curly-coated retriever does not bear a giwxi

'.it ion. He is inclined to be hard-mcKiU'rd,

><£., he may bite and injure the game he o^ht to

retrieve tenderly and without ruffling «* leather.

Hfa temper, too, is decidedly unrHi;iM* rapeciajly

,rers, although", no d*>ubt, there *fr

'e as in evei ^ else, SoSf ^-ir

<^ok to the ci ;^

vild fov

,N
British do-;

374 Modern Dogs.

temper, I should without hesitation say the curly-
coated retriever. He is so as he reclines on his
bench in the show building ; he is so with his com-
panions in his kennels at home ; and he remains so
when doing duty with the guns at the " big shoot "
in the late autumn, when the leaves are off the trees
and the undergrowth of bramble and fern have lost
their luxuriance.

He is a faithful and useful dog to follow the
keeper who makes a companion of him, for in
addition to being very steady and easy to command,
he possesses a good nose if the scent be not too
stale, and is well able to give variety to his
retrieving instincts by killing any vermin that the
traps may have caught. One big curly dog a
keeper owned up in the north was an adept at
finding stoats in an old stone fence. With his
assistance, the ferrets and the guns, we killed seven
of these mischievous little creatures one afternoon,
and there were two or three remaining which the
dog's owner said they would get the next day.
St. John, in his " Highland Sports," tells how a
retriever of his found and brought out an otter.

Although there are, in various parts of the country,
some few kennels that contain the curly-coated
retrievers for working purposes, he is as often used for
a companion and as a show dog. For a companion,

The Curly -coated Black Retriever. 375

as I have already hinted, he is not the most
desirable, but as a show dog he excels. His deep
black coat, hard, close crisp curls right on to the
top of' the brow, but no further should they go ; his
symmetry, clean ears nicely shaped tail, and dark
piercing eyes, that should have a mild expression,
and so convey the impression of great sense and
sagacity in their owner, make him particularly
attractive on the show bench. Still, to be successful
there, he requires a constant attention, and the cases
are exceptional where a dog can be brought straight
from work and prove successful in the ring.

The earliest classes at shows for the curly-coated
retrievers were at Birmingham in 1860, but the
competition was by no means keen. The first prize
was awarded to a big coarse dog, shown by Mr. W.
Brailsford ; second honours went to a brown bitch
belonging to Lord Alfred Paget, which, so far as
looks went, was not worth her entrance fee. Up to
1864 all the varieties were shown together at Curzon
Hall, but, following the example of the Cremorne
management, the National exhibition increased the
classification, and the two varieties competed
separately, as they have done since, excepting,
perhaps, where a special cup was concerned, offered
for the best retriever in the show, and often enough
a curly dog has won this great honour.

376 Modern Dogs.

Amongst the best of the race in the early days of
the show was Mr. J. D. Corse's Jet, a dog that
" Idstone " is said to have coveted, as that great
authority considered him to be the most perfect dog
he ever saw ; and this strain that Mr. Gorse then had
at Radcliffe-on-Trent were, when trained, quite as
good in the field as on the bench. Mr. Riley, of
Lancashire, who just preceded Mr. Gorse as a
successful exhibitor, had two excellent ones in Carlo
and Carlo II., and, following them, Dr. Morris, of
Rochdale, introduced his dogs True and XL., which r
good as they were, never had quite the sagacious,
kindly expression Mr. Corse's two Jets appeared to
possess. Still these Lancashire dogs were, for a
time, quite invincible on the bench, and, so closely
curled were they that when a slight fringe did
appear over the brow it seemed quite excusable,
because it might just have been crowded out from
some other portion of the dog.

Mr. J. H. Salter had some good dogs of the
variety about this time ; Mr. T. Swinburne's Chicory
was a notoriety on the show bench, where she lasted
far better and longer than is the case with the
majority of exhibition dogs, and at Stowmarket Mr.
S. Matthews always kept in his kennels two or three
animals fit to show and win anywhere.

Now, in 1892, the best curly-coated black retrievers

The Curly -coated Black Retriever. 377

are owned by Viscount Melville, at Melville Castle,
Mid Lothian ; his Robin Hood is about equal to
anything that one has seen of late, and that he can
transfer his excellence to his sons was proved by a
puppy by him being sold at Aldridge's in June for
twenty-three guineas, the whole of the litter realising
fifty-six guineas, by no means bad prices as things
go for unbroken dogs. Mr. S. Darby, at Tiverton,
appears to be giving more attention than anyone else
to the variety, and, as I write, so far as the show
bench is concerned, his kennel is by far the best,
and contains at least half a dozen specimens about
as perfect as they can be found. Mr. Henry Skip-
worth, of Barkwith, near Lincoln, has an equally
good lot, and of a strain that has been in his posses-
sion many years. Mr. W. Walker, Preston, also
owns several excellent specimens, and it was one
of his fine young dogs to which Mr. Lloyd Price,
when judging at Birmingham in 1892, awarded a
second prize, he withholding all others in about as
good a class of the variety as had been benched.
Though each of the nine entries brought into the
ring, had at one time or another taken show honours,
they were not to the liking of the judge, who created
quite a sensation by acting as stated. At any rate,
he proved to have the courage of his convictions,
which is not always the case with modern judges.

378 Modem Dogs.

In 1890 a club was formed with the laudable
intention of, if possible, re-popularising the curly-
coated black retriever. The following was the
description of the variety it adopted :

" Head. — Long and narrow for the length.

" Ears. — Rather small, set on low, lying close
to the head, and covered with short curls.

11 Jaws. — Long and strong, free from lippiness,
with good sound teeth.

" Nose. — Wide open nostrils, moist and black.

" Eyes. — Dark, cannot be too dark, rather
large, showing great intelligence, and splendid
temper ; a full pug eye an objection.

(l Coat. — Should be one mass of short, crisp
curls from the occiput to the point of tail, a saddle
back or patch of uncurled hair behind shoulders, and
white patch on chest should be penalised, but few
white hairs allowed in an otherwise good dog.
Colour, black or liver.

" Neck. — Long, graceful, but muscular, and well
placed, and free from throatiness, such as a blood-
hound.

(( Shoulders. — Very deep, muscular, and obliquely
placed.

" Chest. — Not too wide, but decidedly deep.

" Body. -- Rather short, muscular, and well
ribbed up.

The Curly -Coated Black Retriever. 379

"Legs. — Forelegs straight, with plenty of bone,
not too long, and set well under body.

" Feet. — Round and compact, with toes well
arched.

<( Loin. — Powerful, deep, and firm to the grasp.

" Tail. — Should be carried pretty straight, and
covered with short curls, tapering towards tip.

" General Appearance. — A strong, smart dog,
moderately low on leg, active, lively, beaming with
intelligence and expression.

The weight is not given in the club standard ;
dogs should be from 55lb. to 681b., bitches about
five pounds less.

Value.

Head 10

Jaws 5

Eyes 5

Neck 5

Chest 5

Legs 5

Loins . 10

45

Ears

Nose

Coat

Shoulders

Body

Feet

Tail

General appearance

Value.

5

5

15

5
5
5
5
10

55

Grand total, 1OO.

380 Modern Dogs.

THE FLAT OR WAVY COATED BLACK
RETRIEVER.

This handsome and kindly dog, so say its
admirers, is to be the dog of the future. Whether
this will prove the case or not only that future can
decide, but, taking a line from the progress it has
made in public esteem during the past dozen years
or so, it is a prognostication likely enough to prove
correct. Here we have a creature made for use;
handsome, kindly in disposition, obedient, easy to
rear, breeding true to type, and well answrering the
purpose for which it is intended, so there can be little
fear of retrogression on its part. Though the curly-
coated dog had obtained the advantage at the start,
he is coming in but a very bad second. The causes
of this have already been alluded to.

The flat or wavy coated retriever is now pretty
well distributed throughout the British Isles, and
few shooting parties leave home unaccompanied by
a well trained specimen or two, which are, however,
actually more useful in turnips and on comparatively
open ground, than they are in thick covert and
tangled brushwood. Their coats are fine, and
certainly not made for the purpose of resisting
thorns and briers, and, so far as the experience of

>

Th? Fix* .<.» Wavy CoaM Bkck RH never.

goes, th*rf<' -?»e f$ult lies in their indis-
po ' $o face tj?'"k covert, and in whins and
have <*s^ .^-trin actually useless Still- there
:'tr£-. nat ! believe will do as well in
'.ert as the curly dog. A friend
;:g exception to the lack of perse-
oated retriever displayed in making
: a winged pheasant that had run about
-.fjle bushes; at the same time praising
his own dog, with a curly coat on him as shaggy as
that of a Herdwick sheep. There requires to be a
happy mean between the twio, for, where one would
hot ^ace the

have to be cut out of them, the strong prickles

folding him as fast as if he were in a net. After

vrrv day's shooting it. would take two or three

fv^urx to free my friend's dog from the t( burrs" that

tod become entangled in his coat. A hard wavy

d retriever, clad in a jacket not unlike those

ssed by the German griffons, WouM t*? useful

ough country.

first introduction 01 d retrievn-

how bench w r in $

in the hi -1
'

382 Modern Dogs.

pure and simple Newfoundlands, and it has taken
a few years' careful work to bring the wavy
retriever to what it is at the present time. Not
too big but just big enough. Our grandfathers
said, " Oh ! we want a big retriever, a strong 'un ;
one that can jump a gate with an 81b. hare in its
mouth, and gallop with one at full speed." This is
not so now. A comparatively small dog is well able
to carry a hare, and shooting is so precise that puss
does not run as far as she did, when properly hit.
Dogs are not made to assist bad shooters to fill a
bag, and a man who cannot, in ninety-nine cases
out of a hundred, stop a hare before she has run
seventy yards, ought not to fire at another. And
you do not require to have a special dog for the one
chance in a hundred.

Such animals as Dr. Bond Moore used to show
were of enormous size and coarse to boot, and I
am sure would not be looked at in the show ring to-
day. If any of the blood of this strain remains it
must be in very small quantities. One or two of
his dogs had ugly light eyes, which, objectionable as
it may be in other dark-coloured dogs, is more than
trebly so in a retriever. The two Wyndhams that
came earlier were better dogs, especially Mr.
Meyrick's, that was winning at the leading . shows
from 1864 to 1870. Mr. Brailsford brought out the

The Flat or Wavy Coated Black Retriever. 383

other Wyndham, this in 1860, a dog which was
evidently almost pure Labrador, and, like its name-
sake, has no pedigree in the Stud Book. Still, both
dogs were successful on the show bench, so were
much used, and their blood is to be found in most of
the strains at the present day. Another excellent
dog of the early period was Major Allison's Victor,
another dog without pedigree, that was purchased at
Edinburgh. It is interesting to note how true to
type these pedigreeless dogs have proved, and do so
even at the present time. For instance, Mr. L. A.
Shuter, of near Farningham, in Kent, not long ago
purchased a bitch in the streets at Bristol, and
could not obtain the slightest trace as to what her
sire and dam were. Still, so good was she that he
formed an alliance between her and his dog Darenth.
The result was puppies so good that they won
prizes in keen competition directly they came to be
shown. Such cases are, however, exceptional, and
must not be considered when mentioned here as
an indication that I do not value pedigree.

To Mr. S. E. Shirley, the president of the Kennel
Club, the admirers of the wavy-coated retrievers are
indebted for what he has done for the popularisation
of the breed, and most of all the best dogs of the
present day are of his strain. A valued lot of
retrievers had been kept at Ettington Park long

384 Modern Logs.

before the dogs of the show bench, and Mr. Shirley
remembers black retrievers in the kennels there forty
years ago. These dogs were much wavier in the
coat than is the present fashion. In addition to
those at Ettington Park, in the time of the father of
the present popular owner, the neighbouring gentry
round about Stratford-on-Avon had strains of their
own, and these the late Mr. Shirley made use of in
founding his kennel. One dog in these early days
was especially valued, for he excelled all others
in work as well as in looks. This was Nep, who
belonged to Wey, then head keeper to Captain
Peach, of Idlecote. The dog was, however, too
valuable to stay long with his breeder, and Wey sold
him for £20, a very high price then, to the late Mr.
West, of Alscot Park. In due course Nep was the
sire of a dog called Moses, who will no doubt be
recollected by retriever breeders as the father of
Mr. J. D. Corse's well known Sailor.

The blood of this dog still remains in the best
dogs in Mr. Shirley's kennels, and it is some twenty-
five years since he began to give special attention
to improving the retriever for show purposes. This
he did by purchasing and using the best dogs
obtainable, and by careful selection got them to the
uniformity of type and general excellence as they
are seen to-day on the benches at Birmingham and

The Flat or Wavy Coated Black Retriever. 385

elsewhere. No setter cross has ever been used, but
one of the older stock, Paris, was a Labrador, still
he was a great winner on the bench in his day. Mr.
G. T. Bartram's good old dog, Zelstone, used with
great success of late years as a sire, has likewise
an undoubted strain of Labrador in him.

I have entered into the particulars of this kennel
pretty fully for two reasons — because it is the
leading one at present, and that from which almost
all others have sprung, and, secondly, because it has
been previously stated that Mr. Shirley's retrievers
were purely and simply crosses from the Labrador.
That they have but a slight tinge of that breed in
them, and are mainly indebted for their excellence
to careful selection from old local strains, is very
evident from what I have written.

Lieut. -Colonel Cornewall Legh, near Knutsford,
also owns a considerable kennel of a strain that
have proved themselves equally acceptable as
workers as on the show bench. Mr. H. Liddell,
Otterburn Hall, Northumberland; Mr. John Morrison,
Standeford, near Wolverhampton ; Mr. C. A. Phillips,
Eccles, Lancashire ; Mr. G. T. Bartram, of Braintree,
w^hose Zelstone is alluded to above ; the Rev.
W. Serjeantson ; Mr. Harding Cox, and Mr. A.
Money- Wigram, have all, at one time or another
possessed, or still possess, capital specimens of the

[Vol.I.J C C

386 Modern Dogs.

race, some of them owning dogs and bitches in
sufficient numbers to perpetuate the breed should
any virulent disease attack and destroy all that
others own.

At the present time there is a tendency to produce
the wavy-coated retrievers with an inclination to the
type and shape of head possessed by the setters.
This is, no doubt, due to the fallacy carried out in
breeding for straight coats, which are all very
well in their way, attractive enough in the show
ring, but thoroughly bad from a workman's point
of view. During my somewhat lengthened con-
nection with dog shows I have noticed that, as a
rule, the straightest and flattest coated dogs have
the greatest tendency to the longer setter-like heads.
If breeding for this coat in preference to that of
type of head and character is continued, mischief
will be done which may not be so easy to remedy
as the variety was to be produced in the first
instance. I would especially recommend the judges
in dealing with this retriever, to give more credit
for the correct type of head than for an actually
and perfectly flat coat, not forgetting that the dog
was originally " wavy-coated " quite as much as
his jacket was straight.

About judging wavy-coated retrievers. At the last
Birmingham show Mr. Lloyd Price had an unusually

The Flat or Wavy Coated Black Retriever. 387

fine class of dogs before him, which included one
called Rightaway, which his owner, Mr. Shirley, con-
sidered to be one of the best dogs he ever saw. The
judge thought otherwise, and gave the chief award
to another from the same kennel. The winner was
a much more active-looking dog than Rightaway,
equally good in coat, head, and expression, and in
legs and feet ; but he stood a little higher on the
legs, and was not so heavy in bone as the favourite
of the Kennel Club's President, who should know
a good dog if any man does. Still, on this occasion
we endorse the judge's decision in giving first prize
to the more active and workmanlike animal, and it
is to be hoped that judges will be consistent and
award the leading honours to those dogs that from
appearance seem most likely to be useful in the
field. As I have already stated, coats can be too
fine and straight.

The descriptions and points of the wavy coated
black retriever, founded on " Stonehenge's " scale,
are as follows :

The nose and jaws are to be considered from
two points of view — first, as to the powers of
scent ; and secondly, as to the capacity for carrying
a hare or pheasant without risk of damage. For
both purposes the jaws should be long, and for the
development of scenting powers the nose should be

C C 2

388 Modern Dogs.

wide, the nostrils open, and its end moist and cool ;
teeth level, and neither overshot nor undershot.

The skull, ears, and eyes. — Skull bone wide
and flat at the top, with slight furrow down the
middle. Brow by no means pronounced, but the
skull is not absolutely in a straight line with the
nose. The ears must be small, lie close to the
head, and set on low, but not hanging down in
hound fashion. With regard to the hair on them,
it must be short. The eyes should be of medium
size, dark in colour, bright, intelligent-looking, and
mild in expression, indicating a good temper.

Neck, loins, and back. — Whatever be the breed
of dog, his neck should be long enough to
allow him to stoop in seeking for the trail.
A chumpy neck is especially bad ; for, while
a little dog may get along on a foot scent with a
short neck, a comparatively large and unwieldy dog
tries himself terribly by the necessity for crouching
in his fast pace. Loins and back wide, deep, and
strong.

The quarters and stifles must be muscular,
and so formed to enable the retriever to do
his work fast enough to please the modern sports-
man, with ease to himself; the stifles should be
nicely turned.

The shoulders should be long and sloping ;

The Flat or Wavy Coated Black Retriever. 389

otherwise, even with a proper length of neck, the
dog cannot stoop to a foot scent without fatigue.

The chest should be broad as well as deep, with
well-developed and well sprung ribs.

Legs, hiees, and hocks. — When tolerably fast
work is to be done by a heavy dog, it is
important that these parts should be strong and
free from disease in their joints. Hence the legs
must not only be long and muscular, but they
must be clean and free from lumber. The knees
should be broad, and the hocks well developed, and
clean.

The feet are rather larger proportionately than
in the setter, but they should be compact, and
the toes well arched. Soles thick and strong.

The tail should be bushy in proportion to the
dog, but not feathered. It should be carried gaily,
but not curled over the back.

The coat is short, but not so short as in the
pointer or hound ; it should be close and thick and
as straight as possible; a thin open coat, underneath
which the skin is easily found, is bad, however
straight it may be.

The colour should be a rich black, free from
rustiness and from white.

Symmetry and temperament. — The symmetry and
elegance of this dog are considerable, and should

390 Modern Dogs.

be valued highly. The evidences of good temper
must be regarded with great care, since his utility
mainly depends on his disposition. A sour-headed
brute, with a vicious look about the eyes, should be
disqualified.

Weight from 5olb. to 681b. for dogs ; bitches

rather smaller.

Value.

Nose and jaws 5

Skull, ears, and eyes 10

Neck, loins, and back ... 10

Quarters and stifles 5

Shoulders and chest 13

Legs, knees, and hocks... 12

Value.

Feet 10

Tail 5

Coat 10

Symmetry and tempera-
ment 20

55
Grand Total 100.

45

OTHER RETRIEVERS.

There are other retrievers than the two varieties
already mentioned. Some years ago a so-called
"Russian Retriever" very often appeared in the
variety classes at our shows — a huge, unwieldy
creature, certainly more like being successful in
carrying off a sheep rather than in retrieving a snipe.
He would weigh pretty well on to a hundred
pounds, was covered with long ringlets, and
appeared more nearly allied to the French poodle

Other Retrievers. 391

than to anything else, and I believe in fact that he
was a poodle. Usually he was black in colour,
sometimes brown. It was said this " Russian " was
introduced here for the purpose of " crossing," to
give size and strength. When already our retrievers
were bigger and coarser than we required them,
there is no wonder his services were refused.

The common brown retriever that we see running
about the streets, neither curled nor wavy, nor
smooth, is a sort of nondescript animal we can well
do without. He is usually snappish and ill-natured,
and when not looking in the gutters for a living
may be found chained up to a kennel in somebody's
back yard. Those who own a dog of this kind may
be recommended to exchange it for a small terrier,
which will not only cost the owner less in the way
of food, but be less liable to bite his neighbour, his
wife, or his children. When anyone is bitten by
a dog the odds are two to one that the injury was
caused by one of these common brown dogs. An
injustice is done to the Emerald Isle when they are
called "Irish retrievers," and this frequently happens.
There are black dogs, with white on their breasts,
of similar type and character. No doubt the dis-
repute in which even the well-bred retriever is held
in many quarters, arises from the ill-fame which
attends this cousin of his.

392 Modern Dogs.

There are, however, brown retrievers that have
better reputations, some are curly-coated, others
wavy or straight coated. The latter are repeatedly
produced from black parents, are very handsome,
and equally useful as any other. Personally I
have a great fancy for this pale or chocolate
brown, wavy-coated retriever. He is a novelty,
and if he shows dirt more than his black parents,
his coat is equally glossy, and he is quite as good
tempered and sociable. The white or pale primrose-
coloured eye is objectionable in this variety as it is
in the black. Mr. A. Money-Wigram showed an
excellent specimen called Merle, which won second
in a class for " retrievers any other colour than
black," at the Kennel Club Show in June, 1889, and
first in the same class in 1892. It is rather odd
that in the Kennel Club Stud Book for 1892 the
awards in several of these retriever classes at the
Club Show are altogether omitted.

One of the prettiest retrievers I ever saw, and one
of the best all round in coat, curl, docility of expres-
sion and otherwise, was Mr. J. H. Salter's handsome
brown bitch Beauty III., and she was not misnamed.
She was so good as to be able to win even against
the blacks ; her coat remained crisp and hard, and
in disposition and temperament she was quite an
example to other dogs. Beauty was born of

Other Retrievers. 393

pure brown parents, her sire being Prince Rupert,
dam Pearl. Rupert was a well known good dog on
the bench, winning, like her daughter, even when
pitted against the black variety, and it is rather odd
that his sire, King Koffee, black, usually had a brown
puppy in each litter when mated with Pearl. From
this cross Mr. Salter is desirous of obtaining a
distinctly brown strain, which he considers more
useful for his description of wildfowl and snipe
shooting. Rupert, though over ten years of age, is
still alive and able to undergo a day's hard work in
the Essex marshes, will plunge into the water in the
coldest weather, go into the sea under any conditions,
and retrieve a jack snipe as tenderly as a cat would
carry her kitten. This is no doubt a useful sort of
dog to have. The strain should be perpetuated if
possible, and it is much to be regretted that
Beauty's owner was unable to obtain any puppies
from her.

There is supposed to be a Norfolk retriever, but
this is no special strain, being black, brown, black
and tan, or any other colour; an undoubted cross
between an ordinary field spaniel and some other
retriever. Such cross-bred dogs are useful on the
" Broads " when the shooting season is on, and,
being hardy, are, when trained, perhaps better
adapted for wildfowl shooting than the more

394 Modern Dogs.

attractive and cared for varieties that are the
popular idols at the present time.

But, after all, there are almost all sizes and con-
ditions of retrievers. There were trials of water-dogs
arranged in connection with the Maidstone show
in May, 1876, and here many varieties competed,
including Newfoundlands. It was, however, acknow-
ledged on all hands, that, by far the best work,
in retrieving, diving, and swimming, was performed
by a black and white retriever, semi-curly in coat,
and one that, in the show ring, no judge would have
looked at a second time. Still, it beat such known
cracks as the belauded Theodore Nero, and easily
took the first prize. The dog was Mr. T. Cole's
Nero.

John Colquhoun, in his " Moor and the Loch,"
descants in praiseworthy terms of his wild-fowl
retriever that was a cross bet\veen a water spaniel
and a terrier. In appearance it was not unlike a
modern Airedale terrier, but doubtless one of the
most useful dogs ever bred, and in a boat would
do better than a larger and curlier animal, as he
would bring less water in with him when retrieving
his master's ducks. Such dogs are, however, liable
to be hard-mouthed ; still, I have myself owned
terriers, and have one now — an Irishman — that will
carry an egg in a cup without breaking either, or a

Other Retrievers. 395

piece of tissue paper without soiling it in the least.
But such dogs as these have taken naturally to their
work, and no amount of training would persuade or
teach them to do what they like to perform of their
own accord.

One of the best retrievers I ever owned was a
sorry looking customer — a cross between a badly
bred collie dog and an illegitimate retriever slut.
His curly tail would have been a credit to an
Esquimaux. But a dog does not carry a bird or a
hare with his stern, nor does his intelligence lie
therein. Although the dog (l Dick" was not more than
forty pounds weight, and had a small head and jaw,
he could carry two rabbits easily. This he did often
enough when I happened to be shooting with a
friend, and a couple of rabbits had been stopped
simultaneously by smart first barrels. Dick was so
jealous that he persisted in bringing both to his
master.

To prove the general uses an intelligent well-
trained retriever may be put to, it may not be out
of place to mention that quite recently a very
mongrel-looking specimen of the breed figured in a
most interesting fashion in a London police-court.
A man was charged with having sundry umbrellas in
his possession of which he could give no satisfactory
account. It was alleged that he had trained his dog

396 Modern Dogs.

to snatch such articles from the hands of unsus-
picious ladies, make off with his spoil, following a
light cart, in which the 'defendant and his wife were
seated. In due course the purloined article was
taken from the dog by its owner, who was then
apprehended and charged, as stated. Eventually the
case against him was dismissed. I am told that the
dog did the trick well ; still it is scarcely right to
train any creature to such a dishonest practice.

Then about the same time another retriever saved
a child from drowning in the Thames, the owner,
unable to swim himself, sending in his dog to the
rescue of the struggling infant, who had fallen off
the tow-path, and was being washed away by the
receding tide.

Not long ago an interesting presentation took
place at Cardiff, the captain of a Liverpool steam
ship being presented with the bronze medal of the
Board of Trade for saving life, under the following
circumstances : A boat was capsized when leaving
a wreck, the occupants being thrown into the
heavy sea ; Captain Nickels twice swam out into the
surf and saved four men from drowning. But he
was assisted greatly by a retriever dog, who later,
when his master, Mr. Pengelly, who had been
assisting in the rescue, was about exhausted and
struggling in the water, seized him by the collar and

Other Retrievers. 397

brought him safely to land, otherwise he would have
lost his life. The dog was presented with a new
collar, which he well deserved.

In many deer forests in Scotland retrievers
are used in connection with deer stalking, and
are said to be more useful in bringing to bay a
wounded stag than the ordinary deerhound. Indeed,
a good-tempered dog of the retriever kind, when
nicely trained, is a most useful animal, but when
kept as a watch dog chained to a barrel in the
backyard, or allowed to follow the gutter for a live-
lihood, he is treacherous in the extreme, and as such
to be avoided.

If you require a retriever for show purposes, buy
one to answer your requirements ; but, if such a dog
is required for work, either by land or water or both,
do not mind what colour or shape he may be, so
long as his character for intelligence and tenderness
is satisfactory. Beware of the hard-mouth, of that
cold unlovable face and light yellow eye that denote
ill-nature and querulousness that in the end will lead
to mischief. You, perhaps, will not be able to get
hold of such dogs as two or three "H.H." so pleasantly
mentions in his practical and valuable work, " The
Scientific Education of Dogs for the Gun." One
that broke from the bush the bough upon which the
lost fly cast hung, and ran eighty yards down stream

398 Modern Dogs.

to break the ice in order that the wounded duck
could come to the hole to breathe, and so be caught.
Colonel Hutchinson tells us of another retriever that
was in the habit of acting as <( whipper-in " where
the spaniels were concerned, seizing any dog of the
team in his mouth and giving it a good shaking for
not " down charging" when required, or for rushing
in front of the remainder of the team, with which it
worked, and trying to demolish the wounded
pheasant.

Retrievers that perform such feats as the above
are not of every day occurrence, and are only to
be made by constant companionship with an owner
who understands their every movement, and can
read what is passing in their minds by looking into
their eyes.

CHAPTER XIX.
THE SPANIEL.

DOG shows, and the consequent breeding for so-
called fancy points, have completely altered the
character of our English spaniels — at least, of a
majority of those we see winning in the rings nowa-
days. Such are, as a rule, quite a different article
to the animal old painters placed upon their can-
vases, and which writers of previous generations
described in the pages of their volumes.

There is no doubt that the spaniel, as he is gene-
rally known, preceded the setter, who was produced
from him. and was trained to " sett " game long
before the pointer came to be introduced to this
country. It has been said both came from Spain
originally, a country that was also stated to be the
home of the British bulldog. Surely the land of
sherry wine and bull fights has much to answer for,
and may be deemed fortunate in obtaining the repu-
tation of being the original manufacturer of such
valuable animals.

400 Modern Dogs.

Juliana Barnes, or Berners, wrote of spaniels in
1486, so did Dr. Keyes, or Caius; and later, in 1677,
Nicholas Cox, in his " Gentleman's Recreation,"
copied what both his predecessors had said about
them, and added what remarks Gervase Markham
had made on the same subject. Then we must not
forget what Aldrovandus wrote early in the sixteenth
century, and the engravings he gave of sundry
varieties of the Spanish dog, which are described in a
preceding chapter on the setter. One of these he
called "pantherius," because it was spotted, i.e., more
or less ticked, as are many of the handsomer setters
and spaniels of the present day.

In Cox's time, and earlier, the spaniel was in
great measure used as an assistance in hawking,
and he says " how necessary a thing it is to
falconry I think nobody need question as well
as to spring and retrieve a fowl being flown to
the mark, and also in divers and other ways to
help and assist falcons and goshawks." He then
alludes to cutting the tails of spaniels, about which
he says, " it is necessary, for several reasons, to cut
off the tip of a spaniel's stern when it is a whelp.
First, by doing so worms are 'prevented from breed-
ing there ; in the next place, if it be not cut, he will
be the less forward in pressing hastily into the
covert after his game ; besides this benefit, the dog

The Spaniel. 401

appears " more beautiful." This custom of tail
docking has continued to this day, we practising
it, because the spaniel in working covert is less
likely to injure his tail by lashing it backwards and
forwards and tearing it amongst the tangled briers
and the thick undergrowth.

But even prior to such early times, we have
mention made of the spaniel as of use in hawking,
and " hys crafte was also for the perdrich or
partridge, and the quaile ; and, when taught to
couche he is very serviceable to the fowlers who
take those birds with nets." In a fourteenth
century MS. there is a picture of ladies hawking,
they being attended by two dogs with long ears, no
doubt intended to represent the spaniel of that
period.

The spaniel in his two varieties, the land and
water spaniel, was the sporting dog in these
early days, and in " The Master of the Game,"
written early in the fifteenth century, we are told
that this dog " hath many good customs and evil;
he should have a large head and body, be of fair
hue, white or tawny, and not too rough ; but his
tail should be rough and feathered."

The Prince to whom we are indebted for this
early treatise further says, the breed came from
Spain, although it was to be had in other countries,

[VOL. i.] D D

402 Modern Dogs.

and those that were used for hawking were
" baffers," i.e., they gave tongue.

From these two breeds of spaniels, I believe,
have sprung all the varieties known at the present
time, not excluding the toy spaniels. Writers on
canine matters so recently as within the present
century, have told us that the Blenheim spaniel was
at that time used for covert shooting, and was
useful in such a capacity. Now it is purely and
simply a lap or toy dog, and the most perfect speci-
mens that are seen on the show benches would likely
enough come off but second best in a tussle with a
good wild rabbit.

The extraordinary sagacity and affectionate dis-
position of the spaniel have repeatedly formed a
theme for those who delight to dwell on anecdotes
relating to dogs. Unfortunately, in most instances,
the variety of spaniel is not mentioned, so one is at a
loss to know whether to give the credit of such extra-
ordinary intelligence to the little creature that has
been the pampered favourite of monarchs and ladies
since the days of the Stuarts, or to that equally
valuable animal that assists the sportsman to fill his
bag with either feathered or ground game, or both.

But, as already hinted, the show era has wrought
an extraordinary change in the character and appear-
ance of our spaniels, and in vain we look for the old

The Spaniel. 403

curly-coated water variety that our grandfathers
valued so highly, or for the equally useful and
smaller dog, some twenty pounds weight or so, that
would with equal facility " fetch " a stick that had
been thrown into the water, or retrieve a rabbit with
a hind leg broken that in vain struggled to reach
the sanctuary of its burrow.

With, perhaps, few exceptions, the chief being the
Clumber and Irish variety, our show spaniel of to-day
is not a sportsman's dog — a fancy creature merely,
whose coat requires as much grooming as that of a
Yorkshire terrier, and the slightest waviness thereon
would be as fatal to its chances of success before
some judges as if it had but one eye, and unable to
see with that one. Crooked forelegs, malformed
elbows and shoulders, are often allowed to pass
muster in the show ring, but a curly or wavy coat
seldom.

Personally I should disqualify dogs with crooked,
disproportioned fore legs, however long they might
be in body, however " near the ground " (meaning,
however short the legs), and however straight the
coat. These abnormally formed dogs — " long and
low " their owners love to call them — have completely
usurped the position that the old fashioned field
spaniel formerly occupied, and the modern edition is
neither so handsome nor so useful as the original

D D 2

404 Modern Dogs.

one. The coats of the new may be straighter,
shinier, and more glossy, but in most cases the
spaniel character has disappeared, and nothing so
good occupies its position. I know the owners of
these show dogs will still sell such specimens for a
hundred pounds each or more, and will not agree
with these remarks, but they are true nevertheless.

Some of the breeders with whom I have had
acquaintance have considered it an advantage to be
able to produce at least three so-called varieties
from the same crosses. A black spaniel may be a
brother to a Sussex or liver coloured specimen in
the adjoining class ; and further away it might be
possible to find a liver and white, or blue and white,
or black and tan, brother or sister to the others
taking leading honours in a third class. Happily, in
a few instances, one or two old varieties of field
spaniel have been kept fairly pure, notably the
Clumber and the Sussex, of which more anon.
Still, even the best strains of the Sussex are
often enough supplanted by dogs with " black
blood " running in their veins, because they happen
to be half an inch longer in the body and have
longer ears, the latter actually detrimental in his
proper vocation of life that Nature brought him
into the world to perform.

The early grouping of the spaniels at our shows

The Spaniel. 405

was not satisfactory, and at the initial Birmingham
exhibitions but four classes were provided, two for
Clumbers and two for " any other variety." About
1862 an improvement was wrought, Irish water
spaniels were specially provided for, and later the
classes were divided, not by colour or variety, but
according to weight. Thus dogs exceeding 25lb.
weight competed separately, so did dogs below that
standard, and the bitches were restricted to over
and under 2olb.

Now matters are different, colour is taken into
consideration, and type and variety to a limited
extent. In the best arranged schedules individual
classes are provided for Clumbers (2), Irish Water
Spaniels (2), Sussex or liver coloured (2), black (2),
any other colour (i), and for cockers (2). In
addition challenge classes may be made as is
deemed desirable. The cockers are usually re-
stricted to 25lb. in weight, which is five pounds too
heavy.

The old fashioned English water spaniel appears
to have altogether disappeared, and now this curly-
coated brown and white, retriever-like, but smaller,
dog is not to be found, and remains only in the
pictures engraved by Bewick and drawn by Reinagle
and others. The " Sportsman's Cabinet " has a nice
picture of this dog, and even so recent a writer as

406 Modern Dogs.

Youatt (1845) illustrates and describes him. The
variety has, however, been improved off the face of
the earth, so will soon be forgotten.

The Spaniel Club, established in 1885, nas issued
its description of the spaniel in his varieties in a
most exhaustive form, and this includes, besides
those already mentioned, and more, fully alluded to
further on, the Norfolk spaniel. In the case of the
cocker, divisions are made, the " black" and the
"any other colour" being separated, making, indeed,
the two varieties out of the one. Why this
has been done it is difficult to imagine, unless
because members of the club are desirous of bring-
ing into the cocker classes little black spaniels
altogether of the modern type ; and such are not
cockers at all. They are miniature specimens of
the ordinary black field spaniels, and are bred from
that stock.

The Norfolk spaniel is not now acknowledged
by the public as a variety, though it is by the
Spaniel Club. I have already said that the English
water spaniel is pretty nearly extinct, and I have not
seen one on the show bench for very many years.
However, to give completeness, I have appended
all the points and descriptions issued by the Club,
and they will no doubt prove of value for reference in
the future.

The Spaniel. 407

No doubt the Spaniel Club has done some good
in defining the varieties, describing them, and in
looking after their interests at shows and exhibi-
tions, but they have entirely neglected his working
qualifications. At one period it was thought field
trial competitions would have been provided, but the
difficulties of arranging them satisfactorily must
always be in the way of such gatherings. Personally
I scarcely see how spaniel trials could be conducted,
for in reality most of those who hold large kennels
of spaniels for sporting purposes use them as teams.
In fact the modern human beater — the fustian-clad
yokel, with a long and stout stick and a Stentorian
cry of "Cock! cock! cock!" — has long ago
pretty well ousted the merry cockers or the more
staid Clumber for beating the coverts ; certainly an
innovation not at all a desirable one.

There is no prettier sight than to see a team of
well-trained spaniels drop instantaneously to com-
mand or to gun fire. In reality covert work is the
proper thing for spaniels to do. Some years ago,
when the Knipe Scar and other coursing meetings
were held over the Lowther estates of the Earl of
Lonsdale, the coverts were occasionally beaten by
an excellent team of liver and white spaniels. It was
pleasant to see them driving their game out of the
thick undergrowth of brambles and furze. When

408 Modern Dogs.

a hare was well away a shot was fired and each
individual spaniel dropped instanter. There they
remained whilst the greyhounds were running their
hare in the open. The course ended, and by
command the spaniels were up again, as busy as
possible, and so the day's proceedings were con-
tinued until nearly dark, when the coursing men had
a long walk home before reaching headquarters,
stopping, however, on their way to partake of the
" roast beef of Old England,5' and its strong ale,
spread upon the hospitable boards at the Castle.
Certainly all round a better kind of sport than is to
be had by modern coursing in the enclosed grounds.
As to the " field trials for spaniels," perhaps in
due time some one will come forward with a scheme
by which they may be conducted successfully in
public ; but the judge who would award the prizes
to the satisfaction of the owners of such dogs as
might be entered would have a position that no man
could envy.

CHAPTER XX.

THE IRISH WATER SPANIEL.

EARLY in 1859 a considerable amount of corre-
spondence appeared in the Field with regard to Irish
Water Spaniels. There had been writers on the
matter who knew little or nothing about the dog in
question, and now inquiries were made as to what the
Irish Spaniel was and what he had been. . " Smack'
wrote of the " St. Leger breed/' and of an excellent
strain kept, by Lord Erne ; and the same week
another admirer of the variety wrote from DuW*r.
that, after long and diligent search, he found rite
"real Irish water spaniel one of the hardest
animals to procure."

Further, he says the colour is almost *.r«v».r
of " a rich liver ; the coat long, curlv *jVfS matted
the head peculiarly long, and alnv
silky ears, much Ion
the tail is thin and n<
lastly, the animal stan^
thickly and closely

410 Modern Dogs.

of the poodle with the daring of the spaniel, and
although, by reason of its coat, nearly useless in
covert, still no day is too long, no water too cold ;
and happy indeed ought the wild fowler to be if he
can procure a specimen of this invaluable and almost
extinct breed."

The above and other letters brought a reply from
Mr. McCarthy, who had for long been looked up to
as the authority on the variety, and his communica-
tion to the Field (February i9th, 1859) must be
taken as the most important contribution on the
subject that had hitherto appeared. From this
description of his strain, the type of water spaniel
was formed, and so it has continued to the present
day. Mr. M'Carthy wrote:—

" I have been the owner of the curly coated Irish water spaniel
for the last thirty years, and have been, as it were, the godfather of
most of those to be disposed of, the dealers always recommending
their dogs by saying ' they are one of McCarthy's real old breed.'
I have bestowed many scores of dogs and bitches to gentlemen in
every county in Ireland and many parts of England, and bitches
have been sent to me from every part of this country for the
services of my celebrated dog Boatswain, the patriarch of all the
highly-bred dogs in the country,

" There is in reality but two breeds of the true Irish Water
Spaniel. In the north the dog has generally short ears without
any feather, and is very often of a pied white and brown colour •
in the south, the dog is of pure liver colour, with long ears, and
well curled, with short stiff curls all over the body. The present
improved and fancy breed, called M'Carthy's breed, should run

The Irish Water Spaniel. 411

thus: Dog from 21 inches to 22 \ inches high (seldom higher
when pure bred), head rather capacious, forehead prominent, face
from eyes down perfectly smooth, ears from 24 inches to 26 inches
from point to point. The head should be crowned with a well-
defined top-knot, not straggling across like the common, rough
water dog. but coming down in a peak on the forehead. The
body should be covered with small crisp curls, which often
become clogged in the moulting season. The tail should be
round without feather underneath, rather short, and as stiff as
a ramrod ; the colour of a pure puce liver without any white.

" Though these dogs are of very high mettle, I have never found
them untractable or difficult to train. They readily keep to heel
and down-charge, and will find a dead or wounded bird any-
where, either in the open or in covert ; but they are not partial to
stiff, thorny brakes, as the briars catch in their curls and trail after
them. It is advisable to give them a little training at night, so
that in seeking objects they must rely upon their nose alone. For
the gun they should be taught to go into the water like a duck ;
but when kept for fancy a good dog of this breed will take
a flying jump of from twenty-five to thirty-five feet or more per-
pendicularly high into the water.

"My old dog Boatswain lived to about eighteen years old,,
when, although in good health and spirits, I was obliged to-
destroy him. ... A good, well trained dog of this kind will
not be obtained under from £10 to £20, and I have known ^40
or ^"50 paid for one. They will not stand a cross with any other
breed. . . . The pure breed has become very scarce ; and
although very hardy when grown up, they are very delicate as
puppies."

Following the above, some special interest ap-
peared for a time to be taken in Irish spaniels, and
Captain Lindoe, R.N., Mr. E. Montressor, Mr. J. T.
Robson, Mr. R. W. Boyle, Captain O'Grady, Mr.

412 Modern Dogs.

J. S. Skidmore, Mr. N. Morton, and a few others
took them in hand. But they never appeared to
become popular, possibly because their coats were so
often ragged and untidy, and, maybe, shooting men
found other dogs equally useful for wild fowl pur-
poses. In 1862 two classes were provided for them
at Birmingham, and, although there were but three
competitors the Curzon Hall executive have sup-
ported the Irish spaniel ever since, although, as
a rule, competition is meagre and the entries are
few.

To me it has been a matter of regret that nothing
appears to be known as to the early history of the
Irish water spaniel, and even Mr. McCarthy omits to
tell us where he first obtained his strain. Richard-
son is equally silent on the matter, and he an Irish-
man too. Still, he writes of and illustrates a dog
similar to the breed already described. Gervase
Markham (1595) tells of a " liver-hued water
dog" that is " swiftest in swimming;" but he
does not identify it with the Emerald Isle. Perhaps
some one interested in the subject may yet be able
to find out something as to the origin of this
variety, and about what period it first came to
be identified with the country from which it takes
its name.

Without entering more fully into the particulars,

The Irish Water Spaniel. 413

it may be as well to hear what Mr. J. F. Farrow, of
Ipswich, has to say of the variety, and I thank him
for his contribution thereon, especially as the Irish
water spaniel is one of those dogs whose acquaint-
ance I have only made through shows. Mr. Farrow
writes as follows : —

11 I remember as well as if only yesterday a very
old sporting friend — a man who had done years of
wild fowling on all the rivers and marshes in the
East of England — coming up to me when I was
engaged in a conversation with the late Mr. P.
Bullock, going over the winners in the Irish Water
Spaniel classes at a dog show held at Laycock's
Dairy Yard, Islington, in 1869. Mr. Bullock's
exhibit had obtained an extra prize, and the Rev.
W. J. Mellor's Doctor and Bingo had been placed
ist and 3rd, and that good dog, Rake, Mr. P.
Lindoe's, 2nd. * Farrow,' said my old sporting
friend, ' you don't want to trouble about those
gentlemen ; you would not use them twice in a boat,
they carry too much water, with such a companion
a boat is a miserable place to be in if you have any
work to do.' This remark, however, did not stop
the desire I had to go in for an Irish water spaniel
at that time.

" I had certain rough shooting on some of
the Essex marshes, and I found the Irish water

414 Modern Dogs.

spaniel a fairly useful dog for such work ; he has,
however, never been a popular companion with
sportsmen generally, and never will be, for the
simple reason that he is not the all round sports-
man's dog many of his admirer's claim him to be.
His great length of ear, coat, and feathering almost
prevent him, for instance, working in covert, whereas
a good squarely-built field spaniel of fair size, with
a reasonable length of body, ear, and feathering,
with a good dense coat, will do for you in water any
and everything the Irish water spaniel can do, and
perform in covert what the ( Irishman ' cannot.
Hence, since the history of dog exhibitions, this
variety of water spaniel is standing still, and, on
the contrary, there is an increase in the various
kinds of field spaniels.

" Of course, it must not be understood that I
believe all breeders of exhibition spaniels are sports-
men— it is a fact some are not — but I often think
more is made of this point frequently than there is
any sound justice for doing, and I state without fear
of contradiction that a very large percentage of the
breeders and exhibitors of the various classes of
spaniels are also fond of their gun as well as
their dog. Some of course have more opportunity
than others for breeding and working their dogs.
Another point which makes the ordinary springer or

The Irish Water Spaniel. 415

field spaniel more popular than the water spaniel is
its size ; a 45lb. field spaniel can place himself
without difficulty out of the way in a boat or dog-
cart, but not so the bigger Irishman.

" Perhaps the most prominent breeder, certainly
the most successful exhibitor of Irish water spaniels
since the history of dog shows, is Mr. J. S. Skidmore,
of Nantwich, who claims for this variety of spaniel
a position as the most useful dog for the sports-
man of limited means. Now, much as I respect this
gentleman's views as to what a typical Irish water
spaniel should be like, I cannot agree with him on
this point. I regard the ordinary retriever or a fair-
sized reasonably constructed field spaniel a much
more useful dog. Let us take, for instance, an old
cock pheasant, winged, in only a reasonable covert,
and I should like to ask Mr. Skidmore what he
thinks such specimens as some of his typical Irish
water spaniels, measuring nearly a yard — I believe
some of them measured over 30 inches — from tip to
tip of ears, would do with a winged pheasant under
such circumstances ; or say a winged partridge in a
ditch on a farm where high cultivation is unknown ;
in a dyke in which the undergrowth has not been
touched for a dozen years.

" Again, in many specimens the coat is woolly in
texture and too open and long ; such a coat will

416 Modern Dogs.

hold as much water as a blanket, and a dog with an
abundance of feather of this woolly texture of hair
is simply a nuisance. If you walk across a farm -yard
with such a specimen he is not fit to look at, and if
by chance you come across a bramble or piece of
hedge clipping, and you do not notice it for a minute
or so, a stop has to be made of two or three minutes
to relieve the poor brute. I have seen a dog with
this woolly class of coat and feathering rendered
almost useless on a proper wildfowling day from the
snow and ice freezing and hanging in balls or lumps
as big as walnuts from the feathering, and to such
an extent as to render the dog, before half the day
was over, useless. I do not think this woolly open
coat and feather is taken sufficient notice of by some
of our judges ; I believe it on the increase, and it is
unquestionably the wrong class of coat for such a
dog. I know we saw such coats years ago, but not
so frequently as now.

" I have said before, and I repeat, that this
variety of spaniels has never been, and never
will be, a popular sporting dog with Englishmen.
The breed has been encouraged by classes being
provided at almost all the principal exhibitions from
their very commencement, still the Irish water spaniel
has not made headway, and to-day is declining
in both numbers and typical specimens when com-

The Irish Water Spaniel. 417

pared with what were to be found ten or a dozen
years ago.

" The origin of the Irish water spaniel is a matter
no authority, or any one else, has ventured to say
much about, and give anything like a definite
opinion. We know years ago Ireland possessed
two, if not more, varieties, in the north and south.
We also know that to-day, and indeed since dog
shows commenced, that our judges have taken the
south of Ireland type for their standard of what an
Irish water spaniel should be like. We know, also,
that years ago more care was exercised by gentlemen
in the south of Ireland to establish a type than those
in the north ; hence ' Stonehenge/ in his last work,
making the following remark in his article on this
variety of spaniel : ( At the present time the
McCarthy strain may be considered to be the type of
the Irish water spaniel, and his description, published
in the Field, and quoted on another page, is the
standard by which the breed is judged, and must,
therefore, be so regarded.' I may just remark that
in my opinion the common ' water dog,' as known
in 1803, a capital illustration of which appears in
the ' Sportsman's Cabinet,' so often alluded to in
these days, had a great deal to do with the origi-
nality of this variety of spaniel. Indeed, even down
to the specimens seen to-day, in outline, the water

[VOL. i.] E E

41 8 Modern Dogs.

dog referred to, much resembles the Irish water
spaniels of the present period. Take, for instance,
the top-knot and coat, the length of back, the
length from hip to hock, the length of face,
and one must, in my humble opinion, notice the
similarity.

" The Irish water spaniel of to-day is looked
after by two clubs, one in England and the other in
Ireland. The former club has this year revised
its standard of points, but the revision, in my
opinion, is not an improvement on the old standard.
Take the description of head, for instance, which is
as follows : ' Capacious skull, rather raised on dome
and fairly wide, showing large brain capacity. The
dome appears higher than it really is, being sur-
mounted by the crest or top-knot.'

" Not a word is said about the ' face,' the length
of face — the very point in the breed that such an
acknowledged authority as 'Stonehenge' goes out of
his way to describe as 'very peculiar.' The face, in
my opinion, and in the opinion of many old breeders,
is a most remarkable and important feature of the
breed. Take the top-knot again, another charac-
teristic point of the breed, and it is very badly
handled by the Club. Nothing like sufficient im-
portance is given to it. In the remarks in the
descriptive particulars of the coat we read as

The Irish Water Spaniel. 419

follows : ' Top-knot should fall well over the eyes/
Now, from such a description, one, I take it, would
be satisfied if the top-knot came over the dog's
eyes and was cut off quite square or straight across
the face, as it is seen to-day on some of our chief
prize winners. Such a top-knot I think wrong, and it
always reminds me of the poodle's wig. The
top-knot in a good specimen falls * between ' and
over the eyes in a ' peaked ' form, and not across
the eyes or face, like a poodle's.

11 Years ago light eyes were looked upon as a bad
fault. Judges often put such specimens back, and
the critics noted the fault in their reports, but
to-day the amber-coloured eye is almost fashionable.
Anyhow, many of the principal winners have amber-
coloured eyes, and such are recognised by the
spaniel clubs. What, in fact, years ago, was one of
the most objectionable points in the breed, is now, to
a certain extent, allowed. That this altered state of
things will last I do not believe, as I am quite certain,
although the ' amber '-coloured eye is recognised
by several influential breeders and exhibitors, it
is not liked by 25 per cent, of the breeders of Irish
water spaniels throughout England and Ireland. And
of one thing i am positive, the amber eye will now
take a lot of getting rid of in the breed, and the
longer it is allowed the more will this variety of

E E 2

420 Modern Dogs.

spaniel fail in popularity and numbers. I have
letters from several old breeders, who from no
other cause, have recently lost their interest in
the breed.

" That the best specimens seen at our exhibitions
now, could hold their own with the best ten or
twenty years ago I do not believe. I am not one of
the ancient pessimists who consider that years since
everything was so much better than is the case
at the present time ; but certain it is that Irish
water spaniels of the past on the bench were
more typical and perfect specimen than they are
now.

" Let us compare a few of the principal prize
dogs that were winning at shows held at the end of
the sixties. I will take Mr. J. S. Skidmore's Doctor
(2061), Captain Lindoe's Rake (2088), and Mr.
Skidmore's Duck (2066). Now I am quite certain
any one of these three specimens, for length of face,
formation of head throughout, colour of eye, length
of ears, top-knot, and qualit) of coat — although
perhaps not in colour of coat — would simply romp
away from any one of the three specimens now
winning in the challenge classes at our show say
Shaun, Harp, and the Shaughraun.

" I now come to a more recent period — say
ten years ago ; and I venture to state that few,

The Irish Water Spaniel. 421

if any, breeder or gentleman who has taken an
interest in this variety, of spaniel will contradict me
when I state that our present champions could
not possibly have been in it, point for point with
the prominent winners at that time. Take, for
instance, such dogs as Mr. Skidmore's Mickey
Free (10,393), Mr. Hockey's Young Patsey
(10,397), and the same gentleman's Lady (9250)
and other big winners about this time. It may
be said it is all very well to simply say that the
prominent winning specimens ten years ago were so
much ahead of the present prominent winners, but
tell us, in your opinion, in what way, in which par-
ticular points, these specimens could beat the present
winners ? For argument's sake I will take the most
prominent winning bitch of ten years or so ago
-Young Hilda (born 1878, breeder and exhibitor,
Mr. G. S. Hockey) and Champion Harp (born 1885,
breeder and exhibitor, Colonel the Hon. W. Le Poer
Trench). Now I say that in length of face, expres-
sion, colour of eye, colour and texture of coat and
outline, there is no comparison between these two
specimens ; and it is in the points I have described
where Champion Harp loses so much when com-
pared with Young Hilda. Thus, my opinion is, that
the specimens seen generally to-day are behind those
of ten years and twenty years ago.

422 Modern Dogs.

" The home of this breed, or rather what is
called the home of the breed, Ireland, has never,
since the history of dog shows, produced many
' sensations,' as a look through the Kennel Club
Stud Books will confirm. However, one of the
most perfect specimens, and I think the best
specimen bred in Ireland, seen at our dog shows
was Larry Doolin (4384), a dog exhibited on
several occasions at English shows, years ago,
by Mr. N. Morton, and later by Messrs. R. B. and
T. S. Carey."

Following Mr. Farrow's exhaustive and critical
remarks, with most of which I am completely in
accord, especially so far as his strictures on the
light coloured eyes are concerned, little remains for
me to say. He, however, somewhat overstates his
case about the " amber" eyes being almost fashion-
able, for in the Spaniel Club's scale appended, such
eyes are handicapped to the extent of ten negative
points.

The principal exhibitors of Irish water spaniels
at the present time are Colonel the Hon. W. Le
Poer Trench, Gerrard's Cross, Bucks; Mr. J. C.
Cockburn, Glasgow ; Mr. T. C. Tisdall, Monaghan,
Ireland ; Mr. J. A. Hearne, Midlothian ; Mr. J.
Unsworth, near Stockport ; Mr. G. T. Millar,
Denbigh ; Mr. W. W. Thomson, Mitcham ; Mr.

The Irish Water Spaniel.

423

J. C. Brown, Tewkesbury ; the Rev. N. Milne;
and Mr. T. J. Hurley, Killaloe.

The Club's points and description are as follows :

POSITIVE POINTS.

Head and jaw 10

Eyes 5

Top-knot 5

Ears

Neck

Body

Fore-legs 5

Hind-legs

Feet .

10

7*
7i

5

5

Stern.. . 10

Coat

General appearance ....

15

'5

Total Positive Points ... 100

NEGATIVE POINTS.
Light yellow or gooseberry

eyes 10

Cording, or tags of dead or

matted hair 12

Moustache, or poodle hair

oncheek 5

Lank, open, or woolly

coat 7

A natural sandy, light coat 8
Furnishing of tail more

than half way down to

sting 7

Setter-feathering on legs ... 10
White patch on chest 6

Total Negative Points ... 65

Disqualifications. — Total absence of top-knot ; a fully feathered
tail ; any white patch on any part of the dog, except a small one
on chest or toe.

DESCRIPTIVE PARTICULARS.

11 Head. — Capacious skull, rather raised in dome
and fairly wide, showing large brain capacity. The
dome appears higher than it really is, from its being
surmounted by the crest or top-knot, which should

424 Modern Dogs.

grow down to a point between the eyes, leaving the
temple smooth.

" Nose. — Dark liver coloured, rather large, and
well developed.

" Eyes. — Comparatively small. Dark amber and
very intelligent looking.

" Ears. — Set on rather low. In a full-sized
specimen the leather should not be less than 18
inches, and with feather about 24 inches. The
feather on the ear should be long, abundant, and
wavy.

"Neck. — Should be 'pointer-like/ i.e., muscular,
slightly arched, and not too long. It should be
strongly set on the shoulders.

" Body (including size and symmetry]. — Height
at shoulder from 20 to 23 inches, according to sex
and strain ; body, fair sized, round, barrel shaped,
and well ribbed up.

"Shoulder and chest. — Chest deep, and not too
narrow ; shoulders strong, rather sloping, and well
covered with hard muscle.

" Back and loin. — Back strong, loins trifle arched
and powerful, so as to fit them for the heavy
work of beating through sedgy, muddy sides of
rivers.

" Hind quarters. — Round and muscular, and
slightly drooping towards the set on of the stern.

The Irish Water Spaniel. 425

" Stern. — A 'whip tail,' thick at base and taper-
ing to a ' sting.' The hair on it should be short,
straight, and close lying, excepting for a few inches
from its root, where it gradually merges into the
body coat in some short curls.

"Feet and Legs. — 'Fore-legs' straight, well
boned. They should be well furnished with wavy
hair all round and down to the feet, which should be
large and round. ' Hind-legs ' stifle long, hock
set low ; they should be well furnished except from
the hock down the front.

11 Coat. — Neither woolly nor lank, but should
consist of short crisp curls right up to the stern.
Top-knot should fall well over the eyes. It,
and furnishing of ears, should be abundant and
wavy.

" Colour. — Dark rich liver or puce (to be judged
by its original colour). A sandy light coat
is a defect. Total absence of white desirable ;
any except a little on chest or a toe, should
disqualify.

' " General Appearance. — That of a. strong, com-
pact, dashing-looking dog, with a quaint and very
intelligent aspect. They should not be leggy, as
power and endurance are required of them in their
work. Noisy and joyous when out for a spree, but
mute on game." And it may be stated that the

426 Modern Dogs.

Irish water spaniel is the only dog of his variety
not subjected to the custom of having his tail
docked or shortened.

The weight of the Irish water spaniel should be
from 5olb. to 6olb., or, maybe, a trifle over the latter
figures. Colonel the Hon. Le Poer Trench's well-
known dog Shaun, at five years old, scales 64lb. ;
his young dog Shamus, at one and a half years
old, 63lb. ; his bitch Harp, at eight and a half years
old, 54lb. ; and the three and a half years old Erin,
6ilb. These three dogs are amongst the best speci-
mens of their variety before the public at the present
time, and so it is interesting to be able to give their
several weights.

CHAPTER XXL
THE ENGLISH WATER SPANIEL.

PERSONALLY I should not have taken any further
notice of this variety than has already been done,
believing it to be almost, if not entirely, extinct, its
place now being occupied by the ordinary retriever ;
but the Spaniel Club still acknowledges it, so some
introduction to their description is required.

The old-fashioned water dog our great grand-
fathers used was the English water spaniel. Mostly
liver and white in colour, with a curly coat, it was
just such an animal as would be produced through
a cross between the modern brown curly-coated
retriever and an ordinary liver and white spaniel
Reinagle, in the " Sportsman's Cabinet," gives us
such a dog, and later, so recently as 1845, Youatt
describes and illustrates the " Water Spaniel." That
writer gives it a good character for docility, &c., and
Ewan Smith draws him not unlike a modern curly
retriever, but evidently liver and white. Certainly
his illustration makes this spaniel a bigger dog than

428 Modern Dogs.

we should have taken the English water spaniel ever
to have been. However, the dog is not bred or kept
now as a special variety, nor is there much likelihood
of its being quickly resuscitated. Youatt said that
the true breed was, even at the time he wrote, lost,
and the variety, was then a cross between the " water
dog" and the English setter.

However, I believe that the old " water dog " and
the English water spaniel were identical, and my
opinion is pretty well supported by those who may
be considered authorities on the matter.

At some of the earlier Birmingham dog shows
classes were provided for English water spaniels,
but few entries were obtained, and, these becoming
fewer and fewer, the classes were discontinued
entirely. I have not seen such a spaniel on the
bench or in the ring for a long time ; the Kennel
Club Stud book during the past few years will be
searched in vain for an entry of the breed, and the
last so entered in j 886 had no pedigree attached to
them. Curiosities rather than eligibilities for any
Stud Book.

In some recent remarks on the English water
spaniel Mr. J. F. Farrow, of Ipswich, says :

The grandest specimen of this variety of spaniel I ever saw was
Mr. P. Bullock's Rover, which I came across at Birmingham in
1869, when awarded the second prize in the English Water

The English Water Spaniel. 429

Spaniel dog class. Although beaten for the first place at this
exhibition, he made such an impression upon me that I can see
him in my mind's eye at the time of writing these notes, almost as
clearly as when I was looking at him at the Birmingham Show in

1869. I had more than one conversation with those old spaniel
and sporting dog judges, Mr. W. Lort and the Rev. Frank Pearce
(" Idstone '') in reference to this dog, and both thought him a most
typical specimen. He won first prize at Birmingham in 1866, 1868,

1870, and at the Crystal Palace, and gold medal at Paris in 1865
— the latter a win that, however, the owner and breeder of Rover
thought more of, and a medal he was more pleased to show his
friends than, any of his numerous other prizes. This dog was a
beautiful bright chestnut red in colour, with a very deep square
body, which was not long, legs straight, and about twice as long
as the fashionable field spaniel seen at our present exhibitions,
with beautiful flat bone, which in quantity was sufficient to carry
his grand body without being lumbersome. I never heard the
weight of Rover, but should judge him, in show form, about
481b. ; his tail had been shortened a bit, but was rather long ; his
neck was simply grand, and sprung from the very best of working
placed shoulders, and his head was simply a study. Nothing in
the show world at the present time have we, even in the numerous
beautiful field spaniels, black, exhibited, have we a head with such
quality. The occiput showed itself slightly, and the head was of
considerable length throughout, the length from eye to occiput
and eye to nose being so beautifully balanced ; the brows very
cleanly cut, muzzle grandly developed, with just the correct
quantity of flew required to give a nice squareness ; the eyes dark,
showing no haw, but just a little bit of " coral " could be seen at
the inner corner of each eye, and the whole face was brimful of
spaniel fondness, life, and intelligence ; ears long, well feathered
inside as well as outside, and placed low, altogether making up
such a head as I would willingly travel 500 miles to see once
again. The coat was dense, but silky in texture, the curl of
which was not so close or crisp as we like in an Irish water

430 Modern Dogs.

spaniel ; his curl was indeed more of a ringlet, with not a particle
of topknot ; the feathering on legs was not so abundant as is seen
on the Irish water spaniel, and was of the right texture for work.
Another smart English water spaniel I remember well was Flo,
also born in 1869, a winner for several years at Birmingham. Flo
was a daughter of Rover, the dog I have just given a description
of, and was bred by Mr. Bullock, but nearly always shown by the
Hon. Capt. Arbuthnott. This bitch was liver in colour, but of a
lighter shade, and not so bright in hue as her sire. Her body
was longer, but nothing like so square as Rover's, and she was,
perhaps, rather high on the legs, and lacked the workmanlike and
typical outline of her sire. A liver and white ticked dog named
Don, shown by a Mr. Crisp, was placed over her at one of the
Curzon Hall shows, and later this dog did some important
winning, but Rover often beat him, and was a long way the more
typical of the two. Don's pedigree was never very clearly
denned, and, although he had a lot of good sound English water
spaniel points about him, he had also points about him that one
could see favoured the ordinary springer, or land spaniel ; or, in
other words, Don was not so distinctly typical of the variety as
Rover, Flo, and others from the then famous Bilston kennels.

These dogs mentioned by Mr. Farrow, and which
I recollect perfectly well myself, may be said to be
about the most typical of their race of modern times.
Similar animals are not produced now, but if there
be any one anxious to resuscitate this once favourite
dog, there is plenty of material for him to commence
working upon, and it would not take long to re-
introduce the variety, though perhaps a dog of such
excellence as Rover would not be produced for
some time to come.

The English Water Spaniel.

The following are the Club's points and description
of the English water spaniel.

POSITIVE POINTS.

Head, jaw, and eyes 20

Ears 5

Neck 5

Body 10

Fore-legs 10

Hind-legs 10

Feet 5

Stern 10

Coat 15

General Appearance i o

NEGATIVE POINTS.

Feather on stern 10

Top-knot 10

Total Positive Points... 100 Total Negative Points ... 20

DESCRIPTIVE PARTICULARS.

" Head. — Long, somewhat straight and rather
narrow ; muzzle rather long, and, if anything, rather
pointed.

" Eyes. — Small for the size of the dog.

" Ears. — Set on forward, and thickly clothed with
hair inside and out.

" Neck.— Straight.

" Body (including size and symmetry). — Large,
and very deep throughout ; back ribs well developed,
not quite so long as in field spaniels.

" Nose. — Large.

" Shoulders and chest. — Shoulders low and chest
rather narrow, but deep.

432 Modern Dogs.

" Back and loin. — Strong but not clumsy.

" Hind quarters. — Long and straight; rather
rising toward the stern than drooping, which, com-
bined with the low shoulder, gives him the appear-
ance of standing higher behind than in front.

" Stern. — Docked from 7 to 10 inches according
to the size of the dog, carried a little above the level
of the back, but by no means high.

" Feet and legs. — Feet well spread, large and
strong ; well clothed with hair, -especially between
the pads. Legs long and strong ; the stifles well
bent.

" Coat. — Covered either with crisp curls or with
ringlets ; no top-knot, but the close curl should
cease on the top of the head, leaving the face
perfectly smooth and lean looking.

" Colour. — Black and white, liver and white, or
self-coloured black or liver. The pied for choice.

" General Appearance. — Sober - looking, with
rather a slouching gait and a general independence
of manner, which is thrown aside at the sight of a
gun."

CHAPTER XXII.
THE CLUMBER SPANIEL.

WlTH the Irish water spaniel it may be said that
shows have wrought less change in the Clumber
spaniel than they have done in any other variety

' of dog. The reason for this is not far to seek,
for the latter is but a comparatively modern intro-
duction; he does not stand crossing well, and has

• cqrne to be so bred in and in, that the tendency

has been towards making him delicate and difficult

.,to< rear, rather than to alter or completely chwge

his type, according to the fashion prevailing at

the hour.

That fashion does change in cr. (natter?

pretty much as it does in dress ,ii>d ;>(herwTS*;
no one having any kr
About fifty, years ago; V.

•ok about the d »ns

the Clumber spaniel, bu! the

English u
the former he.

434 Modern Dogs.

that pertain to leading rank, and is a fairly popular
dog likewise.

We all know that this dog takes its name from
Clumber near Worksop, one of the seats of the
Duke of Newcastle, and where that dog has been
kept from its first introduction to this country
to the present time. When that first introduction
took place is not exactly known, but it was probably
about the middle of the eighteenth century when the
Due de Nouailles presented the then Duke of
Newcastle with a number of spaniels, which in
France had a reputation as being better than others,
as they were steady workers and easily brought
under command, i.e., there was little difficulty in
training them. This good character remains with
them at the present day. For many years the
breed was kept at Clumber, and so zealously
guarded and so identified with the place, that in due
time it came to bear the name of the seat, which
is still retained This appears to be the early
history of the Clumber spaniel, and, although in
various parts of France many spaniels are still
found and used in work, I have not been able to
trace any kennels of true Clumbers in that country.

That the Clumbers were with the Duke of
Newcastle at the end of last century proof remains
on canvas. There is a portrait of his Grace, seated

The Clumber Spaniel. 435

on a shooting pony and surrounded by a group of
his spaniels, which are identical with the Clumbers
of the present day, though, perhaps, they appear
rather smaller, and are rather longer in the head,
than the majority of the best dogs we see now.
At that time, or rather a few years later, a writer in
the " Sporting Magazine " called them " springers "
or " cock-flushers." This admirable and useful
picture, the work of F. Wheatley, R.A., was, in
1797, engraved; the painting itself remains, copies
of the engraving are still extant, and, although
highly valued by the admirers of spaniels who own
them, others are occasionally to be found in the
leading shops that deal in such treasures.

Dog shows were unknown then, and the spaniel
was kept solely for working purposes. In due
course, this strain from Clumber came to be some-
what spread about the country, though com-
paratively scarce and highly valued. That the
latter was the case may be inferred from the fact
that, at the first Birmingham show, say in 1859,
a class was provided for them, and the following
year two divisions were given this handsome spaniel,
and such have been continued ever since. At the
early show Lord Spencer was the winner with a
good looking dog, but the succeeding one saw Mr.
E. Boaler, of near Chesterfield, taking first honours

F F 2

436 Modern Dogs.

in both classes, the Spencer kennel coming but
second. On this occasion there were a dozen
entries.

It was, however, in 1861 that the chief interest
was caused, when there was a capital collection
of seventeen dogs and bitches. Mr. C. E. Holford,
of Weston Park, Tetbury, sent up an exceptionally
smart team, and succeeded in winning all the six
prizes awarded. Following, this kennel was for a
time almost invincible when it was represented on the
show bench, which was not often, as the dogs were
kept for working the coverts, where they did what
was expected of them very well indeed. Of late
years Mr. Holford's Clumbers appear to have de-
teriorated very much, for when, about a year ago,
they were dispersed at Aldridge's, in St. Martin's
Lane, the puppies were but a sorry sample, and,
with one or two exceptions, the old dogs were not
much better. However, for a generation or two
Mr. Holford's Clumbers formed one of the leading
kennels of that variety in the country.

To hark back, Mr. Boaler's Bustle and Floss, that
won in 1860 and at other shows about this period
and later, were excellent specimens ; lemon in
markings, with good bodies, great bone, and cer-
tainly not excelled by any of the same race that
appeared at these earlier shows. It is interesting to

The Clumber Spaniel. 437

note that at the present time a son of this Mr.
Boaler — namely, Mr. G. Boaler, of Mansfield
Woodhouse, Notts, still has Clumber spaniels good
enough to show and appear in the prize list, and of
the same strain that his father won with thirty years
ago. This kennel has been kept up for over fifty
years, and it is owing only to the failing health
of their owner that they do not appear oftener on
the show bench.

It need scarcely be said, that in the first volume of
the Kennel Club Stud Book classifications were
given this dog, the entries reaching the excellent
number of sixty-five.

At this period, no doubt, some peculiar decisions
were given at our dog shows, where, in many cases,
a judge undertook his duty without knowing any-
thing at all about the breed upon which he had
to adjudicate. Instances were not isolated where
he awarded the prizes more to the man than the
dog, and so, to his own satisfaction, got out of
a difficulty into which his own self-assertion had
led him. It is said that on the eve of one of the
large shows there was a difficulty in obtaining a
judge for Clumber spaniels. The secretary was at
his wit's end and did not know what to do, when,

seeing Mr. , one of the so-called " all-round "

judges, a happy inspiration occurred. " Eh ! "

438 Modern Dogs.

called the secretary to the " all-round man." " You
can judge Clumbers, can't you ? " " Clumbers,
Clumbers," was the reply; "what's them? Oh!
I know ; them big white dawgs with yallow marks.
Yes, I've never seen but one or two, but I'll take
them," and he did. What his decisions were 'may
be easily imagined.

A year or two later than this, a comparatively
unknown exhibitor had perhaps the best Clumber
of the day. He showed it at one of the Crystal
Palace shows, and, with a friend, was looking
around the class preparatory to the judging, which
then took place on the terrace. No doubt the dog
in question was the best in his class, but two or
three numbers away, a well-known exhibitor was
"running" another Clumber. "Ah!" said the
unknown owner, " my chance is poor to-day.
That dog will win!" "Why?" replied Befriend,
" such cannot be ; that dog is small and mean,
no bigger much than a cocker." However, the
" small and mean " did win, and was afterwards
sold to someone, who at the same time must have
been considerably sold himself ; for his purchase
was undoubtedly one of the very worst dogs in
a class which included such grand specimens as
Duke, Nabob, and others not far behind them.

These little stories are mentioned explanatory of

The Clumber Spaniel. 439

the difficulty breeders of Clumbers have had to
contend with in the matter of judges. More-
over, the dog requires very great care in breeding
or rearing, which in itself is quite as much as his
admirers can put up with, without having additional
suffering in the show ring. It has been said that
no man ought to judge unless he had seen the
breed he was handling at work, and had owned
some of them himself. However, this is a question
that may be argued ad infinitum, and is as ap-
plicable to any dog as much as to the one the name
of which appears at the head of this chapter.

Mr. Wardle, in his illustration, has exceedingly
well pourtrayed what a Clumber spaniel should
be, and a little description of the two dogs may
be interesting. That standing foremost possesses
the perfect body of one of the best working dogs,
but in the flesh its head is far from what it
ought to be, so the artist has replaced it with
the head from another dog, which is considered
to be about as good as they can be obtained.
The bitch behind is almost an exact likeness of the
original, improved somewhat to approach that per-
fection which no dog has yet been able to reach.

In colour the body of the dog should be white,
the ears coloured, spot on the occiput ; and on the
side of the face to the eye there should be lemon

44° Modern Dogs.

markings, and the jaw must be well flecked or ticked
with marks of a similar colour. There is a diversity
of opinion as to what this colour should be. I prefer
lemon, and this not too dark in shade ; others prefer
this lemon approaching, or quite, an orange hue.
Liver or brown markings are quite wrong, and
should certainly disqualify, however good the dog
bearing them is in other particulars. As to colour
that well-known admirer of the variety, Mr. J. T.
Hincks, of Leicester, tells me that some few years
ago he had a number of dogs with light lemon
markings, but got rid of them, as they were not,
in his opinion, nearly so attractive in teams as those
of a darker shade — rather a peculiar statement to
give as a reason for destroying or disposing of
valuable dogs,

The head large, square, and fairly long, but so
massive as to render the length not impressive ; it
should be broad on the top, with a decided occipital
protuberance, heavy brows, with a deep stop ; haw
showing. Muzzle long, heavy, freckled, receding,
with well developed flew ; snipeyness, or a weak face,
being very objectionable.

Recently there has been a dispute amongst writers
as to whether the head should be unduly long or
unduly short. I have no doubt on the point. The
heads of the dogs in the picture of 1797 are long —

The Clumber Spaniel. 441

decidedly long ; so are the muzzles, in which point
they show a weakness, like many otherwise good
dogs of the present day. With regard to this
difference of opinion it must be remembered that,
although this variety is often used in teams for covert
shooting, it may be part of its duty to retrieve,
and the jaw should be of a formation to enable the
animal to carry a hare or pheasant with ease.
Besides, the massive head is a great feature in the
variety, and we cannot get massiveness without
length. It is important that there should be no
resemblance to the setter ; but if the head I have
described be borne in mind, and Mr. Wardle's
drawing be referred to, there will be no likelihood
of the setter type being produced, and we must
remember that the deep stop is very important, also
the drooping eye showing haw, as in the blood-
hound.

The ears, whilst being large, look small for the size
of the dog, and should not hang below the throat,
but come slightly forward.

The neck is very thick, and the chest very heavily
feathered. The shoulders particularly strong and
muscular. The legs short, with as much bone as
can be obtained. They should be straight, but here
I would prefer a crooked legged rather than a long
legged dog. They should be very heavily feathered.

442 Modern Dogs.

With regard to this question of legs it must
be remembered that the work of the dog is to
hunt in front of the gun and flush game, but he
should never go faster than a trot. I have found
that if we get a dog with long legs, when he
gets the scent he is apt to go away too quickly and
flush his game out of shot This is annoying, and
the dog that will stick to his slow trot will keep on
all day, always giving a chance for the gun, and so
is much to be preferred.

The body should be long, i.e., as long as possible
consistently with being well ribbed up. If the
latter point be obtained the body cannot be too long,
but I have seen dogs of such a length as to be next
to useless from a sportsman's point of view, and,
however handsome they might be, unless well ribbed
up, I should never award a prize to such a dog.
It is said that the body should be low ; this does not
mean low from the back to the ground, but that the
chest should be so deep and so heavily feathered
as to show very little daylight underneath. The
deeper the body and rounder the ribs the better.
The back should be straight. The hindquarters
are very powerful and heavily feathered, hocks set
on low, and when the dog is standing showing well
behind the body.

When looking at the dog with a side point of view

The Clumber Spaniel. 443

he should underneath appear level from front to rear ;
a great defect in some of the modern dogs being
that, whilst well let down in front, they are tucked up
behind like a greyhound. The tail should be
straight (a fourth docked off), and carried at any
rate level with the back, below rather than above it,
and, like the hindquarters, should be very heavily
feathered.

It is a great point of beauty in the Clumber that
when the team is out at exercise or work the stern is
on a continual move from side to side. I find
that dogs which at exercise and at work invariably
have beautiful tail action, are very apt, when taken
from the bench into the judging ring, to carry their
tails high. This is often done by the best dogs,
and is in many cases the result of being in robust
health and spirit. Before passing over a dog for
this fault judges should wait as long as possible, and
watch the effect of allowing the dog to quieten down.
The coat should be straight and of medium texture.
Coarse coated dogs are not handsome, and soft
coated ones, when in work, are always getting
heated in their skin ; besides, a soft coat is not
suitable for a dog whose work is principally in covert
in the depth of winter.

With regard to his work, the Clumber is slow,
very slow, but he never tires, and goes on day by

444 Modern Dogs.

day. At many places they are worked in teams.
At Knowsley, one of the seats of the Earl of Derby,
from twenty-five to thirty Clumbers are used in this
manner, as occasion requires.

The Clumber spaniel is mute, easily broken, and
should be trained to drop to hand, wing, and shot.
If a large number of dogs are worked together it is
better that they should not be taught to retrieve, but
if only a few are required for woodcock and for
general shooting (for which they are invaluable) then
retrieving should be a sine qua non. They take to
this naturally. To teach them, dry a rabbit skin,
stuff it with hay, and wrap it round with string,
and when the pups are about three months old
have similar skins thrown for them to retrieve.
After a very few lessons they learn to do this, and
enjoy the fun. Then kill a bird or two to them,
letting them fetch it, which in nine cases out of ten
they will do willingly, and with the greatest pleasure.

The work of breaking is quite simple. It is
important that rabbits should not be killed to them
before birds, or the dogs are apt to get hard
mouthed. As a companion the Clumber is excellent ;
it is very rare indeed to find one with a bad temper,
and there are few things indeed which he cannot be
taught to do.

The Rev. W. Pearce (" Idstone ") was as fond

The Clumber Spaniel 445

of a Clumber spaniel as he was of a wavy-coated
retriever and a Gordon setter, and when he wrote
about twenty years ago, the chief Clumber owners
were the Earl of Abingdon, Mr. James Morrell, the
Marquis of Westminster, Earl Spencer, Mr. Holford,
and the Maharajah Dhuleep Sing ; at least, this was
the somewhat incomplete list he published in his
book on the dog. There are a few kennels of
Clumbers at the present day, and, perhaps, all
round, this dog is more common than ever, i.e., it is
to be found in greater numbers in fair perfection
than at any previous time of our history.

So far as one can make out, I believe the
principal kennels at this time, 1892, are dealt with
in the succeeding pages. As a commencement,
H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, at Sandringham, has a
number of handsome Clumbers that are first class
workers, and there are promising puppies coming
on. The failing in most of His Royal Highness's
dogs is in their heads, they being narrow and
deficient in massiveness. Suitably and successfully
crossed with a dog or dogs excelling in head
properties, probably, the Sandringham Clumbers
would be about the best in existence. Mr. Fol-
jambe, at Osberton Hall, near Worksop, has a fair
team, the fault here being lightness in bone, and
deficiency in head properties. This strain, perhaps,

446 Modern Dogs.

excels all others for making an off-cross, and drafts
from here are often on sale during the season at
Aldridge's.

The Dukes of Portland, Newcastle, and West-
minster own the kennels that are most popularly
known, and, although they have not been kept up to
date so far as appearance is concerned, greater
pains, I believe, are now being taken to make an
improvement in size, bone, and head properties,
the latter being where almost all the strains fail.
An exception, however, may be made to the dogs
kept for many years by Mr. H. H. Holmes, of
Lancaster. All his dogs are particularly good in
head, and if they are wrong at all in this particular,
they have an inclination to be too short, and so
become rather sour in expression. These dogs are
also excellent in colour and bone, indeed, as far as
bench properties go, are the best of all, as the
successes of his Tower, John o' Gaunt, Hotpot, and
others will testify. This is an extremely valuable
strain to use where the modern failing is so predomi-
nant.

Lord Derby's dogs have been alluded to. The
Earl Spencer, at Althorp, Northamptonshire^ 'and
Lord Clinton Hope, at Deep Deenes, Surrey, have
both excellent teams, the latter mostly of the strain
obtained from Mr. J. T. Hincks, of Leicester, who

The Clumber Spaniel. 447

is, perhaps, the greatest modern enthusiast of all in
the way of Clumbers, and when he shows them is
usually in the prize list. His dogs are equally as
good. in the field.

As an instance ' of Mr. Hinck's enthusiasm it
may be mentioned that at the recent sale of Mr.
Holford's spaniels, at Aldridge's, the ten-year-old
Brush II., a Birmingham first prize winner and
a most typical Clumber, was put up for auction
though feeble and quite worn out. Mr. Hincks
purchased the poor old dog in order that it
should have a peaceful home and be well cared
for in its declining years. However, Brush did
not survive its change of ownership many weeks.

Baron Rothschild also, I believe, uses Clumbers
for beating his extensive coverts ; and Mr. Allen, of
Ampthill, has had some capital specimens, chiefly
of the Duke of Portland's strain. Mr. J. H.
McKenna, of Harpurhey, near Manchester, can
show an excellent team, so can Mr. G. B. Clark,
Bridgenorth ; Messrs. Haylock and Barnard,
Chelmsford ; Mr. F. Parlett, near Chelmsford ;
Mr. Charles, Neath ; the Rev. A. G. Brooke;
Captain Maxwell, Dumfries ; the Earl of Manners,
Mr. V. Kitchingman, Slingsby, York; and Mr.
Boaler (already mentioned), have all at one time or
another owned and bred many excellent specimens.

448 Modern Dogs.

To my mind the best three Clumbers of the early
days of the show ring were Mr. H. P. Charles's Duke,
who was by Foljambe's Bang — Mr. R. S. Holford's
Trimbush, and the writer's Nabob, afterwards shown
by Mr. P. Bullock and Mr. G. H. Oliver. Mr. R. J.
Lloyd Price's Bruce, illustrated in " Stonehenge,"
stood too high on the legs and was too long in the
head ; but about this time, twenty years ago, many
good dogs were being shown, mostly of the Foljambe
strain, or at any rate said to be so. Of more
modern dogs I take Mr. Holmes' John o' Gaunt,
Mr. Hinck's Nora Friar ; Chelmsford Clytie, bred by
Messrs. Haylock and Barnard ; the Duke of Port-
land's Fairy III. and Damper, and Mr. Parlett's
Trust to be about the best. Psycho, who did a
great deal of winning, was terribly weak in head, and
Boss III., a champion, was also similarly wrong,
and his loins were bad. However, I think, with a
few enthusiasts at work in addition to those whose
names have been mentioned, there may be an
improved future for the Clumber spaniel.

A leading breeder of the variety says that the best
dog for stud purposes he ever owned was one called
Barney, which he purchased at one of the Birmingham
shows. The dog, although not straight on his legs,
bad in colour, and too fine in coat, proved extremely
useful. In speaking of the same dog he said this

The Clumber Spaniel. 449

fine coat made him liable to a form of skin disease
similar to mud fever in horses, and which was brought
on by working. My experience is that the Clumber
spaniel is more subject to disease of one kind and
another than other dogs. Not many years ago
there was an excellent bitch being shown, often
winning, and usually catalogued to sell at an
extremely low price. Bromine her name was, well
bred, and when she was sold to go to America, I
remarked to a friend who liked Clumbers, how
foolish he was to allow such a good bitch to go
out of the country. " You don't know as much
about her as I do," replied the friend; " she cannot
be kept in health, and is nearly always up to the
eyes in mange." It need scarcely be said that
she did not survive long amidst our American
cousins.

Mr. Hincks tells me a little as to the doings of
some of his Clumbers when at work. Of the dog
Barney, already alluded to, he says: "I had him
out one day with a young dog, Friar Jumbo. A
covey of birds rose and crossed me from left to
right in the corner of a field. I took the first bird,
and as I pulled two others came in the line of fire.
The bird aimed at dropped dead, whilst the other
two were winged. Both dogs dropped to shot, and
one of the wounded birds made for one fence and

[VOL. i.] G G

450 Modern Dogs.

the other for another fence. I took the two dogs
and sent them in different directions ; each returned
with his bird, and not a feather ruffled.

Mr. Hincks mentions another excellent perform-
ance of one of his dogs, Friar Boss, which he had
with him on a visit to Wales to look after cock,
stray pheasants, and anything that could be found
on a wild, rough shooting. There was a mixed
team of dogs with the party, and the host expressed
a great dislike to " show dogs " and to show Clum-
bers in particular. However, Boss's owner got the
first three woodcocks over his dog, and the second
day "the showman" did so well as to quite alter
the opinion held by the lessee of the shooting.
Boss bustled out an old cock pheasant, which made
away over the top of a hedge, but was stopped just
in the nick of time. The dog dropped to shot ;
Mr. Hincks lighted his pipe, then sent him for the
bird. " Hi ! what are you waiting for? " cried one
of the party. " I have sent the dog for the bird,"
was the answer. " Bird be hanged ; the dog is
ranging away right at the end of the other field ;
come back," and Mr. Hincks got over the fence
to see what was the matter. But instead of ranging
wildly, Boss had his nose down, and speedily came
back with the fluttering cock in his mouth, for it
had been but winged, and had run the full length

The Clumber Spaniel.

of two fields. So after all " show dogs" may be
of some use.

Thus much for the Clumber spaniel and his work,
and all that is to be done for him now is to say that
he is not a water dog, and give the Spaniel Club's
description of him. This is as follows :

POSITIVE POINTS.
Head and jaw 20

Eyes

Ears

Neck

Body

Fore legs

Hind legs

Feet

Stem

Colour of markings
Coat and feather . .
General appearance

5
5
5

'5

5
5
5
5

10
10

IO

Total Positive Points... 100

NEGATIVE POINTS.

Curled Ears 10

Curled coat 20

Bad carriage of tail 10

Snipy face 15

Legginess 10

Light eyes 5

Total Negative Points ... 70

DESCRIPTIVE PARTICULARS.
Head. — Large, square, and massive, of medium
length, broad on top, with a decided occiput ; heavy
brows with a deep stop ; heavy freckled muzzle with
well developed flew.

Eyes. — Dark amber, slightly sunk, and showing
haw.

Ears. — Large, vine leaf-shaped, and well covered
G G 2

452 Modern Dogs.

with straight hair and hanging slightly forward, the
feather not to extend below the leather.

Neck. — Very thick and powerful, and well feathered
underneath.

Body (including size and symmetry], — Long and
heavy, and near the ground.

Nose. — Square and flesh coloured.

Shoulders and Chest. — Wide and deep ; shoulders
strong and muscular.

Back and Loin. — Back straight, broad and long ;
loin, powerful, well let down in flank.

Hind Quarters. — Very powerful and well de-
veloped.

Stern. — Set low, well feathered, and carried about
level with the back.

Feet and Legs. — Feet large and round, well covered
with hair ; legs short, thick, and strong ; hocks low.

Coat. — Long, abundant, soft and straight.

Colour. — Plain white, with lemon markings; orange
permissible but not desirable ; slight head markings,
with white body preferred.

General Appearance. — Should be that of a long,
low, heavy, very massive dog, with a thoughtful ex-
pression.

Weight of dogs from 55lb. to 65lb. ; bitches
45lb- t° 55lb-

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE SUSSEX SPANIEL.

•« vvKtL-kNOWM authority on the dog, writing in
.1802, says that some of the largest and strongest
spaniels u are common in many parts of Sussex, and
are called Sussex spaniels." .Unfortunately, he does
not tell us what colour they were or what colour they
ought to be, still there is no doubt, from what 1 have
been told, from what I have read, and from general
gossip, that this spaniel was brown in colour, or, ,is
that shade is usually called in application to the"
variety, " golden liver."

It somehow appears strange that, until \\ithm
twenty-five years or so ago, this handsome and
useful spaniel should have been allowed to languis
in a quiet country place in its native county -t bpe
by certain families, who valued it "only
working excellences, and, by a course 01
breeding, rendered its extinction only am*!
unless others came f **** j>re*d-

When f The

Dog in Heal -ears- to

454 Modern Dogs.

have been drawn particularly to the Sussex spaniel,
and the outcome of that article of his was a mass of
information on the subject that was extremely
valuable. It was not, however, until much later
— viz., in 1872 — that a class was provided at
any of our dog shows, that being at the Crystal
Palace, when, I believe, Mr. J. A. Handy offered
a special prize for them. The awards, however, did
not appear to be satisfactory to those who knew the
breed. They said that the leading honour ought to
have gone to Mr. J. H. Salter's Chance, who came
second to Captain Arbuthnot's Dash, an ordinary
field spaniel with none of the true character about
him, third to a dog bred from at any rate one
black parent, Mr. Bullock's George. However, if
the awards were wrong — and it was neither the first
nor the last time that they have been so — Sussex
spaniels obtained such a fillip that they have not
looked behind them since.

The pure Rosehill strain was the most fancied,
and into Sussex all the " show men," with Mr.
Bowers in command, ran to see if they could buy
up the plums that remained in the neighbourhood.
Some few were found, but the owners knew their
value as purely sporting dogs, and were loth to part
with them at anything else than " sporting " figures,
this word, however, used in quite a different sense—

The Sussex Spaniel. 455

an opposite one in fact, and " fancy figures " might
be better.

For over fifty years Mr. Fuller, at Rosehill Hall,
Brightling, near Hastings, had perhaps the leading
strain, but, although some of it remains, mostly in
the kennels of Mr. Campbell Newington, at Ridge-
way, Ticehurst, Sussex, and in those of Mr. Moses
Woolland, William-street, Lowndes-square, London,
and Mr. J. H. Salter, at Tolleshunt d'Arcy, we fancy
none are quite free from a strange cross.

Mr. Fuller kept his spaniels for the purpose of
beating the large woods and plantations in the
vicinity of Brightling and Heathfield. He was
a good sportsman of the old school, one perhaps
better satisfied when killing his eight or ten brace
of wild pheasants a day over dogs, than the modern
shooter is with more than fifteen times that number
of hand-fed birds brought to book by the aid
of human beaters. Not that I have any wish to
decry the " big days" in covert we all so much
enjoy, nor for one moment run down the skill of
the man who can kill a score of rocketers without
more than twro or three misses.

On the death of Mr. Fuller, which occurred so
far back as 1847, Mrs. Fuller allowed Relf, the head
keeper, to select two of the best spaniels in the
kennel ; the remainder were for a time used by the

456 Modern Dogs.

new tenant of the shooting, but eventually sold, and
realised high prices. There were seven of them so
disposed of, but it was from the dog and bitch
selected by Relf, named respectively George and
Romp, that the strain, as far as it goes, survives at
the present time.

It has been stated that the original strain from
Rosehill was lost through an outbreak of rabies in
the kennels necessitating entire destruction of the
spaniels. This was not the case. Many years
before Mr. Fuller's death, there was such an outbreak
amongst the hounds— southern hounds they were.
These were destroyed, and with them some of the
spaniels, but by no means the whole of the latter.

In addition to the Rosehill strain, Dr. Williams, of
Hayward's Heath, had some excellent Sussex
spaniels, so had Mr. Farmer at Cowfold, but it is
more than ten years since the first named wrote that
he had not a single specimen in his kennel, and did not
know where to find any of the pure breed. However,
thanks to such gentlemen as I have named, .and the
trouble they have taken to retain what blood
remained, the complete extinction of the pure Sussex
spaniel is now improbable.

Some fourteen years ago the best bred dogs were
Mr. Newington's Laurie, born in 1877, and which
came to an untimelv end by swallowing a cork ; Mr.

The Sussex Spaniel. 457

Salter's Chloe, Mr. Egerton's George, and Mr.
Hudson's Battle.

Peggie, the dam of Bachelor, who did a great
deal of winning in his day, had a considerable
strain of water spaniel blood in her, and so the
descendants of that bitch, handsome though she
was, cannot be deemed as pure as they might be,
still, with slight exception, Bachelor was about as
pure as any at that time, and it is from his strain
that the various colours which now and then appear
are produced. It was rather unfortunate that Mr.
Bullock's George, one of the illustrations of the
Sussex spaniels published in the Field in 1872, was
by his dog Bob, one of the best of the black variety
ever benched. So here again are so called Sussex
descended from him, and his strain cannot be
considered the genuine article. But, as already
stated, none are entirely pure, and, so far as I can
make out, the dog Laurie, already alluded to, was
about as free from black in the strain as any, he
being by Hudson's Dash out of his Romp, the latter
with a sire and dam pure Rosehill, and Dash was by
Mr. Curtiss' Bob — Mr. Watt's Dash, both pure in
their way.

I cannot find any others of the best looking and
most typical dogs that do not on one side or the
other go back to Bachelor. Still with no more wrong

Modern Dogs.

blood than he possessed, and this cropping up many
generations afterwards, there is not much harm done,
and those who take the trouble to reproduce the
true thing have every opportunity of doing so,
especially where they take pains to keep off any
sire or dam that excels in the length of the ears.

The distinguishing feature in the Sussex spaniel
is the golden liver colour, and without which no dog
should receive a prize. How this was originally
obtained it is difficult to say, but Relf, the favourite
old keeper at the Rosehill kennels, who died
five years ago, aged eighty-five, said that every
now and then they obtained amongst their puppies
one of a " sandy " colour. This sandy specimen,
I have since heard, only came in from a bitch
that was mated with a dog belonging to Dr. Watts,
of Battle. This conveys the impression that this
strain, some time or other, had (and I am writing
of what occurred as far back as fifty years since), a
"sandy" coloured or yellow dog or bitch in it, and
these lighter-shaded puppies bred back to that time.
This is a remarkable fact, because a sandy colour
bred to liver colour would be likely enough to pro-
duce that lovely golden tinge that is so desirable at
the present time, and has been so for very many
years. It need scarcely be said that the " sandy "
puppies were usually destroyed by the old keeper, to

The Sussex Spaniel. 459

whom we must be in a great measure indebted for
the Sussex spaniel as he is to-day in his purity.

In the modern specimens there is a tendency to
get the coats too fine, such of course being to the
advantage of the dogs when before the judges, but
very much against them for work. A good dog
ought to have a hardish coat, dense underneath,
perfectly straight, and one that would allow a willing
dog (and the strain is willing enough) to work in the
thickest covert of briars and brambles.

Then another peculiarity in the Sussex spaniel lies
in his ears. These ought not to be too long, small,
or narrow where they are set on (which should be
low), but larger or " lobe shaped " towards the base,
all nicely coated with straight silky hair, quite free
from fringe at the tips. Perhaps one of the most
typical of her race we have seen was Mr. T. B.
Bower's Maud, born in 1871. She was bred by Mr.
Saxby, and said to be pure Rosehill on the sides of
both her sire and dam. She was, however, some-
what finer in coat, and had not quite so workman-
like an appearance as might have been desirable.
Those handsome dogs, the Bebbs (there was a
whole family of them), that did no end of winning
on the show bench twenty years ago, were not
Sussex at all. Old Bebb, Mr. Burgess's, originally
came from Lord Derby's kennels, and proved such a

460 Modern Dogs.

useful sire that he could produce browns, blacks,
and other colours frorn the same dam.

The late Mr. J. A. Handy, who was a great
authority on the breed, persisted that another most
important item was that the feather on either the
front or hind legs " should not extend down to the
toes. It should stand out straight from the back
of the legs without that fluffy Cochin-China-like
appearance considered by many persons a desi-
deratum in a prize spaniel — indeed, the hind legs
from the hock downwards should not be feathered
at all." I give the above opinion for what it is worth,
but the dogs that we see on the benches have, when
in coat, certainly more feather on the legs than Mr.
Handy indicates, though what they might be in full
work and beating the coverts five days in the week
is another question. The " show feather " would
soon disappear.

As a worker the Sussex spaniel is second to none.
He is hardy, busy, reliable, and has no preference to
hunt one kind of game before another — i.e., he will
not leave fur for feather nor feather for fur, though
perhaps of the two he would prefer " feather."
There is no better dog than he for beating out the
thick covert when the cocks have arrived and the
pheasants are chary of taking wing. He works
closely, intelligently, and will not leave a bit of

The Sussex Spaniel. 461

covert untried ; he is a faster and merrier worker
than the Clumber, and will go on quite as long.
He is not mute, though not a noisy dog by any
means ; a slight yelp or whimper every now
and then, when on a hot scent, which becomes
more of a round full bark when close to his game
or when it is in sight. Of course, some dogs
may be more excitable than others, but what I
call a very noisy spaniel is quite out of place, for
it often enough leads the shooter to believe it has
game in front of its nose when such is far away, and
perhaps never comes within distance to afford a
shot. He readily retrieves, is tender-mouthed, and
makes by no means a bad single-handed dog where
a pointer or setter will not do. As a water dog he is
excellent when properly trained for the purpose.

In a great measure the present popularity of the
pure Sussex spaniel is due to what Mr. T. B.
Bowers, who lived near Chester, did for it some
twenty-five years ago. He was energetic in
defining the type, got to the right strains, and
protested against the award of prizes to brown dogs
that had sprung from black parents, and had little
or no Sussex blood in them. This he did so success-
fully that a well-known liver-coloured dog called
George, a great winner in Sussex classes and
mentioned earlier on, was withdrawn from .competi-

462 Modern Dogs.

tion because his sire and dam were both black.
Following him, no one has had so many good
specimens as are to be found in the possession of
Mr. Moses Woolland and Mr. Campbell Newington
at the present time, and the competition at our
shows is usually restricted to representatives from
those kennels, unless Mr. Salter sends an entry or
two. At the Crystal Palace show in the autumn
of 1892, and at Birmingham a few months later,
Mr. Newington showed an excellent dog, called
Rosehill Ruler II., which his owner states contains
perhaps more of the real Rosehill blood than any
other dog before the public. The colour of the
dog was very choice, in his coat there was little
to be desired in the way of improvement, and with
these qualities he had the modern fancy point of
extraordinary length. This dog easily won the first
prize in its class at the one show, and ought to have
done so at the other, but a brace of Mr. Woolland's,
Maubert II. and Leopold, were placed over him.

The teams Mr. Woolland sometimes wins with are
about perfect in form and shape, not too long nor
too low, sometimes not too big in the ears ; but
their jackets are usually rather silky, which no
doubt arises from the fact of their being specially
groomed for show ring purposes. His Bridford
Battle, dam of the beautiful bitch Bridford Naomi,

The Sussex Spaniel.

463

was own sister to Mr. Newington's good bitch,
Countess of Rosehill, and so the two leading
kennels have blood in common. Attention, how-
ever, to the production of show points by extreme
care and skilfulness has mainly brought the London
dogs to the front, though, perhaps, if it came to a
matter of work, the Ticehurst kennel might prevail.
Both are good, and Mr. Salter is only beaten by
either because he has given his attention more to
other varieties than to the Sussex spaniels.

The weight of the Sussex spaniel should not be more
than 5olb. for a dog, and from 4olb. to 45lb. for a bitch.

The following are the Club's scale of points, and
their latest description of the Sussex spaniel :

NEGATIVE POINTS.

Light eyes 5

Narrow head 10

Weak muzzle 10

Curled ears or high set on 5

Curled coat 15

Carriage of stern 5

Top-knot 10

White on chest 5

Colour (too light or too dark) 15
Legginess or light of bone 5
Shortness of body or flat

sided 5

General appearance, sour

or crouching 10

POSITIVE POINTS.
Head .. .10

Eyes

Nose

Ears

Neck

Chest and shoulders
Back and back ribs

Legs and feet '

Tail

Coat

Colour .

5

5

10

5

5
10

10

5

5

15

General appearance 15

Total Positive Points ... 100

Total Negative Points ... 100

464 Modern Dogs.

DESCRIPTIVE PARTICULARS.

" Head. — The skull should be moderately long,
and also wide, with an indentation in the middle and
a full stop, brows fairly heavy ; occiput full, but not
pointed, the whole giving an appearance of heaviness
without dulness.

" Eyes. — Hazel colour, fairly large, soft and
languishing, not shewing the haw overmuch.

" Nose. — The muzzle should be about three inches
long, square, and the lips somewhat pendulous.
The nostrils well developed and liver colour.

" Ears. — Thick, fairly large, and lobe shaped ;
set moderately low, but relatively not so low as in
the black field spaniel ; carried close to the head,
and furnished with soft, wavy hair.

" Neck. — Is rather short, strong, and slightly
arched, but not carrying the head much above the
level of the back. There should not be much
throatiness in the skin, but well marked frill in the
coat.

" Chest and Shoulders. - - The chest is round,
especially behind the shoulders, deep and wide,
giving a good girth. The shoulders should be
oblique.

" Back and Back Ribs. — The back and loin is
long, and should be very muscular, both in width and

The Sussex Spaniel. 465

depth ; for this development the back ribs must be
deep. The whole body is characterised as low, long,
level, and strong.

"Legs and Feet. — The arms and thighs must be
bony, as well as muscular, knees and hocks large
and strong, pasterns very short and bony, feet large
and round, and with short hair between the toes.
The legs should be very short and strong, with
great bone, and may show a slight bend in the
forearm, and be moderately well feathered. The
hind-legs should not be apparently shorter than the
fore-legs, or be too much bent at the hocks, so
as to give a settery appearance, which is so
objectionable. The hind-legs should be well
feathered above the hocks, but should not have
much hair below this point. The hocks should be
short and wide apart.

" Tail. — Should be docked from five to seven
inches, set low, and not carried above the level of
the back, thickly clothed with moderately long
feather.

"Coat. — Body coat abundant, flat or slightly
waved, with no tendency to curl ; moderately well
feathered on legs and stern, but clean below the
hocks.

" Colour. — Rich golden liver ; this is a certain
sign of the purity of the breed, dark liver or puce

[VOL. i.] H H

466 Modern Dogs.

denoting unmistakeably a recent cross with the
Black or other variety of Field Spaniel.

" General appearance. — Rather massive and
muscular, but with free movements and nice tail
action, denoting a tractable and cheerful disposi-
tion. Weight from 35lb. to 45lb."

It will be seen from the above Club standard that
a somewhat lighter weight is allowed than is alluded
to in my description. However, I must say that I
have not yet, so far as I am aware, seen a good
specimen of the pure Sussex spaniel so small as
35lb., and, on the contrary, some of the most perfect
dogs I have met must have closely approached 5olb.
Most admirers of the breed will probably prefer my
weights to those suggested by the Club.

CHAPTER XXIV.

/

HE BLACK FIELD SPANIEL.

\F 0% ?»lack spaniel, as seen at our modern shows,

can > taken as a distinct variety — and I think that

it ^Ntn — we must consider him as a comparatively

t introduction. None of the' old writers wen-

him, nor have old artists drawn him h may

ifely. said that he is bred' for show purposes

—his sleek, silken coat, glossy and bn^ht

sheen on trie raven's wing mvVmo him

attractive creature as an ornafownt

hard work and use in tr*k tM^t fee has 3a£

riors. As a fact, such ^a?n

^ on our show ben <

?-. They are brust*^ inv] gr\

ly and with a

• •

3 .

468 Modem Dogs.

sleeping away the dreary hours on the show
benches.

Of late years so much attention has been given
these black spaniels that there are men who have
actually attained a form of celebrity on account
of the skill they display in obtaining a perfectly flat
coat and a shining one. This a good specimen
must have. Then his ears cannot be too long, well
clothed with hair and fringed at the tips ; his head,
too, may be an exaggeration, long, with not the
most peculiarly pleasing spaniel expression and eye
that one would like to see. Some of our heavier
black spaniels have enormous heads, square and
untypical, with eyes displaying a haw that would not
be out of place in a bloodhound. I need scarcely
say that when dogs of this kind are given prizes, the
judges who make such awards are wrong.

Length of body, shortness of leg, and enormous
bone are again produced to an exaggeration ; crooked
forelegs have followed, and the black spaniel, once
perhaps a useful and active animal, has now fallen
into the heavy, slow ranks of the Clumber, but by
no means so interesting a creature, and may be
taken as a sound example of what can be done in
the matter of breeding " for show points."

Now, I have always taken my line as to what
a black spaniel should be from that simply charming

The Black Field Spaniel. 469

bitch, Nellie, Mr. P. Bullock used to show when he
resided near Bilston. Afterwards she passed into
the hands of Captain Arbuthnot, of Montrose.
Nellie was simply perfect in her line, sweet in ex-
pression, lovely in size and hang of ears, straight
in coat (not so flat as that of to-day), active and
smart, not too heavy in bone, short on leg, or long in
back, and, from her appearance, would have been a
lovely bitch to shoot over. Her weight I would
take to be about 35lb. She was by Young Bob out
of Flirt, and, through the latter, went back to Mr. F.
Burdett's old strain, which, indeed, is found more or
less in all the best spaniel blood of to-day.

Mr. Burdett had been the secretary of the earlier
Birmingham shows, and his spaniels, which seldom
went over about 3olb. weight or so, he had originally
from a Mr. Footman, who lived near Lutterworth in
Leicestershire. After the death of Mr. Burdett, the
strain went into the hands of Mr. Jones, of Oscott,
Mr. P. Bullock, a".d others, and that it proved
extremely valuable the stud books attest. It crossed
well into other strains of whatever colour, and from
them our field spaniels are what they are now,
excepting that the real Sussex has been kept as
free from the black blood as possible.

Following Messrs. Burdett, Bullock, and others,
came Mr. H. B. Spurgin, of Northampton ; Mr. W.

47° Modern Dogs.

Gillett, of Hull ; Dr. W. W. Boulton, of Beverley,
who all took great pains to sustain the excellence of
the black spaniel, and even to improve its appear-
ance. That they did the latter I scarcely believe,
and such dogs as Nellie, already mentioned, Old Bob
and Flirt, her kennel companions, have, at any rate,
never been excelled, maybe never equalled.

With an increase in the weight of the dog, crooked
legs began to prevail, and they in time became so
common as to be overlooked by the judges, and a
dog called Beverlac, though very bad in this parti-
cular, in his day won no end of prizes ; he was about
54-lb. in weight, and thus too big.

More recently Mr. T. Jacobs, of Newton Abbot,
began to put in an appearance at our dog shows,
and proved so successful at Birmingham and else-
where as to almost take all the prizes on several
occasions, and sold some of his dogs for enormous
sums. One bitch went to Mr. M. Woolland for
^250 ; this was Bridford Perfection, whose sire
and dam had both been bred by Mr. Jacobs. She
was of great length and lowness on her legs ; her
head was very good indeed, but personally I never
liked her shoulders. Some judges pronounced her
the best spaniel ever bred, and at the time I am
writing this, although often brought out at the best
shows, she has not been beaten.

The Black Field Spaniel. 471

Mr. Jacobs made no secret of his strain, which
were always well grown and healthy, in the prime of
condition, a fact which he attributed to feeding his
favourites on nothing but flesh. I fancy that fresh
air and exercise had more to do with this good
growth and bright coat than the actual diet. He
also tells me that he does not believe in there being
at any time any distinct colour variety of spaniels.

Mr. Jacobs had been breeding spaniels for some
years before he showed them, and the first black
specimen he had was as far back as 1874. This
dog, Nigger, was by Mr. Bullock's Palm, from his
Flirt, and the foundation of this most successful
kennel was laid from this dog and a team of four
bitches obtained from the late Mr. S. Lang. The
best of them were by Rolf out of Belle, the former
from the strain that Dr. Boulton had.

However, not contented with these good spaniels
of pure blood, Mr. Jacobs went further afield, and the
well-known liver-coloured dog Bachelor became his
at the same time that he obtained a Sussex bitch
called Russet from the Rev. W. Shield ; and from
this stock the Newton Abbot kennels must have
produced hundreds of winners of all colours, for the
great part heavy and medium-sized dogs. The sale
of Bridford Perfection has already been noted, and
the last dozen dogs Mr. Jacobs sold realised ^1500,

472 Modern Dogs.

so spaniel breeding with judgment must have proved
a profitable enterprise. With this great sale — a
private one — Mr. Jacobs gave up exhibiting, and,
indeed, his kennel was then broken up, still its
plums may be found in the possession of Mr
Woolland, already alluded to, and of Captain
Moreton Thomas.

Of course, Mr. Jacobs had bred and mated his
dogs and bitches carefully, and succeeded in pro-
ducing spaniels longer in the body, lower on the leg,
and with greater bone than any of his predecessors
had done, and, had he kept his strain more to himself,
there is no doubt as a spaniel breeder he would have
taken a higher position even than the one he did
attain.

Of course, as would be inferred from his original
stock, his purest black bitches and black dogs never
yet had a litter that wholly took after their parents.
Browns or livers, brown and white, black and tan,
black, black and white, even the handsome mirl
or roan colours at times appeared. However, with
judicious mating, and ordinary care, it is quite
possible, with the material at command, to, at any
rate in a few years, bring the breeding for colour as
near perfection as possible.

Mr. J. F. Farrow, of the Fountains, Ipswich, has
a strain of admirable " blacks " which produce a

The Black Field Spaniel. 473

fairly distinct type, and his dogs Buckle and Gipping
Sam are exceedingly good specimens, and, with Mr.
J. Smith's (Coleshill) Nebo, equally handsome, are
not so abnormally short on the leg and heavy in
body as to prevent them being useful sporting
dogs should occasion require them or their strain
to become so.

Mr. T. Marples, Reddish, near Stockport, has
lately shown some exceedingly fine black spaniels
of the show strain, his Moonstone excelling in length
and other modern attributes, and being undoubtedly a
very high class dog. Mr. Moreton Thomas, Hather-
leigh, N. Devon, has a capital kennel. Mr. R.
Pratt, Bradford, Yorks ; Mr. R. Comber, Beverley ;
Mr. C. Lawrence, Chesterton, Cambridge ; Mr.
R. C. Howarth, Hindley, near Wigan ; Mr. Kitching-
man, near York ; Mr. F. E. Schofield, Alnwick ; Mr.
H. B. Spurgin, Northampton, and others, have, at
one time and another exhibited charming specimens
of the black spaniel, which its admirers are not far
wrong in calling the most popular spaniel of the
day. If high prices make a dog popular no one
can deny this opinion, for a hundred pounds and
more will be given for a good specimen where an
equally good Clumber would not fetch more than
half that sum, nor a Sussex or a black and tan
either.

474 Modern Dogs.

The Club's description and points of the black
spaniel are as follows :

POSITIVE POINTS. NEGATIVE POINTS.

Head and jaw 15 Light eyes 20

Eyes 5 Light nose 15

Ears 5 Curled ears 10

Neck 5 Curled coat 10

Body 10 Carriage of back 10

Fore-legs 10 Bad top-knot 15

Hind-legs 10 White on chest 10

Feet 10 Crooked forelegs 10

Stern 10

Coat and Feather 10

General Appearance 10

Total Positive Points ... 100 Total Negative Points... 100

DESCRIPTIVE PARTICULARS.

" Head. — Should be quite characteristic of this
grand sporting dog, as is that of the bloodhound
or bulldog, its very stamp and countenance should
at once convey the conviction of high breeding,
character, and nobility ; skull well developed, with a
distinctly elevated occipital tuberosity, which, above
all, gives the character alluded to ; not too wide
across muzzle, long and lean, never snipy nor
squarely cut, and, in profile, curving gradually from
nose to throat ; lean beneath eyes — a thickness
here gives coarseness to the whole head. The
great length of muzzle gives surface for the free

The Black Field Spaniel. 475

development of the olfactory nerve, and thus secures
the highest possible scenting powers.

11 Eyes. — Not too full, but not small, receding, or
overhung ; colour, dark hazel or dark brown, or
nearly black ; grave in expression, and bespeaking
unusual docility and instinct.

" Ears. — Set low down as possible, which greatly
adds to the refinement and beauty of the whole
head ; moderately long and wide, and sufficiently
clad with nice setter-like feather.

" Neck. — Very strong and muscular, so as to
enable the dog to retrieve his game without undue
fatigue ; not too short, however.

" Body (including size and symmetry}. — Long
and very low, well ribbed up to a good strong loin,
straight or slightly arched, never slack ; weight from
about 35lb. to 45lb.

" Nose. — Well developed, with good open nostrils,
and always black in colour.

"Shoulders and Chest. -- Former sloping and
free — latter deep and well developed, but not too
round and wide.

" Back and Loin. — Very strong and muscular;
level, and long in proportion to the height of the dog.

"Hind Quarters. — Very powerful and muscular,
wide, and fully developed.

" Stern. — Well set on, and carried low, if possible

476 Modern Dogs.

below the level of the back, in a perfectly straight
line, or with a slight downward inclination ; never
elevated above the back, and in action always kept
low ; nicely fringed, with wavy feather of silky texture.

Feet and Legs. — Feet not too small and well
protected between the toes with soft feather ; good
strong pads. Legs straight and immensely boned,
strong and short, and nicely feathered with flat or
waved setter-like feather. Over-much feathering
below hocks objectionable.

" Coat. — Flat or slightly waved, and never curled
— sufficiently dense to resist the weather, and not
too short — silky in texture, glossy and refined in
nature, with neither duffelness on the one hand nor
curl or wireness on the other ; on chest, under belly,
and behind the legs there should be abundant
feather, but never too much, and that of the right
sort, namely, setter-like. The tail and hind quarters
should be similarly adorned.

" Colour. — Jet black throughout, glossy and true.
A little white on chest, though a drawback, not a
disqualification.

General Appearance. — That of a sporting dog,
capable of learning and doing anything possible for
his inches and conformation. A grand combination
of beauty and utility.

CHAPTER XXV.

THE NORFOLK SPANIEL.

I AM somewhat at a loss to know why the
ordinary liver and white spaniel came to be dis-
tinguished by the Spaniel Club as the Norfolk
spaniel (the Club description, appended, says it may
be black and white), for surely it is quite as common
a commodity in any county in England as it has
ever been in that from which it is supposed to have
derived its name. Some say it was used there to
assist the shooters on the Broads, but a similar dog
has from time out of mind been used by shooters in
other parts of the country. Personally, I do not
consider the liver and white spaniel any particular
variety at all, nor that it has ever been indigenous to
Norfolk. Devonshire, for instance, has attained a
celebrity for hardy spaniels that had to work in the
rough country with which the county of lanes
abounds, and do their work well. Many of these
were liver and white in colour, others black and
white. They never came from Norfolk, nor did the

478 Modern Dogs.

Devonshire men ever claim them as a distinct
variety.

Youatt, writing in 1845, savs the breed was first
brought into note by the late Duke of Norfolk, who
was supposed to have produced them by crossing with
a black and tan terrier and a springer, the latter an
ordinary spaniel. This, however, is not at all likely
to be correct, for, long prior to that time, brown and
white spaniels were found. Indeed, I fancy that was
the prevailing spaniel colour. Far more likely the
so-called Norfolk spaniel was produced originally by
a cross between a curly-coated water spaniel and
one of the ordinary Sussex or other breed.

Now, liver and white spaniels, almost infinite in
shape and size, may be seen running about the
streets in any country place. The sporting shop-
keeper considers him the best shooting dog; and so
he may be when properly trained — for he is a leggier,
closer and better coated animal than the ordinary
spaniel we see when standing at the ring side. He
will retrieve well from both land and water, work
a hedgerow or thick covert, and indeed do anything
that is the special work of a spaniel.

Some of these liver and white spaniels are com-
paratively mute, whilst others are terribly noisy —
yelping and giving tongue when hunting, almost as
freely as a hound. Still, the chances are that the

The Norfolk Spaniel.

479

rustic sportsman who keeps but one dog, and has
not accommodation for more, prefers a liver and
white spaniel, be it Norfolk or otherwise, and, as a
rule, if he be not addicted to poaching, prefers it to
make a noise when rabbiting in the dense gorse
coverts.

The Club points and description are as follows :

POSITIVE POINTS.

Head, jaw, and eyes 20

Ears 10

Neck 10

Body 10

Fore-legs .. 10

Hind-legs 10

Feet 5

Stern 5

Coat and feather 10

General appearance 10

Total positive points ... 100

NEGATIVE POINTS.

Carriage of stern

Top-knot

Total negative points

10

DESCRIPTIVE PARTICULARS.

"Head. — Skull long and rather narrow; a stop;
the muzzle long and broad to the end.

" Eyes. — Rather small, bright, and intelligent.

" Neck. — Long, strong, slightly arched.

" Ears. — Long, low set, and lobular.

(< Body (including size and symmetry}. — Fairly
heavy body; legs rather longer than in other field

480 Modern Dogs.

spaniels, but not so long as in Irish. Medium
size.

" Nose. — Large and soft.

" Shoulders and Chest. — Shoulders long and
sloping ; chest deep and fairly broad.

" Back and Loin. — Back flat and strong; loin
rather long, flat, and strong.

" Hind Quarters. — Long; hocks well let down;
stifles moderately bent, and not twisted inwards nor
outwards.

" Stern. — Docked; low carried, i.e., not above the
level of the back.

"Feet and legs. — Strong boned legs, inclining to
shortness ; feet large and rather flat.

" Coat.— Hard, not woolly; not curly, but may be
broken.

" Colour. — Liver and white and black and white.

" General Appearance. — An active, useful, medium-
sized dog."

CHAPTER XXVI.
SPANIELS OTHER THAN BLACK.

As CLACSES are provided for " Field Spaniels other
than black " (not being Clumbers, Sussex, or
cockers), and as such are entered in the Stud
Books, allusion must be made to them here. Their
varied colouring gives them a hardier appearance
than is observable in the blacks ; their coats are
often crisper and denser, or maybe they appear to
be so in the absence of the raven gloss. It must
not be forgotten that they spring from the same
strain as the black variety.

The most common colours are black and tan ;
black and white ticked; brown, grey, and white
approaching a roan ; liver and white ; black, tan,
and white, and any variations that may appear
therein. Orange and white are seldom seen, and
when this colour does crop up, it is a sign of a
not very remote cross with the setter or the Clumber
spaniel.

In respect to general shape and character they

[VOL. I.] I I

482 Modern Dogs.

are in common with the black, though, excepting in
the case of the black and tan, the haw, to which
exception is taken, is seldom seen. The handsomest
colours are the roans, black, tan and white, and the
black and white ticked, and the latter is exactly the
same colour as the early spaniels drawn for Aldro-
vandus, who wrote of them as " pantherius " three
hundred and fifty years ago. So, however shape
and type may have altered, the colour does not
appear to have changed to any very great extent.

The liver and white variety has somehow or other
become identified with the county of Norfolk, and
is usually known as the Norfolk spaniel, and dealt
with on preceding pages.

He is, however, common to all parts of the
country where such dogs are used for work, and
will retrieve, hunt the day out and through, and
is not excelled by any of his race as thoroughly a
sportsman's dog. Some of the very best rabbiting
spaniels I have ever seen were liver and white, and
the only fault that could be found with them was
more than a tendency to be hard in the mouth.
Not an uncommon fault where a dog is employed
almost entirely among rabbits, retrieving twenty or
thirty couple a day, some of them struggling
hard in the mouth and scratching him with
their feet.

Spaniels Other Than Black. 483

The best kind of liver and white spaniel for work
is usually rather high on the legs, about 4olb. in
weight, perhaps inclined to be curly in coat ; at any
rate, not nearly so straight-jacketed as the show-
specimens. There is no fear of his dying out, for
almost every country village can boast these brown
and white dogs ; the gamekeeper treasures them,
and, if they do not receive their due in the show ring,
they are sufficiently honoured elsewhere — their
character in the field being of the highest.

I noticed a short time ago a very handsome strain
of this race kept by Sir Thomas Boughey, at
Aquilate, near Wellington, Salop. The coats of
these had no tendency to curl; their character at
work was excellent, and the specimens I saw
appeared to be remarkably good tempered, well
broken, not inclined to run riot, and only hunting
when ordered to do so. On inquiry I learned that
this particular breed had been in the family for
many years, and was likely to remain so in the
future.

About twenty-four years ago Mr. Burgess, of
Brighouse, Yorkshire, showed a couple of liver and
white spaniels with great success, Sam and Flora
by name. Bred by Mr. Hopcroft, of Nottingham,
at that time they were said to be Sussex spaniels,
but, although their breeder tried to maintain their

I I 2

484 Modern Dogs.

reputation as such, it was pretty certain that they had
no claim to be of that race. Mr. Hopcroft had the
strain for some time, and valued it exceedingly.
Sam and Flora were brother and sister, of nice
character, but, though they won all before them in
their time, they were much higher on the leg than
bench winners of to-day ; they, however, excelled in
length of ears.

There are extant some capital chromo-lithographs
of^these two celebrated dogs, and the blood of both
of them is still to be found in many of the best
specimens at the present time.

Mr. H. P. Green, at Caistor Hall, near Norwich,
has a strain of black, tan, and white spaniels, which
he values highly. Personally, I never saw any dogs
that took my fancy more than they did when I
first saw them on the show bench. A little over
4olb. weight or so, they abound in character, are
long in ears, fairly straight in coat, and strong in
bone ; still, handsome though they be, they are more
valued for work than beauty, though they have
earned distinction on the show bench. Their owner
tells me he has had the strain for over a dozen
years, commencing with a bitch obtained from the
late Sir Richard Wallace, which was mated with
a tricoloured dog. Both were excellent in the field,
and appeared to have transferred their good qualities

Spaniels Other Than Black. 485

to their progeny. The strain is easily trained,
possesses great sense, plenty of dash and go, and
can stand the hardest work without ill effect. Mr.
Green uses them as retrievers in Scotland amongst
the grouse, much to the admiration of some of
the old Highland sportsmen. These spaniels are
also excellent dogs for snipe, duck, and mixed
shooting of all kinds ; they cannot be excelled as
water dogs, and I am certain that animals so hand-
some and so good are well worth cultivating.

The Club descriptive particulars of any other
variety of field spaniel are as follows, the points
being similar to those adopted for the black variety,
excepting, of course, as to colour :

" Head. — Similar to that of the black spaniel,
save in colour.

" Eyes. — The colour in all cases to match the coat
and markings, viz. : Black and Tans — hazel or
brown ; Liver and Tans — rather lighter than in
black and tans, but of good rich tone ; Livers-
light hazel colour ; Black Tan and White Roans,
&c., &c. — somewhat similar to liver and tans ;
Liver and Tan Roans, &c. — Somewhat similar to
liver and tans.

" Ears. — Similar to those of the black spaniel,
except in colour.

" Neck. — Similar to that of the black spaniel.

486 Modern Dogs.

" Body (including size and symmetry]. — Similar
to that of the black spaniel.

" Nose. — Variable, according to colour of coat
and markings : Black and Tans — black ; Liver and
Tans — dark liver colour ; Livers — liver ; Black and
Tan and White Roans — black ; Liver and Tan Roans
— liver.

" Shoulders and Chest. — Similar to those of the
black spaniel.

" Back and Loin. — Similar to those of the black
spaniel.

" Hind Quarters. — Similar to those of the black
spaniel.

" Stern. — Similar to those of the black spaniel.

" Feet and Legs. — Similar to those of the black
spaniel.

" Coat. — Similar in quality, substance, and texture,
and in all other respects, except colour, responding
to that given for black spaniels.

" Colours. — Various, such as black and tan, liver
and tan, liver, black, tan, and white roans ; liver, tan,
and white roans, &c.

General Appearance. — Similar in all respects,
except in regard to colour and markings ; identical
with the general description given before for black
spaniels.

; HAPTER XXVII.
THE COCKER.

THIS, the smallest of our race of sporting spaniels,
is retrograding rather than progressing, and, hardy,
cheerful little dog though he be, sportsmen have
found that a bigger dog can do his duties better,
even to working rough covert, and it is not a general
thing for a cocker, to retrieve a rabbit or a hare.
Indeed, some cockers I have had would not retrieve
31 •' ji for f'

The p; o# the ******

bench are n r do *'h

sufficient honoi .

orie breeding him. for ^ -»•* a

matter of fact, thi- j^ot

growing with- the tirr»-s
concern ought to be.

give him cl, n do

not, as a ru

Tit-

488 Modern Dogs.

the connecting link between the working and the
toy spaniels. We have been told that the Blenheims
at Marlborough House were excellent dogs to work
the coverts for cock and pheasant, and, excepting in
colour, there is in reality not much difference in
appearance between the older orange and white toys
(not as they are to day, with their abnormally short
noses) and the liver and white cockers H. B. Chalon
drew for Daniel's " Rural Sports" in 1801.

Two of Chalon's little spaniels have just sprung
a woodcock, and charming specimens they are,
not too low on the leg, nor over-done in the matter
of ears, but sprightly little dogs, evidently under
2olb. weight, and of a type we do not find to-day.
Many of us lament the growing scarcity of this
variety as he was to be found fifty years ago and
more. Modern breeders tell us they have provided
us with a better and handsomer animal. It is an
open question whether they have done the former, I
acknowledge they have done the latter.

Some few years ago I became the possessor of
a brace of black cockers, the most beautiful little
spaniels imaginable. How they were bred I am not
aware. This I do know, that wherever they went
they were admired more than any other dogs ; not in
the show ring — they never appeared there — but in
the streets and the country generally. At that time

The Cocker. 489

I was shooting a good deal, and had ample oppor-
tunity of entering them to game of every kind. As
sporting dogs they were comparatively useless ; for
they were noisy, headstrong, not at all careful, and
would pass half a dozen rabbits or pheasants whilst
they were putting up three or four. My terriers
could beat their heads off, and a cross-bred spaniel I
had at that time could have outworked a big team
of them.

Of course, this must not be taken as an inference
that all these modern, extremely pretty black
cockers are equally useless ; but, from others that
I have seen at work, I did not take mine to have
been an especially unfortunate brace. The coats
of some of them are not adapted to protect the hide
of the dog from being pierced by those sharp thorns
and prickly brambles that are to be found in every
ordinary covert.

Some portions of Wales and Devonshire have
produced the old working type of cocker, mostly
liver and white in colour, higher on the leg than
an ordinary field spaniel, not so long in ears, with a
close coat, not too fine, usually inclining to be wavy
and curly on the hind quarters, and a head finer in
the muzzle than the ordinary spaniel would seem to
possess, and with a character of its own.

About twenty years ago Dr. Boulton was exhibit-

49° Modern Dogs.

ing his Rhea, a black specimen which won a great
many prizes. She, however, had little or no strain
of the cocker in her, and what excellence she pos-
sessed was imparted from the same blood that ran
in the pedigree of Bullock's Nellie and other
celebrities of her day.

Perhaps the best class of cockers I have ever
seen was benched at Manchester in 1892. There
were fourteen of them, in many types ; but amongst
them specimens of both the old and modern style.
Mr. H. J. Price, of Long Ditton, had an excellent
team, his Ditton Brevity and Gaiety being particu-
larly excellent— the one a blue and white, the other
a tricolour. Mr. Carew-Gibson, of Fareham, in
Grove Rose and Merry Belle, had a brace of
beauties, also of the old type, and his first named
won chief prize ; but other leading honours of third
and reserve were given to miniature modern spaniels,
both black, but certainly not like Rose and Brevity,
that took first and second honours. Mr. Phillips'
Rivington Merry Legs was another of the pure
strain, a black and white, that, I believe, came from
Exeter.

I have particularly drawn attention to this class at
Manchester in proof, if such were needed, that there
still remains material in the country to popularise
the old-fashioned breed of cocker, and I fancy this

The Cocker. 491

would soon be done would judges, in making their
awards, stick to one type and throw out those dogs
that showed unusually heavy bone, long bodies,
heavy heads, and over-sized ears. And I may go
further than this, and say that I never yet saw a
good and perfectly characteristic cocker that had a
flat coat, was entirely black, or of that bright liver
colour found in the Sussex. The correct colours are
either mixed or a dull brown, the latter with white on
the chest and often enough white feet to match.

Mr. J. F. Farrow, of Ipswich, owns an excellent
strain of small black spaniels, which one or two of
his are of the cocker type I approve. Some of them
are miniature specimens of the black field spaniel
and from which they are bred. Mr. Lawrence, Mr.
Phillips, and one or two others, exhibit similar
black specimens, but none of them excel those that
appear from the Ipswich kennels.

In weight the cocker ought not to exceed 25lb. at
the very most, and bitches of 2olb. or less are
the desirable size. As I have already hinted, they
should not be so high on the leg, so long in the
body, so heavy in the ears, or so heavy in the muzzle
as an ordinary field spaniel, and may be taken
as sharp, active little creatures, always busy when at
work, and specially smart in driving rabbits from a
gorse covert or other rough place.

492

Modern Dogs.

The following is the
black cocker spaniels :

POSITIVE POINTS.

Head and jaw

Eyes

Ears

Neck

Body

Fore-legs 10

Hind-legs 10

Feet 10

Stern 10

Coat and feather 10

General appearance 10

Total positive points ... 100

10
5
5
5

15

Club's scale for judging

NEGATIVE POINTS.

Light eyes (undesirable,
but not fatal) . 10

Light nose (fatal) 15

Curled ears (very undesir-
able) 15

Curled coat (curly, woolly,
or wiry) 20

Carriage of stern (crooked
or twisted) 20

Top-knot (fatal) 20

Total negative points... 100

DESCRIPTIVE PARTICULARS.

" Head. — Not so heavy in proportion, and not so
high in occiput as in the modern field spaniel, with
a nicely developed muzzle or jaw ; lean, but not
snipy, and yet not so square as in the Clumber
or Sussex varieties, but always exhibiting a suffi-
ciently wide and well-developed nose. Forehead
perfectly smooth, rising without a too decided stop
from muzzle into a comparatively wide and rounded
well-developed skull, with plenty of room for brain
power.

" Eyes. — Full, but not prominent, hazel or brown

coloured, with a general expression of intelligence

The Cocker. 493

and gentleness, though decidedly wide awake, bright
and merry, never gozzled nor weak, as in the King
Charles and Blenheim kinds.

" Ears. — Lobular, set on low, leather fine and not
extending beyond the nose, well clothed with long,
silky hair, which must be straight or wavy — no
positive curls or ringlets.

" Neck. — Strong and muscular, and neatly set on
to fine sloping shoulders

" Body (including size and symmetry}. — Not quite
so long and low as in the other breeds of spaniels,
more compact and firmly knit together, giving the
impression of a concentration of power and untiring
activity ; the total weight should not exceed 25lb.

" Nose. — Sufficiently wide and well developed to
insure the exquisite scenting powers of this breed.
Colour black.

" Shoulders and Chest. — The former sloping and
fine, chest deep and well developed, but not too wide
and round to interfere with the free action of the
forelegs.

" Back and Loin. — Immensely strong and compact
in proportion to the size and weight of the dog ;
slightly drooping towards the tail.

" Hind Quarters. — Wide, well rounded, and very
muscular, so as to insure untiring action and pro-
pelling power under the most trying circumstances

494 Modern Dogs.

of a long day, bad weather, rough ground, and dense
covert.

"Stern. — That most characteristic of blue blood in
all the spaniel family, may, in the lighter and more
active Cocker, although set tow down, be allowed a
slightly higher carriage than in the other breeds, but
never cocked up over, but rather in a line with the
back, though the lower its carriage and action the
better, and when at work its action should be
incessant in this, the brightest and merriest of the
whole spaniel family.

" Feet and Legs. — The legs must be well boned,
feathered and straight, for the tremendous exertions
expected from this grand little sporting dog, and
should be sufficiently short for concentrated power,
but not so short as to interfere with its full activity.
Feet firm, round, and 'catlike, not too large,
spreading and loose jointed. This distinct breed of
spaniel does not follow exactly on the lines of the
larger field spaniel, either in lengthiness, lowness, or
otherwise ; but be shorter in back, and rather higher
on the legs.

"Coat. — Flat or waved, and silky in texture, never
wiry, woolly, nor curly, with sufficient feather of the
right sort, viz., waved or setter-like, but not too
profuse, and never curly.

" Colour. — Jet black; a white shirt frill should

The Cocker. 495

never disqualify; but white feet should not be allowed
in any specimen of self-colour.

" General appearance. — Confirmatory of all indi-
cated above, viz., a concentration of pure blood and
type, sagacity, docility, good temper, affection, and
activity."

The Club scale for judging any other variety of
cocker :

" POSITIVE POINTS.
Same as in the Black Variety.

NEGATIVE POINTS.
Subject to colour similar to-

those of the Black Variety.

" Head. — Similar to that of the black cocker.

" Eyes. — Dependent on colour and markings.

" Ears. — Similar to those of the black cocker.

" Neck. — Similar to that of the black cocker.

" Body (including size and symmetry]. — Similar
to that of the black cocker.

" Nose. — The colour will be dependent on the
colour of coat and markings, in all other respects
similar to the black cocker.

(< Shoulders and chest. — Similar to those of the
black cocker.

" Back and Loin. — Similar to those of the black
cocker.

" Hind Quarters. — Similar in all respects to that
described in the black cocker.

" Stern. — Identical with that of the black cocker.

496 Modern Dogs.

l( Feet and Legs. — Similar to those of the black
cocker.

" Coat. — Similar in every way to the coat of the
black variety, except in colour or markings.

" Colour. — Black and tan, liver and tan, liver,
black tan and white, liver tan and white, lemon and
white, roans, and in fact nearly any combination or
blending of colours.

" General appearance. — In all respects agreeing
with the description given for the black variety of
this breed."

CHAPTER XXVIII.
THE BASSET-HOUND.

this handsome, hound we have another example
of the naturalisation of a foreign dog in this country.
A quarter of a century ago he was a great favourite
in France, and some other parts of the Continent,
where he for years had been bred with great care ;
in England he was almost unknown. \ Now he
is one of <w o*n varieties, at least he is claimed
as such, and ewi « Stonehenge." so loth to adopt
for owsdve* that did n

his 'Dogs of thr/ B:

Club acknowledged him fc by

classification in 1883, when but tea <*n*rir* w^re
made ; there ^t m

Curzon Hall-committ
from the

ry.

498 Modern Dogs.

supplies me with the following valuable history and
particulars of this hound :

" Before I commence a description of the various
kinds of Bassets and their especial points, it might
be advantageous to touch upon the origin of the
word Basset, since it has been my misfortune, not
once but many times, to listen to the most absurd
reasons for the nomenclature of the hound. Briefly
the word basset means ' a low thing' or a ' dwarf,'
and it has a similar derivation to the words bassi-
nette, basset (the game), bastard, basse (a shoal),
and many others which it is unnecessary for me to
give, all of which have a common ancestor in the
French adjective ' bas.'

" The meaning, then, of the word being almost
apparent on the face of it, notwithstanding the fact
that I have heard people urge with the greatest
gravity that the Basset is a hound used for the
purpose of hunting the basset, in the same way that
the foxhound pursues the fox. It might also be
interesting to observe how the hound became a
dwarf, for if it be a dwarf, and this is what its name
undoubtedly implies, it is obvious that it must be a
dwarf of some other race of hound.

" It is also obvious that as there exist many
varieties of Bassets in France, Belgium, Austria, and
G< rmany, they too are dwarfs of some form of hounds.

The Basset-Hound. 499

l< To account for this somewhat extraordinary
assumption I must go back in the history of these
countries to somewhat remote periods, and ask the
reader what the use in those days, that is to say
the days when men did not take the trouble to
hunt small game, and the modern weapons of
sport were still unin vented, would have been for
such a hound as the Basset, which to-day, in
France and Belgium especially, is looked upon as
one of the best companions the sportsman can
have by him.

" I need hardly say that such a hound as the
Basset, when men followed the chase on horseback
and looked upon rabbits and hares as vermin, would
have been quite out of place, and the only logical
conclusion one can come to as to the origin of these
hounds is, that as men took up the chase of the
smaller game a slower hound was required — a type
of hound which would at once be produced by breed-
ing only from those that were short in the leg, and
consequently slower in speed. Breeding from such
hounds, it must be observed, would but tend to
decrease the height, and not the bodily proportions,
coat, or form of head.

" In due time, as weapons made their appearance
— and by weapons I especially mean when guns
came into use — a slower dog still was required,

K K 2

500 Modern Dogs.

which would either hunt in front of the sportsman or
drive game slowly towards him.

" This type of hound would be produced by again
breeding from the lowest and heaviest of his prede-
cessors, and, what with the weight in front and the
question of stability, the internal ligaments of the
carpus would give way, the fore-feet would turn out
so as to act as buttresses to the chest wall, and in
the animal thus produced we should find a hound of
full-sized body, of similar head and colour to the
hounds from which it sprang, identical in fact with
them except in this peculiar formation of the front
and hind feet.

" Such undoubtedly is the manner in which the
Basset originated, and what is still more remarkable
is the fact that the tallest of the Bassets are the
straight-legged ones, the medium the half-crooked,
and the lowest the full-crooked, thus showing alone
the gradual change which has been wrought by man
to bring the great chiens couranfsdown to the dwarfs
or the Bassets of to-day.

" Had this manufacture, as I may reasonably call
it, been limited to one breed of hound, we should
naturally find but one breed of Bassets, but this is
not so, since from the great variety of Bassets to be
found in the countries I have named, it is certain that
many breeds of hounds have been thus dealt with.

The Basset-Hound. 501

"As a result Bassets abroad are to be found
smooth in coat, wire-haired and rough, straight-
legged, half-crooked and full-crooked, and had we
imported and bred all the varieties together, my task
of describing them would have been somewhat
difficult. I am glad, however, to say that we have
stuck pretty closely to one strain in the smooths,
and am in hopes that the same will follow in the
Griffons, consequently in classifying them as we have
them, or had them in this country, for one of the
smooths has all but disappeared, I can name them as
the Basset Franyais, and the Basset Griffon, the
former being the smooth coated and the latter
rough.

" In France every smooth-coated Basset is called
a Basset Fran9ais, whether it be big, little, straight-
legged or crooked, tricolour, lemon and white, or
any hound colour whatever. The two strains
which have been imported into this country are
those which combine size with lowness in front and
crook, tricolour or lemon and white markings, and,
what is more to the point, the true hound type of
those hounds from which they are descended.
These two strains are the Le Couteulx and The
Lane, originating respectively in the ' Artois ' and
' Poitevin.'

" The strain of the Le Couteulx hounds owes its

502 Modern Dogs.

origin to Mons. Le Comte le Couteulx le Cantalan,
of Chateau St. Martin, near Etrepagny, one of the
foremost sportsmen and the acknowledged authority
on hunting and kennel matters in France, and from
him takes its name.

"In it we find two modern types, both due to two
hounds, viz., Fino de Paris, formerly the property
of the Count, and Termino, the property of Mons.
Masson — both of which I shall have to speak of
again ; but as the difference between them is but of
small importance, I will give a general outline of the
type of the strain first, and revert to the small
differences between them afterwards.

" In general appearance the Le Couteulx is a good
sized hound, generally tricolour, but not uncommonly
lemon and white, of heavy build and set on short
legs, the fore ones being exceedingly massive and
crooked.

" Taking the various portions of his body in order,
we find the head to be large and set gracefully
on the neck, which should be somewhat arched; the
head should be domed, of considerable length, and
narrow in comparison with its length, though far
from weak. It should be of great depth, and the
sides should be clean cut and free from any appear-
ance of, or inclination to, cheek bumps.

" The nose should be inclined to the Roman type,

The Basset-Hound. 503

and be set on in a line with the external occipital
protuberance, any dipping of a pronounced type or
stop being unsightly. The nose itself should be
strong and free from snipiness, while the teeth of
the upper and lower jaws should meet. A pig-jawed
hound, or one that is underhung, being distinctly
objectionable.

" The lips should be square and not cut sharply
away, and from the lower jaw extensive flews should
fall towards the throat.

"The eye should be deeply sunken, showing
a prominent haw, and in colour they should be
a deep brown.

"The ears should be set on low; are of great
length, of velvety texture, and should curl grace-
fully inwards ; their outer surface coming towards
the base in contact with the side of the cheek and
neck.

"The whole of the head should be covered with
loose skin, so loose in fact, that when the hound
brings its nose to the ground the skin over the head
and cheeks should fall forward and wrinkle sensibly.
In a word, the head of the Basset should resemble
and approach as nearly as possible the bloodhound
in conformation. The neck is massive but graceful,
and as it approaches the body it thickens.

' The body itself is extremely powerful, and shows

504 Modern Dogs.

as it is united with the sacrum a graceful rise, which
disappears at the base or set on of the tail

"If the animal were not so low to the ground its
body would not appear of such length as it appears
to be. At the same time, it is a lengthy body, but
well supported by ribs ; and as the ribs cease and
we approach the sternum or chest, we find this to
be capacious and of great width, the superior
portion of the sternum standing out most promi-
nently.

" The body of the chest comes right down between
the fore-legs, fitting tightly in an angle formed by
the approximation of the two radial bones, which
are of great thickness. Below this point the carpus
is straight, but the metacarpus inclines outwards*
and the phalanges or toes completely so.

" In not a few specimens the carpus inclines
forwards, thus giving the animal the appearance of
knuckling over, which is a decided fault, and this is
due largely to a forward inclination of the radius and
ulna bones, which ought to incline inwards, and fit
closely to the chest wall. On looking at the animal
from the front we at once observe why the legs
assume this peculiar formation, viz., inclining inwards
from the elbow joint to the wrist joint, and then out-
wards again to the end of the toes.

" If the legs of the heavy Le Couteulx were straight

The Basset-Hound. 505

the chest would hang between, and the whole weight
of the body would necessarily be centred at the
shoulder joint. Consequently the animal would be
incapable of any active movement and much
exposed to dislocation at that joint ; but as the legs
incline inwards and then outwards the weight of the
body is supported below the chest, viz., at the
carpus, the latter being as it were the keystone on
which the entire weight of the body falls. As a
result it is at this point we should expect to find
trouble if any portion of the architecture was out of
position. I have drawn particular attention to the
anatomy of the Bassets here, for it is at this joint
we discover unsoundness if present, the reason
being, as I have previously observed, that the radius
and ulna bones are thrown too far forward, and not
placed or gathered sufficiently behind the spot
where the whole weight of the body converges.

" To be absolutely sound and perfect in legs, the
Basset ought to stand in front between two and
three inches from the ground, and in such a manner
that if a plummet were dropped from the set on of
the neck right through the dog it would touch the
ground between the toes, and in front of the carpus.

" The hind legs are massive, like those in front,
and should stand well below the hound to bear the
weight of the back portion of his body. They are

506 Modern Dogs.

very muscular, as may be expected, seeing the great
weight in front which they have to propel.

" The tail is of considerable length and should be
carried gaily, though not so as to curl over the back.

" Our most perfect Bassets of the present day are
undoubtedly Mr. Muirhead's Forester, Mrs. Ellis's
Paris, Xena, and Dr. Woodhead's Geraldine, and
I regret much that I have not their weights and
measurements. I shall, however, not be wrong in
giving those of my old Model, who, though rather
flat in skull and having badly hung ears, was other-
wise as perfect a specimen in other particulars as I
ever hope to see.

" Measurements, &c., at seven and a half years of
age : Weight, 461b. ; height at shoulder, 12 inches ;
length from tip of nose to set on of tail, 32 inches ;
length of tail, 1 1^ inches ; girth of chest, 25 inches ;
girth of loin, 21 inches; girth of head, 17 inches;
girth of fore-arm, 6\ inches ; length of head from
tip of occiput to tip of nose, 9 inches ; girth of
muzzle at midway, 9^ inches ; length of ears from
tip to tip, 19 inches ; height from ground between
fore-feet 2f inches.

" I think I have gone now pretty clearly through
the points of the Basset as far as his bodily points
are concerned, consequently there remain but his
coat and colouring.

The Basset-Hound. 507

" In texture the coat should be that of a hound,
and, on seizing it, the skin below should come away
from the body, leaving the impression that the
animal has much more skin than he requires. On
no account should the skin fit closely to the body,
and even on the fore-legs it should wrinkle, giving
to the hound a ' comfortable ' appearance.

" As to colour, I am afraid that I am one of those
who believe that a good hound, like a good horse,
cannot be of a bad colour. I grant the fact that the
heavily marked tricolor is very taking to the eye,
and that the lemon and white, in comparison to the
former, loses greatly in appearance. Still, colour is,
after all, but a superficial point, except in breeds
where it means much, consequently personally I
should never in the judging ring allow colour to
weigh greatly in my mind when it was a question of
points and type between two animals. The colours
then of the Basset are heavy tricolour, light tricolour,
hair pie, lemon and white, and tricolour with blue
mottles. The latter is particularly pretty and
attractive.

" Having now dealt with the question of points, I
will give a few particulars as to the introduction of
the Basset into this country. The first note I have
regarding them is one from Lord Galway, who
informed me some years ago that he had been

508 Modern Dogs.

presented with one or two, by Comte Tournon, of
Montmelas. These in due time Lord Galway passed
to Lord Onslow, but as this strain is now extinct I
need not further dilate on them except to say that
they were Le Couteulx hounds, far from inferior
specimens, and all beautifully marked.

" Although they might have been known amongst
those who had the personal friendship of the two
peers I have named, to the general public they were
entirely unknown, and it was not until the winter show
at Wolverhampton, in 1875, where I showed Model,
which I had procured from the Jardin d'Acclima-
tation the previous year, that the British public
had the opportunity of making the Basset hound's
acquaintance on the show bench. Model was bred
by Comte le Couteulx, and with Fino de Paris stood
at stud in the Jardin d'Acclimatation when I first
saw him, consequently I had the pick of the two
best hounds France could then boast of.

" At that time I was unaware that Lord Onslow
had Bassets. Had I known this I would have asked
his permission to breed the dog to one of his
bitches. But as I did not know this, and I could
not then procure a bitch, I, on the advice of the late
Mr. Lort, began breeding through a beagle, and in
the second generation produced a winner.

11 I must here observe that the difference between

The Basset-Hound. 509

the old-fashioned beagle and the Basset does not
amount to much except in the legs, and two genera-
tions I found quite sufficient to reduce the beagles'
legs to those of the Bassets', plus the racial
peculiarity.

" In 1877, as Lord Onslow had, through me,
obtained from Comte le Couteulx a dog and a bitch,
I gave up the beagle line and, in 1878, began to
breed pure-bred through Garenne, a bitch by Model
out of Lord Onslow's Finette, which, with her
brother Fino, he had imported the previous year.
In 1880 I was able, through the use of that Fino, to
show in the first class given for Bassets in England,
namely, at Wolverhampton.

" Up to this date, then, the only owners and
breeders of Bassets were Lord Onslow and myself ;
but in the spring of that year Mr. G. R. Krehl and
Mr. Louis Clement imported Fino de Paris, Jupiter,
Pallas, Guinevere, Theo, Vivien, and others which
it is needless here to mention. By 1886 we were
able to place 120 on the bench at the Dachshund
and Basset show in the Aquarium. How many
there are now in the country it would be difficult to
say, but the number is very large, though the entries
at shows are not as great as they might be.

" To return, however, to 1880, when Mr. Krehl
imported Fino de Paris, it was observable that the

510 Modern Dogs.

bitches Guinevere, Theo, and Vivien differed some-
what in type from Fino de Paris. I have already
said that I had the opportunity of selecting this
latter hound in 1874, at the Jardin d'Acclimatation,
where he had been sent by Comte le Couteulx to
stand at stud, and I may now mention that before
being sent to Paris he had been bred from ; the
bitches Guinevere, Theo, and Vivien being descended
from him.

" I here give their pedigrees : Trouvette out of
Fino de Paris by Fanfaro from Ravaude ; Trouvette
by Mignarde out of Fino de Paris ; Finette out of
Termino ; Mignarde by Finette out of Termino ;
Finette by Guinevere out of Theo ; and Vivien by
Fanfare out of Theo. That is to say, Fino de
Paris being put to Trouvette and Ravaude, produced
from them respectively Mignarde and Fanfaro. He
was then put to his daughter Mignarde, producing
Finette, who in turn was put to Termino, this
alliance producing Guinevere and Theo ; the latter,
being put to Fanfaro, producing Vivien.

" Under these circumstances, and the inbreeding
that had gone on, it is only just to suppose that in
the three bitches I have named, we should have
seen a strong personal resemblance or a strong
family type in them to that of Fino de Paris. As a
matter of fact they did not resemble Fino de Paris,

The Basset-Hound. 51

but had a common type amongst themselves, which
was doubtless inherited from their sire, and in the
case of Vivien, grandsire, namely, Termino. Conse-
quently, I can only come to the conclusion that
the breeder, from whom these hounds were im-
ported, being desirous of an outcross after the
inbreeding to Fino de Paris, put Finette to Termino,
and returned the produce again to a son of the old
dog.

" What Termino was, or how he was bred, remains
an unfathomable mystery, notwithstanding the fact
that I have made every inquiry ; but it appears to me
reasonable to suppose that he was either a large
Basset a Jambes Droites, or one of the smaller chiens
courants, and for this reason, viz., the offspring
Guinevere and Theo could hardly be called Bassets
a Jambes Torses, while Vivien, got by one of Fino
de Paris' sons, was correctly described as such.

" Now the reason 1 have largely entered into this
question of breeding in France is for the following
cause : When Fino de Paris and the three bitches
were imported here he was put to Guinevere, and
of this litter we had two well-known hounds, viz.,
Fino V. and Bourbon. Fino V. was almost a
counterpart of his sire, while Bourbon took after his
mother's side of the house, and resembled the three
bitches I have named.

512 Modern Dogs.

" Again, Fino V., on being put to Vivien, produced
another hound of Fino de Paris's type, viz., Fino VI. ;
whilst the same bitch, on being put to Bourbon, gave
birth to D'Aumale and Chopette, who were clearly
of a totally different stamp to Fino de Paris, and
resembled Bourbon and the three bitches. As a
result, I think there can be but little doubt that
Termino was the cause of this difference, and what
that difference is I will now explain.

" The Fino de Paris hounds take after their
prototype, Fino de Paris. They are very heavily
marked, except when lemon and white ; they are
much coarser in the coat than the Terminos ; they
are, as a rule, larger and heavier in the bone ; and,
finally, they are nearer to the ground and exceed-
ingly torse in front.

" The Terminos differ where I have already
pointed out, and, in addition, their skulls are not
so domed and their markings are more regular —
white playing a much larger part in the marking
than in the Fino de Paris. In addition, their coats
are much finer, shorter, and they are not built on
such heavy lines.

M The most successful breeders in this country
have been Lord Onslow, Mr. Krehl, Mr. Craven,
Mrs. Stokes, and Mrs. Ellis, of Brettenham Park,
Billesden, the latter for the past few years having

The Basset-Hound. 513

carried all before her. Putting aside Lord Onslow,
who has been away and given up Bassets for
some years, it might be interesting to note, from
.a breeder's point of view, the gradual development
of this hound to modern times, from the mating of
Fino de Paris and Trouvette, in France, something
like a quarter of a century ago.

" In doing this, I shall apply myself to the
Fino de Paris type alone, since the Bourbon
is all but extinguished ; and, having done so,
I will ask the reader to believe that type cannot
be got unless we inbreed, and that inbreeding
does not necessarily deteriorate stock if properly
carried out.

" To prove this, I give the names of the following
hounds, and how they are inbred to the Fino de
Paris : Mignarde, ^ ; Finette, f ; Guinevere, f ;
Fino V.' H; Fino VI., if; Forester, ff ; Paris,
tW ; and Xitta, Hf.

" What I show here is the direct succession from
father to son or daughter, in all, eight generations of
hounds. Under normal circumstances, had they
been bred ' anyhow,' these hounds would begin at
Mignarde with two parents, one of which was Fino
de Paris, and finish at Xitta with no less than 258.
By inbreeding, starting with Finette, she has two,
Guinevere has three, Fino V. has the same number,

[VOL. i.] L L

Modern Dogs.

Fino VI. has four, Forester has seven, Paris has
eight, and Xitta has the same number.

" In all, except Guinevere, the defunct Fino de
Paris might almost have been their real sire, and,
as a standing proof of the necessity of inbreeding,
the only one that did not resemble him was Guinevere,
who has not the amount of blood necessary.

" To anyone interested in the study of breeding,
and especially breeding for individual type, I re-
commend them most strongly to get the Basset
Hound Stud Book and work out the blood factors of
the hounds there inscribed. On comparing them
with past show reports and the hounds now on
the bench, they will without any difficulty come to
the conclusion that there is not a hound in this
country worth the biscuits it is fed on, or can
show the Fino de Paris type, that is not bred upon
the lines I have shown these generations to be.

" My recollections of Fino de Paris are not such
as will entitle me to describe him very accurately,
but I may say this — viz., that I do not believe,
grand hound as he was, that he could have com-
pared favourably with the hounds that are on
the bench to-day ; and, furthermore, that France
could not show a class of such character and type
as we can bring together. The proof of this
latter statement is to be found in the somewhat

The Basset-Hound. 515

plaintive remark of a well-known French sportsman,
who visits this country regularly, viz. : ' If we had
known what you could produce from Fino de Paris,
he would never have left the Jardin d'Acclimata-
tion!'

" It will no doubt be interesting to note the
methods by which Mrs. Ellis, alluded to earlier
on, contrived to obtain such a kennel that until
lately she possessed. If my memory serves me
aright, Mrs. Ellis bought her first Basset — a small
bitch, named Venus II., by Champion Jupiter ex
Venus — at the Warwick Show of 1886, and, by
mating this bitch with Champion Fino VI. in 1887,
Champion Psyche II. resulted. In 1889 she bred
Champion Paris, Champion Xena, Napoleon II.,
and Miriam, from Psyche II. by Forester; and in
the same year had another litter from Champion
Fino VI. and Venus II., of which Cupid II. is a
representative. In 1891, from Paris and Venus II.,
I sola and Marvel were produced ; whilst, from the
union of Forester and Xena, Zero and Xitta were
obtained. Again, in 1892, a younger litter of
brothers and sisters to Champion Xena and Paris,
made their appearance, to be heard of in the show*
ring when their time comes.

" However, leaving them for a moment, and
forgetting entirely that in 1890 Mrs. Ellis acquired

L i. 2

516 Modern Dogs.

by purchase Champion Forester, such a trio as
Paris, Xena, and Isola would make the reputation
of any kennel. Starting, as Mrs. Ellis did, in such
a humble way, it only proves what can be done by
sheer perseverance, and, if I may say so, a singular
capacity for successful mating of hounds, the
progeny of such unions producing animals of the
highest type. At the time when Mrs. Ellis had not
only the above, but Champion Psyche, Champion
Forester, and others, it is manifest her kennel
was invincible. Towards the close of 1892 it was
rumoured that her hounds would be no longer
at the service of the public. Had this rumour
proved correct it is difficult to say exactly what
it would have meant to the breeders of Basset
hounds, for, if we except Mr. Lord and Mr. Musson,
no one has a single dog fit to take the place of
champions Forester and Paris. That the public
know this is seen in the fact that, with two ex-
ceptions, every new face of merit seen on the
benches in 1892 was sired by these two hounds.

" I shall say but a few words concerning the Lane
hounds, as they are now in their purity extinct
in this country. Like the Le Couteulx, they were
started by the gentleman whose name they bear,
Mons. Lane, of Francqueville, near Boos. They are
as a race bigger and heavier than the Le Couteulx,

The Basset-Hound. 517

and lighter in colour, many of them being lemon and
whites. It is, however, in their heads that we find
the greatest difference, since the skin is tighter ;
the eyes more prominent and yellow, which gives
them a wild appearance ; the lips, too, are cut
sharply away, and they appear to lack the great
flews which give such stately dignity to the Le
Couteulx, as bred in this country. Their ears,
however, set on very low, are of great length,
though they do not curl so nicely inwards, some
hounds having them, as it were, plastered to the side
of the head.

11 Their first appearance was in 1880, when Mr.
Krehl imported two bitches ; but they have never
taken in this country, and have solely been used for
crossing and outbreeding where size and ear are
desired. I shall therefore say no more about them,
as nowadays they are extinct with us,, no pure
specimens having ever been born over here.

THE BASSET GRIFFON.

" Some twenty years ago, when I was at school
in Paris, I used frequently to adjourn to a dog
dealer's, whose shop still exists close to the Arc de
Triomphe. I was there last year, and on asking
Mons. Ravry if he could find me a couple of Basset

518 Modern Dogs.

Griffons, such as he used to keep years ago, he
informed me that he could not, unless I put my hand
very deeply into my pocket. These hounds were
like otterhounds in form and texture of coat, like-
wise of the same colour, and quite as big as the
largest smooth coated Bassets over here. About
1874 — 1875 I used to see a similar type of hound
in the variety class at our leading shows, owned
first by Dr. Seton, and then by the Rev. Js C.
Macdona. This hound is registered in the Kennel
Club Stud Book as Romano, and a very handsome
specimen he was ; a hard coated, workmanlike dog,
brown-grey grizzle in colour, and always admired by
the hunting men who saw him either on the bench
or in the ring.

11 Since then I have never seen a hound like
Romano in type and size, except Mrs. Ellis's Rocket,
which, though not of exactly quite the same
character, comes nearer to that mentioned above
than the smaller varieties, which might pass better
as rough-coated dachshunds than do duty at our
shows as Basset griffons.

" In the last class of these hounds which I had
the pleasure of inspecting there were no less than
four types, and if we included those owned by His
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, I may, I
think, correctly state that there are five different

The Basset-Hound. 519

types of Basset griffons in this country at the
present moment.

4< Now, far be it from me to run down any of these
types, or say that one is better than the other, but I
will say, as I said at the commencement of this
article, that in France there are any number of
types of Bassets to choose from ; and, while we in
the smooth-coated variety chose the grandest of all
the types, and have brought it to perfection, our
Griffon brother fanciers have not gone about their
business in the same fashion, and have certainly not
obtained the c rente de la creme of Basset griffons.
I have seen many of them, and for type and quality
it appears to me that those from Vendee are the
biggest, handsomest, and best fitted for the work
they have to do. They are, as I have described,
such as those I used to see at Mons. Ravry's, and
are just as low to the ground as their smooth-coated
brethren.

"A splendid field is open to any admirer of the
Basset griffon who has time and patience to search
for specimens, and I hope before long to see some
of them on our show benches."

Since his first introduction the Basset-hound has
progressed, but, although his head and expression
are, as a rule, almost handsome, and perhaps more
beautiful than are to be found on any other hound,

520 Modern Dogs.

his unduly long body and crooked legs are, as in the
case of the dachshund, likely to prevent his ever
being a popular idol. Still he has many admirers,
for he is a quiet sensible hound, and an attractive
one likewise. As a companion he is affectionate,
but his short legs and heavy body make him less
adapted for outdoor exercise than many other
varieties of the dog, especially when the roads and
streets are dirty, and where he is kept in the house.
A Basset-hound can take more mud into a drawing-
room than a giant St. Bernard or a mastiff, and
sometimes he possesses a rather strong odour of
the kennels. However, kept clean and nicely
groomed, his expression and gaudy markings are
sure to attract attention anywhere, and he is not so
quarrelsome as our own hounds.

During the period of his naturalisation with us, he
has in several instances been used for hare hunting,
and packs of Bassets for that purpose have from
time to time been formed. An excellent pack has
for some seasons given good sport round about
Brighton, their kennels being at Aldington, West
Brighton, Mr. Croker being the huntsman. Last
year these Bassets, amongst other good runs, had a
hare before them for three hours, when hounds were
called off.

At Wallasey, near Birkenhead, there was, until

The Basset-Hound. 521

the spring of 1892, another pack of Bassets, but
owing to a difficulty in getting country to hunt it was
discontinued. Mr. Heseltine, from Walhampton,
Boldre, Hampshire, has twelve couples of Bassets,
with which many first rate runs have been had, and
last year about a dozen hares were killed. One
part of the season the meets are in the neighbour-
hood of the New Forest, and later, hounds remove
to near Cambridge, where the season finishes.
Considerable pains are taken to perfect the work
both with the Walhampton and the Brighton
Bassets, and the former have two whips, the
Marquis of Camden and Mr. O. H. Dickson

At Norly Hall, Frodsham, Cheshire, Mr. A. L.
Woodhouse has a smart lot of hounds — four and
a half couple of dogs and three and a half couple of
bitches — with which he and his friends have excel-
lent sport, killing three or four hares a season,
although their country is not extensive nor particu-
larly good for the purpose, and hounds are seldom
out more than once a week. By far the most
typical pack is that of the Melbourne (Australian)
Basset Hunt Club, of which Mr. J. C. Anderson is
master. I need scarcely say that this pack was
established by drafts from this country, and it
includes a number of specially good hounds that
were given to the hunt by Mr. E. Millais. At the

522 Modern Dogs.

Melbourne dog shows these Bassets have proved a
.great attraction. The usual mode of following
Basset hounds is on foot, and by so doing some
excellent hunting is seen. It seems really wonderful
how quickly the heavily-bodied, short-legged hounds
get over the ground.

There are some earnest sportsmen who prefer
hunting the hare with the Basset rather than with
the Beagle or Harrier With the former, those on
foot are certainly likely to see more of the run, and
have, if their lungs be sound and their legs strong,
a very good chance of being in at the death, though
the chase may last a couple of hours or more.
Harriers would kill a similar " jack hare" in less
than half an hour. Small beagles might perform
the same feat in an hour or so. The latter are
certainly the brighter and merrier hunters, and
possess a greater amount of dash anH go than
the short-legged, heavily-bodied hounds ; the latter,
perhaps, excelling in voice. I do not think the
Basset more painstaking and careful on a cold line
than the Beagle.

The Field from time to time gives accounts of
runs with Basset-hounds, and some of those with
the Sussex pack appear to have been particu-
larly satisfactory. The Basset has a particularly
fine voice, the tone of some of them almost as

The Basset- Hound. 523

lovely as that the otter-hound can produce. He
is slow on scent, and, of course, his long body and
short crooked legs quite put him out of court as
likely to be of use in a stone wall country.

A pack can kill a hare well enough, but after
the fox such hounds would not be of the slightest
use ; and even after the hare the Bassets require to
be on an easy country, where the fences are few and
the hills neither too steep nor too rough. On the
Continent the various strains of the Basset-hound
are used for beating and working the coverts, being
utilised exactly in the same way as we in this country
work spaniels, and, in a few cases, beagles.

There is a Basset Hound Club in England,
which was established in 1883, an<^> by providing
special prizes at various exhibitions, in many cases
classes are placed in the schedule which, under
ordinary conditions, would not be found there.
Personally I have never owned a Basset. I have
admired them, and recollect how favourably I was
struck with the appearance of a team that Mr.
Everett Millais showed at Wolverhampton about
thirteen years ago, and alluded to earlier in this
chapter. They were little known then, but certainly
on that occasion formed one of the features of an
interesting provincial show. Since that time (and
before) Mr. Millais has perhaps taken more interest

524 Modern Dogs.

in the Basset than any other Englishman, and may
be considered the British authority on the variety,
so no doubt what he has so kindly supplied will
prove a valuable contribution on the subject.

Our typical Basset hound has been fully described
earlier in this chapter. The club which looks after
his welfare has not had any special scale of points
drawn up, and in the absence of such I have com-
piled the following :

Head (including ex- Loins and hindquarters 1 5

pression, skull, &c.) 20 Stern

Ears 15

Shoulders, chest, and

neck 10

Legs and feet 15

60

Coat 5

Colour 5

Character 10

40

Grand Total 100.

Weight, dogs from 4olb. to 481b. ; bitches about
5lb. less.

H

CHAPTER XXIX.

THE DACHSHUND

\\UiETHKR we shall ever get another dog from tru-
Continent that, within so few years, has spread:
multiplied, and become so much one of ourselves ;
the dachshund, is an open question. His disposition
was genial, his habits were of the best, hut he was
quaint in look, and if not so autocratic iu* appear
anre a$ &}? B- behind his ma*t#? i>r

mistress," with all the airs that follow b^ • f&
conveying an impression that h<* ^lo*?*- I**,, -*>*•

l^, i> . -~ ** ;Vjt «i

tigh

guard," he wa
so soft and veh<
and stroke hrm ti
Dinmont terrier or
TO be brougi.

!

ana

IS skin was
anter to feel

und
link

526 Modern Dogs.

With such qualifications he soon became a
favourite, and from being represented in couples in
the variety class at our dog shows he speedily
appeared in scores, and had, as he has now, many
separate divisions provided for him — challenge cups,
and other valuable prizes, and a specialist club to
look after his welfare to boot. These remarks, and
subsequent ones, are in connection with the smooth-
coated little hound as we acknowledge him, and do
not include the rough-haired variety that has
occasionally been seen here, and is pretty common
in some parts of the German Empire.

Who was responsible for bringing the first dachs-
hund to England I do not know, any more than I
am acquainted with the particulars of the origin of
the dog itself. Some sporting men of the old
school have said he was nothing more than the
common turnspit, which the cooks of their grand-
parents had used in their kitchens to turn the spit
in which their joints and geese and turkeys were
roasted. Perhaps there had been some connection
between the two breeds ; there was a resemblance,
for both had short crooked legs and unduly long
bodies, but the cooks' dogs were seldom whole
coloured, as is pretty nearly always the case with
the dachshund, at least with our British variety.

No doubt either the dachshund himself, or a dog

The Dachshund. 527

very like him, perhaps it was the turnspit, was
known in the East long before the Christian era.
Old Egyptian and Assyrian sculptures, some of
them 2000 B.C., depict a dog much after his stamp,
but whether he was then used as a sporting dog or
as a companion, or to assist in culinary operations,
we are not told, all we know is that at the court of
King Thothmes III. he was a favourite. Since
that period he has undergone many modifications.
Even within the past quarter of a century, since his
association with our English dogs, his character
has changed somewhat. In Germany, Belgium, and
other parts of the Continent, from whence he came
to us, he is used as a sporting dog, to draw7 or drive
the fox and badger, but here he is for the most part
used as a companion and for exhibition purposes,
and his rapid growth to popularity is evidence of
his excellence in both respects. Still, even our
English dachshunds will do their work well when
properly trained to the duty.

Comparatively few of our dachshunds have any
chance of showing how good they are at sport.
If properly entered they have no equals at their
legitimate game of going to ground to fox and
badger, when the latter have to be dug out. I do
not for a moment suggest that he will bolt a hunted
fox as quickly as a huntsman's terrier — that is not his

528 Modern Dogs.

game. All the dachshund professes to do is to find
the fox or badger in his earth and remain there
until you can dig to him. He makes no attempt to
fight or attack the "varmint," but simply barks at it
incessantly. Then if the game does turn his back
upon his plucky little opponent, the latter imme-
diately proceeds to business by a fierce attack in
the rear, which is discontinued when the game turns
again and faces the hound.

This description of work, of course, enables the
hunters to dig with great accuracy in the direction
the fox or badger lies, and the wary dachshund is
rarely badly hurt, whereas the terrier that gets to
close quarters with a badger, in his natural earth,
will, as a rule, get terribly mauled. Still, I have had
fox terriers that would bark and bark until the game

o

budged, but this barking is not always good enough
to drive a fox, and under no circumstances will it
send either otter or badger into open. Particulars
of a few day's sport with dachshunds appear at the
end of this chapter.

Wh^n duly entered the dachshund makes an
excellent line hunter, and Mr. Harry Jones, of
Ipswich, tells me that his bitch Juliet was regularly
hunted with a pack of Basset-hounds, and was
about the most reliable of the lot. Of course,
one has not to go further for an instance of the

The Dachshund. 529

general gameness of the dachshund race than the
trials with them on the Continent at both foxes and
badger, which the best dogs have to treat much in
the same manner as our terriers have to do here on
certain occasions. It is quite the custom for such
trials to be arranged at certain dog shows in Belgium
and Germany for the delectation of English visitors,
who, however, do not as a rule take particularly
kindly to what some persons consider a high branch
of sport.

About the period when the dachshund was gaining
its popularity here, considerable correspondence about
him took place in the Field as to what he was and
what he was not, and, if I make no mistake, Mr.
Barclay Hanbury,Mr. John Fisher (Cross Hill, Leeds),
and others, gave their opinions on the subject. How-
ever, notwithstanding the complications likely to
ensue on the introduction of a new breed, especially
when one authority quoted Dr. Fitzinger, who said
there were twelve varieties of the dachshund — a
statement fortunately qualified by the remark that
they were mostly cross-bred — all went well. In due
course something like the correct article was fixed
upon, and from that we have our dogs of the present
time. As a fact I see less discrepancy in the type of
the modern dachshund than is to be noticed in some
other purely English braeds — the fox terrier, to wit.

[VOL. i.] M M

53° Modern Dogs.

Although some of our best dogs are accepted by
German authorities as excellent specimens, still our
British breeders have in a degree struck out a line of
their own, and where, on the Continent at any rate,
two varieties were acknowledged, the hound type
and the terrier type, here a happy medium has been
struck, and the handsome dog now seen on our
show benches is the result. I have a large
amount of information as to the work and general
description of the quaint little dog as he is seen in
Germany, and where he divides national favouritism
with the Great Dane, but I fancy, in a book
dealing with British dogs alone (and those that
we have made such by fancy or manipulation) it
will be best not to trespass on foreign ground.
The Germans especially do well by their favourite
dog, and the Dachshund Stud Book published by
them is certainly, for completeness and tasteful
elaboration, ahead of anything we publish in this
country. As an instance of what is done in this
particular, it may be mentioned that where the dog
alluded to is red in colour, particulars of him are
printed in red ink, and where he is black and tan
the usual black ink is used. The same arrangement
applies to the portraits of dogs, with which the
pages of this Stud Book are thickly interspersed.

Some twenty years ago Herr Beckmann, one of

The Dachshund.

the German authorities, dealing with the different
types of the breed, wrote as follows :

Having concentrated all varieties of the badger dog to one
single class — the crook-legged, short-haired dog, with head neither
hound nor terrier like, weight from i81b. to 2olb., colour black-tan
and its variations — we shall still meet many varying forms. With
some attention we shall soon distinguish the common breed and
the well or high-bred dachshund. The first is a stout, strong-
boned, muscularly built dog, with large head and strong teeth ;
the back not much arched, sometimes even straight ; tail long and
heavy ; forelegs strong and regularly formed ; the head and tail
often appear to be too large in the dog ; the hair is rather coarse,
thick-set, short, and wiry, lengthened at the underside of the tail,
without forming a brush or feather, and covering a good deal of
the belly. These dogs are good workmen, and are less affected
by weather than high-bred ones ; but they are very apt to exceed
i81b. and even 2olb. weight, and soon get fat if not worked
frequently. From this common breed originates the well and
high-bred dog, which may at any time be produced again from it
by careful selection and inbreeding without any cross. The well
and high-bred dog is smaller in size, finer in bone, more elegantly
built, and seldom exceeds i61b. to i/lb. weight; the thin, slight
tapering tail is only of medium length ; the hair is very short,
glossy like silk, but not soft ; the under part of the body is very
thin haired, rendering these nervous and high spirited dogs rather
sensitive to wet ground and rain. These two breeds are seldom
met with in their purity, the vast majority of dachshunds in
Germany ranging between the two, and differing in shape very
much, as they are more or less well-bred or neglected. In this
third large group we still meet with many good and useful dogs,
but also all those aberrant forms, with pig snouts and short under
jaws, apple-headed skulls, deep set or staring eyes, short necks,
wheel backs, ring tails, fore-legs joining at the knees, and long
hind legs bent too much in the stifles and hocks.

M M 2

532 Modern Dogs.

That we have not the latter in this country can
with truth be stated, and I think the majority of the
best dogs with us now will quite equal the standard
of the best as laid down by Germany's great
authority.

So far as my judgment goes, English breeders
like Mr. W. Arkwright, Mr. M. Wootten, Mr. A. W.
Byron, Mr. H. Jones, Mr. A. O. Mudie, Mr. H. A.
Walker, Captain and Mrs. Barry, and others, have
produced dachshunds quite equal to any that have
appeared of late years at the leading Continental
exhibitions, although, naturally, more specimens are
bred there than with us.

I have been favoured with the following critical
summary and history of most of the best dogs that
have appeared in the show ring in this country, and,
being compiled by one of our most earnest admirers
of the breed, Mr. Harry Jones, no further guarantee
of its value need be given. He says :

The first dachshunds that are recorded 'as winning prizes in
England were Mr. H. Corbet's Carl and Grete ; when at Birming-
ham in 1866, they were each awarded a prize in the " Extra class
for any known breed of sporting dogs." And in these " extra "
classes, all dachshunds had to compete until the show held at the
Crystal Palace in June, 1873, when, for the first time, a class was
given for the breed, and the winners on this occasion were Mr..
Hodge's Erdmann, ist; Rev. G. F. Lovell's Satan, 2nd ; and Hon.
Gerald Lascelles' Schnaps, 3rd; but from 1866 to 1873, dachs-
hunds, whenever exhibited, were invariably winners in these

The Dachshund. 533

" extra '' classes, the chief winners being Mr. Fisher's Feldmann,
Mr. Seton's Dachs, Rev. G. F. Lovell's Satan and Mouse, and the
Karl of Onslow's Waldmann. Birmingham gave a separate class in

1873, tne winners being Mr. Fisher's Feldmann ist, and the Hon.
Gerald Lascelles' Schnaps 2nd ; this was a good class of fifteen
entries, and they were judged by the late Mr. Lort.

At the Kennel Club Show, held at the Crystal Palace in June,

1874, two classes were given, " Red " and " Other than red," and
separate divisions were given during the year at Pomona Gardens,
Manchester, at Nottingham, and at Belle Vue Gardens, Man-
chester ; whilst at Birmingham two classes were given, " Red " and
"other than Red," when Mr. Bass's Slap was ist, and Rev. G. F.
Lovell's Mouse 2nd in reds, and Mr. Hodge's Erdmann ist, and
Hon. Miss E. Strutt's Thekla 2nd in the other than red class.

At the Kennel Club Show at the Crystal Palace in June, 1875,
Prince Albert Solms judged the dachshunds and the classes were
divided into " Black and tan " and " Other than black and tan,"
and there were thirty entries in the two. In the first named
class H.R.H. the Prince of Wales won first with Deurstich, a dog
five years old, bred at Sandringham, and the dam of Marguerite,
the second prize winner, was bred by Her Majesty the Queen. In
the second class, the Duke of Hamilton won with Badger, a nice
red puppy eleven months old, bred by himself, and the Rev. G. F.
Lovell was second with Pixie, a red bitch imported from Hanover.
Pixie was very houndy in head, compared with the dachshunds
then being shown, was smaller in size, with a beautiful arched
loin. At Nottingham Mr. Hutton's Festus won first and also first
at Birmingham, when he beat Slap, the 1874 winner. Festus won
a large number of prizes, he was a very good bodied dog, but was
short in ear.

In 1876, more dachshunds were exhibited with the decidedly
pronounced hound type of head than had been previously shown ;
these included Xaverl, a most beautiful stamp of dachshund, full of
quality, particularly good in loin, imported from the Royal
Kennels, near Stuttgart. Most of our best dachshunds go back

534 Modern Dogs.

to Xaverl, and many of them are in-bred to him. Xaverl first
appeared at the Kennel Club Show at the Crystal Palace in June,
when he was placed second, Pixie being first ; but this decision
was reversed at Brighton. Zieten came out with Xaverl, and was
awarded an extra prize, he was said to be the sire of Xaverl, though
they were quite different in type ; and most of Zieten's stock born
in England had his square, lippy type of head, short cloddy body,
with immense bone ; whereas Xaverl was a most graceful dogT
with beautiful neck and shoulders, magnificent loin, but light in
bone.

At Maidstone, Dina came out and was awarded an extra first,
she had a lovely head, narrow and straight, with a beautiful skull,
good skin and bone, but moved badly behind. Fritz also came
out at Maidstone, he had particularly long ears, was rather large,
but plain in head, he was not so low, nor with so much bone as
Dina. At Darlington Festus beat Xaverl, and again at Birming-
ham, but the judging of dachshunds at this time was very
inconsistent.

At Brighton, in October, Dessauer, Chenda, Linda, and
Schlupferle were new faces. Dessauer won first in black and tan
dogs, and five prizes were awarded in black and tan bitches, viz.,
Marguerite ist, Chenda 2nd, Linda 3rd, Dina 4th, and Frou Frou
5th. In the other than black and tan, Xaverl ist, Pixie 2nd,
Schlupferle 3rd, and Gisella 4th ; the latter was a very small bitch,
light in bone and toyish in head. Dessauer had a long punishing
terrier-like head, was too large, but very sound ; Chenda was
houndy, but, like her dam Waldine, lacking in quality ; Linda was
still larger, with a particularly long head, but flat in skull ;
Schlupferle was a large red bitch, with a good head, but wanting in
length of ear, and short of quality. At Birmingham, 1876, Major
Cooper's Waldmann, bred by Count Minister, came out, and only
obtained h.c., but in the following year, 1877, he won first each
time shown, viz., at the Kennel Club Shows at the Agricultural
Hall and Alexandra Palace, and at Birmingham, whilst at the
Alexandra Palace the following year, when shown in excellent

The Dachshund. 535

condition, lie did not obtain even a card, such was the in-and-out
judging of dachshunds about this time.

In 1877 the dachshund classes at the Kennel Club shows were
divided by weight as well as by colour, and few fresh faces
appeared in the prize lists. In the class for " over 2olb." Olga, a
nice red bitch, was first .at the Agricultural Hall, with Dina
second. Olga had won first at Bath the month previous : she
was a houndy bitch, too large, and not sound in front. Her
blood is to be found in a very large number of our best
dachshunds, chiefly through Wag, her son by Bodo ; she also
to Fritz bred that good bitch Flink. In 1878 another change was
made in the division of the classes at the Kennel Club shows, this
time by colour and height. A large number of dachshunds came
out in 1878 that are to be found in the pedigrees of most of
the dachshunds of the present day, and others only distinguished
themselves on the show bench. These include Mrs. Hoare's Faust,
Mr. Arkwright's Hans, Otto, and Senta, Mr. Hutton's Haufmann,
Mr. C. Goas's Teck, Captain Shaw's Von, Mr. Woollen's Zigzag
and Zanah, and Mr. Byron's Beckah — these were all bred in
England, except Haufmann and Teck. Faust came out a seven
months old puppy at the Kennel Club winter show, when he was
second to his sire Dessauer. Faust won a large number of prizes,
and his stock, more especially from Zulette, were very successful
on the show bench. Hans became famous chiefly through his
daughter Hagar from Linda, although he sired several nice
dachshunds from other bitches. Mr. E. Hutton's Haufmann
was a good coloured black and tan, another son of Dessauer,
but better in head ; though too large, he was a celebrated prize
winner. He came out in a dachshund class at Blaydon-on-
Tyne, when he was placed equal with Xaverl, and at Birmingham
he commenced the somewhat extraordinary performance of
winning first for six consecutive years, viz., 1878 to 1883; still,
very few of the present prize winners go back to him in their
pedigree. Otto came out as a ten months old puppy, and won
at the Kennel Club show at the Crystal Palace, beating his sire

536 Modern Dogs.

Xaverl ; he was a nice red puppy, but he lacked the quality of
Xaverl, who turning the tables, beat him the same year at
Bristol, at the Kennel Club show, and at the Alexandra Palace.
At this show Zigzag and Senta made their first appearance, the
former only getting third, but as he was but eight months' old,
he had not let down and furnished, so appeared high on the leg ;
still, the awards were very inconsistent as regards any type :
Xaverl, first ; Von, second ; Zigzag, third ; Otto, v.h.c. ; Von
Jostik (Zieten), v.h.c., and Teck, h.c. ; the latter had won first the
previous week at Birmingham. Von was much of the same type
as his sire Zieten, cloddy in body, and lacking the beautiful
outline of Xaverl.

Then Senta caused a flutter among dachshund breeders ; she
had no difficulty in winning first in her class ; her skull and ears
were wonderful, and her skin and bone extraordinary, but she
lacked the grand outline of body of her sire Xaverl ; it was a great
loss to the breed that she was never bred from ; Zanah, her litter
sister, not at all good in head, became famous as the dam of a
large number of winners. In 1879 champion classes were
established, and Xaverl was the first winner at the Kennel Club
show at the Alexandra Palace in July, 1879, beating Dessauer, old
Erdmann arriving too late to compete; but his presence would
have made no difference in the awards. At this show Otto was
exhibited by Mr. Mudie, when he only obtained v.h.c. ; he should
have made a valuable stud dog ; his sister Erdine bred a good
dog in Mr. Parrot's Zanker, and also Mr. Southwell's Hannah.

Olympia, a puppy by Otto, came out in the puppy class in this
year ; she was scarcely six months old, and won first, the writer's
Blitz being second ; Olympia was simply immense, much too
large, coarse in head, but with wonderful ears, skin, and bone ;
whereas Blitz was very small, with a lot of quality, and excellent
loin. The awards at the Kennel Club show, held at Brighton, in
November, upset all previous opinions of dachshund type, when
Olympia was placed over Xaverl and Zigzag, the latter being
again beaten by Zanker at Birmingham. The new faces in 1880

The Dachshund. 537

included Rev. G. F. Lovell's El Zingaro and Segesta, Mr.
Byron's Jonah, Alma, and Hilda, Mr. Arkwright's Ozone and
Octavia, Mr. Mudie's Flink, the writer's Jager and Jezebel, and
last, but by no means least in importance, Mr. Mudie's Thusnelda.
Mr. Lovell's puppies were not sent to the Kennel Club show at
the Crystal Palace, but came out at Stratford-on-Avon in October,
where El Zingaro was second to the writer's Jager, and in the
bitch class Segesta was second to Octavia — a nice red bitch with
capital loin, but not quite sound ; she was first exhibited by her
breeder, Mr. Byron, at Chesterfield, when she obtained only v.h.c. ;
but she followed up her Stratford victory by winning for Mr.
Arkwright first Bristol and first Alexandra Palace. Jonah and
Alma came out at Chesterfield; the latter, a litter sister to Olympia,
was spoiled by her bad carriage of ears.

Hilda, Flink, and Thusnelda all made a first appearance at the
Kennel Club show at the Crystal Palace in June, the former,
a sister to Jonah and Octavia, won in the puppy class. She had a
beautiful type of head and ears, good loin, but had four white feet
and a good sized patch of white on her throat and chest. Flink
won first in red bitches, a good bitch with a coarse stern, like
her sire, Fritz. The black and tan bitch class at this show
was described by Mr. Arkwright, who judged them, as " a magni-
ficent class ; " and it is a question whether five black and tan
bitches so good as Chenda, Beckah, Alma, Dina, and Thusnelda
have ever competed together. Beckah came out at Oxford
in June, 1878, when she was equal second with Zillah to Major
Cooper's Waldmann. She had the much coveted arched loin.
Thusnelda was considered by some breeders as being small
and light in bone, but she was credited with having won first
Hanover, first Munich, first Elms, and first Ulm. She was small
by comparison with the others in the class, but dachshunds were
undoubtedly being bred too large at this time, and an outcross of
a small size of the hound type was very much required, and
Thusnelda proved to be the very thing. By the end of the year
she had gone from Mr. Mudie's kennel to Mr. Arkwright's, and

538 Modern Dogs.

the following spring she was put to Ozone, and bred the famous
litter consisting of Maximus, Superbus, and Mignonne, from
which so many of our very best dachshunds are descended.

Jezebel, a small Zigzag-Zanah bitch, with an excellent loin,
capital body, but failing in head, came out and won first at
Manchester when seven months old. She bred to Maximus,
Joan of Arc, Joubert, Jocelyn, Brownie, &c., all of which have
bred winners. At Birmingham Mr. Wootten brought out Zadkiel,
litter brother to Jezebel, but neither Zadkiel nor his sire Zigzag
obtained even a card.

This inconsistent judging helped in some manner to bring
about the formation of the Dachshund Club. On the day
previous to the Kennel Club show at the Alexandra Palace in
January, 1881, a meeting was held and the club formed, those
present at the meeting being Mr. Arkwright, Rev. G. F. Lovell,
Mr. Wootten, and the writer.

At the Kennel Club show Mr. Arkwright brought out Ozone,
then seven months old, by Zigzag out of Zaidee (litter sister
to Senta and Zanoh). Ozone was not entered in the open class, in
which Mr. Wootten's Zadkiel won, but in a good puppy class of
fifteen entries. Ozone was first and Zadkiel second, Zulette was
h.c., and Jezebel c. In the competition for the cup for the best
dachshund in the show, in which the following competed — Zigzag,
Mr. Baker's Handsel, Alma, Octavia, and Ozone, the latter won.

During the various shows of 1881 a number of good dachshunds
came out. At the Kennel Club show, at the Crystal Palace, Jude
(litter brother to the famous Hagar) won first in the open class
and second in puppies (a large class of twenty-five) to Hannah, a
puppy of Mr. Southwell's, by Hans — Erdine (sister to Otto).
Hannah had a good loin and nice type of head, but was deficient
in bone. Jude, although possessing excellent type of head, with
capital skin and bone, was too large and deficient in quality. At
this show Ozone beat Senta for the cup for the best dachshund in
the show.

Hagar came out at Chesterfield, bred by Mr. Byron and

The Dachshund. 539

exhibited by Mr. Wootten. She won first in the bitch class, and
afterwards beat the writer's Jude for the special. Hagar was
certainly a very beautiful dachshund, excellent in type of head,
with capital skin and bone. She was on the big side, and not
quite perfection in loin and stern. She has become celebrated
in pedigree chiefly through her son Charkow and her daughter
Rachel, that was bred to Graf III. Hagar carried all before her.
At the Kennel Club show at the Alexandra Palace she beat
Zigzag and Ozone for the best dachshund in the show. Mr.
Benson's Rosa (litter sister to Hagar) first appeared at this show,
when she was placed second to Olympia. Rosa had a nice clean,
long head, with a capital jaw, good body, but carried her stern
badly. The writer's Julian and Juliet, by Hans ex Dina, were
prize winners here. In fact, no less than three first prizes, four
second prizes, the medal, and the cup were won by dachshunds at
this show that had Hans for their sire. And Hans was also
exhibited, but he only obtained v.h.c. He was not exactly a
show dog, but he proved himself a valuable stud dog. Juliet
was nearly black with white fore feet, but she was houndy in type,
had an excellent skull, with nicely set and low carriage of ears.
At Birmingham, Mrs. Price's Neva (a sister to Wag) won in class
for red bitches. She was long, with strong loin, and a very
good type of head.

'In 1882 the division of the classes by colour was abolished
at Kennel Club shows. At the Alexandra Palace, in June,
Mr. Arkwright brought out the famous litter — Maximus, Superbus,
and Mignonne. Ozone, now shown by Mr. Walker, won in
the champion class, beating Zanker and Faust. Maximus and
Superbus were first and second in the dog class, and Mignonne ist,
and Zulette (now shown by Mrs. Hoare) 2nd, in the bitch class.

The cup for the best dachshund in the show was awarded
to Mignonne. Of the brothers Maximus and Superbus — the former
had more quality, was better in skull and loin, while Superbus
had the better ears and more bone, and these qualities each dog
seemed to transmit to his stock. Soon after this show Superbus

540 Modern Dogs.

went to Mr. Hoare's kennel, and, after the Kennel Club show, in
January, 1883, Maximus went to Mr. Walker's kennel.

Grafin II. came out at Sheffield, and won in the puppy class,
and afterwards many other prizes. She had a nice type of
head, her ears were set on well, but were short ; she was remark-
ably low, but her feet were long. The writer's Juventa, a long
red bitch of the right type and a rare bred one by Zigzag
ex Rubina, was second in the bitch puppy class. Mr. South-
well's Seidel, a puppy by Malt ex Erdine, was ist, this was a nice
quality bitch, but her ears were set on rather high and she
was light in bone. Mr. Litt brought out Olympian in the puppy
class at Cirencester, when he won ist. He afterwards went
to Birmingham, where he was only commended ; but at the
Kennel Club, the following month, he won ist, Superbus only
getting 3rd, being beaten by Faust III., a capital son of Faust
and Zulette — capital body, legs and feet, but short in ears. Mr.
Wootten brought out a puppy in Zeyn, by Zigzag ex Hagar — very
good type with powerful loin, but not nice in colour. He won first
in the puppy class and in the produce stakes. At the Kennel
Club show in July, 1883, Mr. Arkwright's Lady made her debut,
and won first in the puppy class, the club sweepstakes, and the
silver medal. She had a grand head, ears well carried and long,
good body, excellent bone ; her elbows were not quite right.
Another good bitch that came out at this show was Mr. Byron's
Sylvia, by Wag ex Beckah— very good head but light in body and
bone.

Mrs. Hoare at this time had a strong team, including Superbus,
Carlowitz, Vandunck, Grafin II., Gretel IV., Rapunzel, Zither, and
Zulette. Zither was most successful in the puppy classes. She
was a very good dachshund, rather large, and wanting in loin.
There was an excellent lot of dachshunds at the Kennel Club
show in January, 1884. The four best dogs then going were
in the challenge class, viz., Superbus, Maximus, Ozone, and
Olympian, the latter won. He had a very good head and ears,
but was beaten in body, legs, feet, and stern by each of the

The Dachshund. 541

others. It was generally considered Maximus should have won.
Mrs. Hoare brought out a chocolate coloured puppy in Drachen,
bred by Mr. Wootten by Zigzag ex Hagar, a subsequent litter
to Zeyn, when he won third open class, second puppy class,
and third in the produce stakes. In the open bitch class some
astonishment was caused when Mr. Askwith's Shotover was placed
ist and Mr. Hazlewood's Schlank 2nd, when such good dachs-
hunds as Mr. Wootten's Zulima, Mrs. Hoare's Rapunzel, and
Zither, and Lady (now owned by Mr. Knight Bruce) were in the
class. Wiggle came out at this show, but was only h.c. She
was a nice type of dachshund, but weakish in loin.

Warwick show was now becoming popular, and the dachshunds
benched there in 1884 were a particularly good lot. Mr. Walker's
entry at that show consisted of Ozone, Maximus, Hagar, Culoz (an
imported dog), Zulima, and Zinnia — a team that could not at that
time be beaten by any kennel. Culoz was only a fair dachshund,,
he being short in body and not typical in head. Mrs. P. Merrik
Hoare had also a strong kennel of dachshunds at this time. The
puppies by Faust ex Zulette were most successful on the bench,
although several of them were not good in colour. Wagtail,
exhibited by the writer, came out at Tunbridge Wells, when
he won ist. She was sister to Lady (subsequent litter) but much
smaller, with a beautiful head, and ears set on very low. Wagtail
distinguished herself by winning the prix d'honneur for the
best dachshund of all classes two years — viz., 1885 and 1886 — at
the show of the Royal St. Hubert Society at Brussels ; and still
further distinguished herself by breeding the celebrated Jackdaw,
who has generally been considered the most typical and best all-
round dachshund we have had.

At the Kennel Club show at the Crystal Palace, in January,
1885, a very good lot of young dachshunds came out; these
included Mr. Ingram's Sphinx and Isis, Mrs. P. M. Hoare's
Kirsch, Edelweiss, and Graf III., the writer's Joubert and Joan of
Arc. Joubert had previously won first at Cheltenham. The dog
puppy class had twenty-seven entries, and the bitch class twenty-

542 Modern Dogs.

six, with fourteen entries in the third produce stakes ; the winners
in the stakes being Joan of Arc, ist; Edelweiss, 2nd ; Sphinx, 3rd ;
and Mr. Walker's Carlyle, 4th ; Graff III. was remarkable for his
beautiful skull and set on of ear, and these points he transmitted
to his progeny to a great extent, notably to Stylograph and Jack
o'Dandy. Joubert was a small dog, with very nice outline, deep
chest, good loin, but was not particularly houndy in head. Joan
of Arc much better in head, with a lot of quality, remarkable loin
and chest ; she continued to improve with age, and before the end
of the year had worked her way up, and beaten her sire Maximus
in the challenge class. Gil Bias came out at Warwick, but he
showed himself badly in the ring ; he was v.h.c. in the open class,
and third in the puppy class. This dog let down and furnished
well, and grew into a beautiful dachshund in body, legs, and feet,
but was always a little faulty in head.

Mr. Arkwright brought out Belgian Waldmann at the summer
show at the Crystal Palace ; this dog had been very successful at
the Continental shows before Mr. Arkwright purchased him from
M. J. Gihoul, after having won ist Vienna; ist Spa, special prize
at Aix-la-Chapelle, ist and special Ostende, ist and special
Antwerp, and ist Paris ; he did not do much winning in England,
but sired some good specimens, Belgian Herr being left to
continue his line in future pedigrees.

The oddly-named sisters Decimus and Septimus were brought
out by Mr. H. S. Dean at this show ; the former was coarse in
head, but Septimus, afterwards named Guinevere by Mr. Blackett,
although not quite typical in head, had a beautiful body, with
excellent loin and a nice size. In the puppy class she was placed
second to Griselda, one of Mrs. Hoare's Faust — Zulette puppies,
with wonderful head and ears, good skin and bone, but flat
in loin; she eventually grew too big, and became unsound.
Rubenstein was successful on the show bench, especially in
the puppy classes, but he always looked like growing too big and
becoming wide in skull. At Birmingham Mr. Ingram showed
Indiana, a very good black and tan puppy, capital body, but a

The Dachshund. 543

little short in ear, and in the same class Mr. Vale's Cerise II. was
first shown, then a puppy under ten months, and a very smart
dachshund she was, with good length of head, excellent body and
loin ; she appeared a little short in ear and light in bone. Winks
did some winning for Mr. Arkwright during the year; she was
very typical, a good deal after the style of Wagtail, but not quite
so long and low.

At the Kennel Club, Crystal Palace, February, 1886, Mr. Walker
showed Charkow and Cusack, two houndy-headed puppies ;
they carried all before them in the open and puppy classes, and
were first and second in the fourth produce stakes ; these puppies
were inclined to be large, but with excellent skin and bone, but
failed in depth of chest and in the arched loin ; another brother
(Cardinal York) was introduced later, and was successful on the
show bench ; he was smaller and more compact.

At Warwick Mr. Arkwright won first, puppy class, and second,
novice class, with Stylograph, by Graff III. ex Wiggle; this grand
headed bitch had been previously shown at Hanley, when she
was second to Indiana; she had a beautiful skull and set on of
ear, but was spoilt by a high carriage of stern. In May the
Dachshund Club and Basset-hound Club held a joint show
at the Aquarium; there was a good show of dachshunds — 126
entries. At this show the writer's Joubert, after being second to
Maximus in the challenge class, beating Superbus, and first in the
reserve, came home with a Cold, and died within a week. Mr.
Wootten had some large classes to judge, but most of the
winners had been seen before. Mr. Byron brought out Eve, a
nice red bitch ; she won second in the puppy class, and was
claimed by the writer, and winning five first prizes right away,
when she caught distemper and died.

Belgian Waldmann's stock were brought out towards the end of
the year. At Ipswich Brussels Sprout won first in the puppy
class; she was a chocolate and tan, long in head, but a little
high on the leg. At Birmingham Mr. Arkwright won first and
medal with Belgian Herr, and Mr. Byron second, with Rufus, the

544 Modem Dogs.

latter being particularly smart, and of great promise, but unfortu-
nately he died soon afterwards. Mr. Marshall did some winning
during the year with Zenica, a smart young bitch with excellent
body and loin. Jackdaw came out at Chelmsford in 1887, and
quickly got to the very top of the tree, for at the Kennel Club
Show at Barn Elms he won first open, first puppy, the fifth
Produce Stakes, and afterwards beat the champion class winners
Maximus and Lady for the Fifty Guinea Challenge Cup, and
before the end of the year had won the title of " champion." Mr.
Blackett brought out Jupiter at this show, and won second ; he
was a nice little dog, a great deal like his sire Joubert, with
plenty of quality, grand loin, but just a little light in bone. Mrs.
Hoare's Sieger was a particularly nice puppy, beautiful in skull
and ears, but deficient in loin. He was successful in puppy
classes. Jacobin, litter brother to Jackdaw, third at Hull and
Birmingham for Mr. Mudie, has since won many prizes and done
good service at the stud. Jocelyn, a good-headed red, with
excellent loin, swept the boards at Ryde and Trowbridge ; he is
full brother of Joan of Arc, but not so correct in size.

Junker II., bred by Mrs. Hoare, and afterwards shown by Mr.
Marshall, was a nice little dog, with excellent ears, and did a lot
of winning. Herfrida, a very small black and tan, won a number
of prizes for Mr. Mudie ; she had a good body, the best of legs
and feet, but became plain in head, which was never quite long
enough. Mr. de Courcy Peele brought two nice black and tan
bitches, Phryne III., and Phyllis IV., both good dachshunds ;
long in head, good skin and bone, and very sound, but a little
short in ear; the former has bred several winners. Scarsdale
Jungfrau, by Joubert ex Lady, was an excellent dachshund, of
nice quality and type ; she was 3rd at the Kennel Club Show to
Guinevere and Wagtail, and won first the following year ; there
were few better bitches, if any, than Scarsdale Jungfrau at this
tirrie, and she ran Lady close for the cup.

Among the best dachshunds that came out in 1888 must be
counted Mr. Arkwright's Julius, a dog probably wanting in size

The Dachshund. 545

and bone, but with beautiful quality and type ; he was successful
at Warwick, and at the Kennel Club Show, at Barn Elms.
Pterodactyl came out at Birmingham, when he was placed third,
he was then ten months old and not in very good condition, but
was a sound active puppy, long in head, good in loin and
stern ; this dog very much improved as he grew older, and furnished
into one of the best of his time, winning the fifty guinea cup at
Birmingham and Kennel Club Shows, and also won first prize
at Spa, in 1891. Tinker, afterwards named Jack o' Dandy, came
out at Liverpool and won first puppy class, and also the medal, a
son of Graf III. and Rachel (litter sister to Charkow) ; his breed-
ing was of the best, he had the beautiful skull of his sire, and is a
great success at the stud. Mr. Ravenor's Windrush Rioter won
at Birmingham, he had previously won at two local shows, and was
an excellent type of dachshund, capital legs, feet, and body, but
just a little heavy in head, which, however, did not improve with
age. I have always understood that a sister to this dog, named
Windrush Waldine, was an exceptionally good bitch, but she
got hanged on the bench at a local show.

Mr. Byron brought out Duckmanton Harebell at the Kennel
Club Show, Agricultural Hall, when she won first open, first
novice, and sixth produce stakes, also a medal ; she had a
beautiful type of head, long and clean. The writer's Jealousy
and Jess Croft were both successful on the bench, the former
•excellent in head, with good skin and bone and sound, but carried
her tail too gaily; the latter was a smaller bitch with a lot of
quality — her litter brother Jingle, never exhibited on account of an
injury, was a most successful stud dog, and had one of the best
heads since Senta's time. Mr. Vale's Melnotte II. and Venus II.
did a lot of winning, and were two nice dachshunds.

Red Rose, bred by Rev. G. F. Lovell, came out at the People's
Palace, she was a lengthy red bitch with nice quality. Scarsdale
Julia was a small black and tan, inclined to be short in head.
Stephanie won a number of prizes for Mr. Mudie ; she was an
-excellent type of dachshund but not sound. Several new faces

[VOL. i.] N N

546 Modern Dogs.

appeared in 1889, but no particular dachshund of note, although
some distinguished themselves as prize winners, these included
Mr. Walker's Cito, Mr. Byron's Black Jack, Dr. Goullet's Jack
Straw, the writer's Jay, Jam, and Jenny Wren, Mr. Arkwright's
Switchback, Mr. N. D. Smith's vSnapdragon, Solome, and Sheba,
Mr. Mudie's Wolferl and Amsel, Captain Barry's Greta II., and
Mr. Cliffs Cawcawana.

Some excellent dachshunds were introduced during 1890, andr
as several of these are now being exhibited, I will simply refer to
their performances on the bench — Mr. Byron's Duckmanton
Winkle, Mr. Vale's John o' Groat and Minimus II., Rev. G. F.
Lovell's Chimes, and the writer's Janet, all being by Jingle ; of
these. Janet was the most successful, as she obtained the reserve
to Jackdaw twice for the fifty guinea cup. A grand type of
dachshund she was, she went to America in pup to Pterodactyl.
Duckmanton Winkle should prove a valuable stud dog, he is the
right size, of nice quality, and his breeding is of the best. The
brothers John o' Groat and Minimus II., both excellent in head
and ears, are somewhat deficient in chest and loin. Mr. Walker
brought out Carl Rosa, and Mrs. Barry Jack Twopence and Reena,
all of which did well on the bench, and are frequently now seen
high up in the prize lists.

Some good puppies were introduced in 1891 ; several have
been lost by distemper after brief show careers, these include
Mr. Ravenor's Windrush Troubadour and Windrush Countess,
and Mr. Woodiwiss's Keil, which were all very promising young
dachshunds. Jack Boot, a brother to Keil, was a particularly
smart young dog when shown in the novice class at the Kennel
Club Show ; and Mr. Mudie brought out a very good couple in
Thorolf and Thorgerda. Mr. J. W. Taylor exhibited a black and
tan bitch of excellent type in Hypatia, but she was too large.

The above contribution gives a complete history
of the dachshund and the leading kennels- in this
country during the past twenty-five years.

The Dachshund. 547

Mr. Jones believes our modern dachshunds are
far more typical than they have ever been, and with
this opinion I thoroughly coincide. There may
be cases in which legs, feet, chest, and loin have
been neglected in trying to produce beautiful heads,
but this has not been carried out to any great extent.
The best dachshunds of to-day are particularly
sound, have excellent chest and loins, and, con-
sidering their short legs and long bodies, get over
the ground at almost an extraordinary rate.

Although, as I have previously stated, the dachs-
hund is usually kept in this country as a com-
panion and for show purposes, he is quite capable
as a sporting dog. Personally, I have never seen
one of the little hounds at work, so for information
as to their abilities in this respect I cannot speak
of my own knowledge. Again Mr. Jones kindly
acceded to my wishes and furnishes the following
very interesting account of three or four days
badger hunting with dachshunds of his own. That
they acquitted themselves with credit no one will
deny, and at any rate performed their duties quite
as well (perhaps better) as our terriers would have
done under similar circumstances.

" I had some excellent sport with dachshunds in
the spring of 1878. I arranged to pay three visits
to friends, all of whom promised to introduce me to

N N 2

548 Modern Dogs.

some badgers in their wild state. I started for
Gloucestershire with two couples of dachshunds,
each about three years old and well used to going
to ground. The first time we went out was on
the Wednesday before the Good Friday. It was
full moon, and the night was very bright and still.
In addition to the four dachshunds my friends
ran four terriers. The earthstopper had gone on
before and stopped all the main earths, and re-
mained by them until we came. We did not net
any of the places, our object being to run a badger
to ground in a small earth and dig him out.

" From 2 a.m. to 5 p.m. the little pack hunted
well, and were very merry sometimes ; but it was the
thickest underwood I was ever in. When you left a
ride you were lost amid the tangle of brambles.
A badger was viewed once, and had a sharp tussle
with one of the terriers. The dachshunds kept well
together, and on one occasion hunted out in the
open for a long way, but I think they were then on
the line of a fox. However, at about 5 a.m. it
was found that one of the main earths had been
unstopped, and two of the terriers could be heard
hard at it in different places. Being well supplied
with digging appliances we commenced operations,
and about 10 a.m. had dug to one of the terriers,
which we found terribly torn and bitten. After

The Dachshund. 549

getting the terrier out, a dachshund was put
in, and we soon saw him backing slowly out,
and, to our astonishment, he brought with him a
young badger, not quite half grown, dead and
nearly cold. This the terrier must have killed early
in the morning.

1 The dachshund was sent to ground again, and
he was soon heard baying close to where we had
heard the other terrier, but his voice was so loud we
could tell exactly where he was.

'' Then, by about twelve o'clock, we had dug to
the second terrier, and he was more injured than the
first, so they were both sent home.

" The badger now seemed to shift his quarters,
for, on putting a second dachshund in, we heard
both dogs baying quite close together in a different
place, and, after the quietness of the terriers, the loud
baying of the dachshunds seemed to encourage the
men in their digging, for there was no doubt as
to the whereabouts of the dogs. About 3 p.m.
we dug down to them, and soon bagged a very
fine badger.

" Knowing, however, that there was more than
one badger in, for the terriers had been working
at different places, the four dachshunds were all
sent underground together. They could not find
the other badger, but one of them brought out

55° Modern Dogs.

another half grown one that had been killed by
the terriers.

" I left that night (Thursday) for Monmouthshire,
and after midnight on Good Friday we started
off with the four little hounds and a couple of
rough haired terriers for some very large woods,
but with good rides in them. All the earths were
well attended to with faggot bundles, the last of
them was being stopped when we arrived. The night
was cloudy and occasionally quite dark, but the dogs
hunted very well, and were close on to a badger
several times, but failed to mark one to ground.
About 6 a.m. the dachshunds (both terriers had
been badly bitten in the wood, and were sent
to the inn) took a line towards the river Usk.
This line they hunted very prettily for a long
way, when two of them went to ground by the
riverside in an earth about six feet below the top
of the bank, and in a moment they were baying in a
way that left no doubt they were at something.
I was half afraid it might be a fox, but some
hairs picked off the sides and top of the entrance
proved it was used by badgers ; and the unmis-
takable imprint of the badger's nails, quite fresh,
close to the entrance, settled the question.

" Before commencing digging, the men expressed
a great wish to send to the village for a noted

The Dachshund. 551

terrier that was there; but this we would not permit,
and they did not hesitate to say they had no confi-
dence in a dachshund at a ( dig out,' but how they
had reason to change their opinions will be told
later on.

"The earth ran nearly straight under the field,
not more than some five or six feet deep, and the
loud voices of the dachshunds could very plainly be
heard baiting their game. We cut a trench right
across what we thought would be about the end of
the earth, leaving plenty of room to work ; but just
as we broke into the earth the badger went 10 or
12 feet further underground, the dogs following him
close up. Thus there was nothing for it but to dig
another trench, having first securely stopped the
earth towards the river. This second trench cut
right into the end of the earth, and but for the spade
touching the badger we should have bagged him
then, but he went forward facing the dogs, and
remained about half way between the two trenches.

(i I then put the other two dogs in from the end
of the earth, and at it they went, and whichever way
the badger faced he was attacked in the rear.

" He showed himself several times at the mouth
of the hole, but we missed him with the tongs. At
last he made a bolt in a hurry, and over went the
man with the tongs, who was then on his knees,

552 Modem Dogs.

looking down the hole, and, jumping up the corner
of the trench, the badger made for the river bank.

" A shepherd had come to look on, and, having
his sheepdog with him, the latter immediately gave
chase, catching the badger up just as he reached
the edge of the bank. The badger landed beauti-
fully on the narrow ledge upon which the earth
opened, but the poor sheepdog went right over the
bank, down to the bed of the river, a fall of nearly
twenty feet. The dachshunds were helped out
of the trench, everyone ran and halloaed, and there
was great excitement. The badger turned up a dry
ditch full of brambles, and, by the combined aid of
the dachshunds and the sheepdog, was ultimately
bagged.

" On the Monday I was driven about fourteen
miles for a third hunt, as my friend had seen a
badger quite recently in the wood, and had made all
arrangements for stopping the earths. I took the
recently caught badger with me, as it was wanted
to turn down, and the one we had bagged on the
Thursday was of the wrong sex. The moon was
late in rising, so we did not leave the house until
2.30 a.m. on Tuesday. The earth-stopper had all
the main earths stopped, and a fire burning in front,
by which he had made himself comfortable.

" This night we had only the four dachshunds ;

The Dachshund. 553

they did a lot of hunting, several times running well,
and giving plenty of music. They worked round the
big wood twice, and when near the middle two
badgers were seen quite close together, one following
the other, and not far behind was old Waldmann,
throwing his tongue freely on their line. My friend
gave a view holloa that could be heard all up the
hillside, and soon afterwards these two badgers were
run to ground in a small earth. Waldmann got in
before he could be taken up, and 1 could not get
him out. I had particularly wanted to run a red
bitch that had not done much work.

" We again dug a trench right across the line of
the earth beyond where we judged the badgers to
lie. To prevent them making a bolt we stopped
the earth behind the dog with a large stone, leaving
only a small hole to admit the air. We dug right
on to the nose of one badger, which itself was digging
as hard as it could, and had nearly buried himself,
still we got it. Then we cleared the earth out,
and in trying to get hold of the second with the
tongs caused it to make a drive at poor old
Waldmann, who was blocked in with the stone.
The dog received an ugly bite, but we soon had
our second badger in- the sack.

11 I returned that night with only one damaged
dog, and three very successful ' dig-outs.'

554 Modern Dogs.

" When we went to the stables for the dogs and
Saturday's badger, and had not very much time
for the train, we discovered our badger had got
out of the box, and was not to be found. A cast
round with the dogs and they marked him up the
chimney in the harness room ; he had reached a
ledge in the flue, and get him down we could not, so
had to leave him. He was ultimately taken and
sent on, and I believe helped to make several good
earths that are now used by foxes.

" The following moon I took the same four
dachshunds into Warwickshire, where I had often
been with my terriers on former occasions ; but this
was the first introduction of the dachshunds. We
tried to run a badger into the nets, but were not
successful, though the dachshunds found one in the
meadows, and had some capital hunting before they
lost him. There were a lot of rabbits about here,
and I rather think they caused our hounds to run
riot a little.

" After breakfast we had a walk round all the
likely places where the badgers might have gone,
taking a hardy-looking terrier with us, one, however,
too big to get to ground. About 10 a.m. the dachs-
hunds marked a badger in a nice little earth, and,
before lunch, we had him in a sack ; one man was
bitten in the thumb by the badger, and our host was

The Dachshund. 555

bitten in the leg by a dachshund. In the excitement
of ' bagging ' he picked one of the dachshunds up
by the tail, flinging him under his arm, and was
stooping down and picking up another, when No. i
pinned him in the calf of the leg. Needless to say
he dropped the two dogs.

" The biting for that day was not yet over, for,
when talking at lunch of taking the badger on the
bank of the Usk, the question was raised, could the
four dachshunds so hamper a badger in the open as
to enable him to be taken with the tongs ? Nothing
would satisfy the party but a trial, so the badger was
turned out in a very hilly field, when he made off up
hill, and from the way in which he bowled the dachs-
hunds over, I have no doubt he would have got
away, had not the big terrier been slipped. During
the process of getting hold of the badger, a terrier
puppy, about nine months, came up from the house,
and hearing a great deal of ' loo loo,' and not know-
ing quite what to do, quietly seized the man who
was energetically trying to get hold of the badger
with the tongs, and left his mark on him.

" I have had many such days, of which the above
are fair examples, and from these results am quite
convinced that for digging out a fox or badger,
nothing can beat a properly entered dachshund."

Although new breeds of dogs are being intro-

Modern Dogs.

duced, I fancy that the dachshund will continue to
hold his own, for he is by no means difficult to rear
from puppyhood, and, as I have already stated, is a
desirable dog as a companion. He is, moreover,
one of the canine favourites of Her Majesty the
Queen at Windsor. Seldom used for his particular
work in this country, nor for hunting in packs, for
our beagles and harriers will do the latter better
than he, and, in going to ground after fox or
badger or otter we have our own terriers, which
we cannot afford to lose ; still, the dachshund
has deservedly popularised himself, and when in
his puppydom he has chased a sheep or made a
raid on the poultry yard, it is no more than other
young untrained dogs of our own have done and
will do to the end.

The fact that the dachshund has a peculiarly nice
skin makes him specially adaptable as an agreeable
pet dog ; and when to this is added a pleasant face,
an endearing disposition, and, for a hound, a tolerable
immunity from the aroma of the kennel, there is little
wonder he has become popular. Perhaps at the
present time his classes on the show bench do not
fill quite as well as they did some half-dozen years
ago, but this does not arise from any waning popu-
larity as a companion and as a house dog.

What a dachshund in the flesh is like, Mr.

The Dachshund. 557

Wardle's drawings at the commencement of this
chapter plainly tell, and the following standard,
drawn up by the Club, will give additional know-
ledge to the searchers for information.

" Head and skull. — Long, level, and narrow; peak
well developed; no stop; eyes intelligent, and some-
what small ; follow body in colour.

" Ears. — Long, broad, and soft ; set on low and
well back ; carried close to the head.

" J-aw. — Strong, level, and square to the muzzle;
canines recurvent.

" Chest — Deep and narrow ; breast bone promi-
nent.

" Legs and feet. — Fore legs very short and strong
in bone, well crooked, not standing over; elbows
well clothed with muscle, neither in nor out ; feet
large, round, and strong, with thick pads and strong
nails. Hind legs smaller in bone and higher, hind
feet smaller. The dog must stand true, i.e., equally
on all parts of the foot.

" Skin and coat. — Skin thick, loose, supple, and
in great quantity ; coat dense, short and strong.

" Loin. — Well arched, long and muscular.

" Stern. — Long and strong, flat at root, tapering
to the tip ; hair on under side coarse ; carried low
except when excited. Quarters very muscular.

" Body. — Length from back of head to root of

558 Modern Dogs.

stern, two and a half times the height at shoulder.
Fore ribs well sprung, back ribs very short.

11 Colour. — Any colour, nose to follow body colour;
much white objectionable.

" Symmetry and quality. — The dachshund should
be long, low and graceful, not cloddy.

Head and skull 12

Jaw 5

Legs and feet 20

Loin 8

Body 8i

Symmetry and quality 1 1

Ears 6

Chest 7

Skin and coat 13

Stern 5

Colour 4

Grand Total 100.

" The weight : Dogs about 2ilb., bitches about
i81b.

" The Dachshund Club do not advocate point
judging, the figures are only used to show the com-
parative value of the features."

It will be noticed in the above Club description
that "any colour" is allowed, with only the proviso
that " much white is objectionable." The accepted
colours with us are red, black and tan, chocolate (or
brown), and chocolate and tan. There is some
variation in the shades of hue, especially amongst
the reds, some of which are so pale as to be almost
yellow. The black and tans and the deeper reds are

The Dachshund. 559

the handsomest, and a white foot or feet and a little
white on the breast are no detriment. Mouse
coloured specimens are occasionally met, sometimes
with tan shadings, sometimes without. This is not
a desirable colour, and "wall" or "china eyes"
often accompany it. The dachshund is what may
be termed a whole coloured dog, at least, this is
what we have made him here since his adoption.

White as the ground colour is as objectionable in
Germany as with U5, but on the continent a greater
variety of colour is allowed Herr Beckemann giving
the legitimate colours, dividing them into four groups
as follows :

" First, black, chocolate, light brown (red), hare
pied, all with tan shadings. Secondly, the same
colour without the tan markings. Thirdly, slate,
mouse, silver grey, either whole coloured or with tan
marks ; eyes, blueish or colourless (wall eyed) ; and
fourthly, variegated, slate, mouse, silver grey with
irregular black, chocolate or tan marks and blotches,
with or without tan, and > with one or two ' wall eye^s/
Any one of these colours is as good as another in
the Fatherland, but in case two dogs are of equal
merit in other respects, the black and tan is to be
preferred, or the dog most richly coloured and free
from white."

As to the voice or cry of the dachshund. He is

560 Modern Dogs.

not, as a rule, so free with his tongue as either the
basset hound or beagle, but, of course, there are
exceptions to this. One old hound, Mr. Harry
Jones's Dina, was particularly musical in this respect,
and her voice, in addition to being loud, was beauti-
fully deep and mellow. Her daughter, Juliet, though
equally free, had a much less pleasing note.

There is no doubt that where dachshunds have
been entered to work with terriers and used for
the duties usually ascribed to a terrier, they are
inclined to hunt with less music than if used
as a pack or worked in connection with basset-
hounds. Indeed, this is pretty much the case with
all hounds, and I have known a foxhound hunt pretty
nearly mute when alone, but in company with his
pack be as free with his tongue as any other hound.

An instance occurs to me, that of Rally, a favourite
otter hound bitch with the late Kendal pack. Bred
by Mr. Coulter, one of the good old school of
sportsmen, she had been entered almost single-
handed, and for a time, even on the strongest line,
ran quite mute. After a season or two with the
pack, she came to throw her tongue with the best of
its members, and proved a most reliable and careful
hound.

IN DEX.

Page.

Adcock, Mr. E. H 182, 189

Adcock, Mr. F 177

Agricultural Hall, Borzoi at... 220
Ahascragh breed of setters . . . 344

Airnie (Irish setter) 360

Aldenham Piper (harrier) 87

Alder (deerhound) 132

Aldridge's, sales of pointers at 260

Aldrovandus, Dr 400

Aldrovandus, Natural History

by 286

Alexandra Palace, Borzois at 223
" Allan-a-dale " (Mr. B. C.

Evelegh) 160

Altcock, Mr. W. E 222

Allen, Mr 447

Allison, Major 383

" All-round " judges 437

Alma (dachshund) 537

Altcar Club (1825) 148

America, English pointers in

261, 264

America, IJewellin setters im-
ported into 316

American pointer breeders ... 274
" Ancient Tenures " Blount's 145
Anderson, Mr. J. C 521

[VOL. I.] O

Page.

Anglesea setter, the 320

Antrim, Earl of 196

Antrobus, Sir E 241

Apperley, Charles J 46

Arbuthnot, Hon. Capt. ... 430, 454

Argos (Borzoi) 222

Arkwright, Mr. W. 247, 262,

538, 542

Armstrong, Mr 301

Arrian (2nd century) on Cours-
ing . 143

Ashdown Park Meeting (1780) 148

Assyrian sculptures of dogs... 527

Aveline (Irish setter) 354, 355

Ayris, Harry 61

Bab at the Bowster (grey-
hound) 157, 162

Bachelor (spaniel) 457, 471

Badger (dachshund) 533

Badgers hunted by dachs-
hunds 548

Badminton Flyer, the 67

" Baffers " (spaniels) 402

Bagot's (Lord) bloodhounds... 26

Bailey, Mr 204

Baily's Magazine 28

O

562

Index.

Page.

Baintree (misprint for Banshee) 203
Baker, Mr., of Badylohm

Castle 199, 345

Baliol, Edward, King of Scot-
land 77

Balloch setters 318

Bang (pointer) 255

Bampfylde, the Hon. C 87

Banshee (Irish wolfhound) 200, 203

Barclay, Mr. E 88

Bardolph (bloodhound) ... 30, 39
Barnaby ( Mr. Brough's )

16, 24, 25

Barney (spaniel) 44$

Baron Doveridge (setter) 303

Baron of Danes (Great Dane) 189

Bartram, Mr. G. T 385

Basset, Mr. C. H 73

Basset a Jambes Torses 511

Basset, Continental varieties 498
Basset, difference between,

and beagle 509

Basset Fran9ais 501

Basset, gradual development

of 513

Basset Griffon 501, 519

Basset hound, the 497

Basset Hound Club 523

Basset hound, description of... 498
Basset Hunt Club (Australian) 521

Basset, in-breeding of 513

Basset, introduction into

England 507

Basset, the Lane 501

Basset, the Le Couteulx 501

Basset, measurement, &c. ... 506

Basset, origm of name 498

Basset, points for judging . . 524

Page.

Bassets as pets 520

Bassets, most successful

breeders of 512

Bassets, packs of 520

Bassets (smooth) 5()I

Battle (spaniel) 457

Bayley, Mr 320

Beagle, the 91

Beagle, description of 104

Beagle, points of 97

Beagle, points for judging ... 105

Beagle Stud Book 102

Beagle, varieties of 96

Beaufort Castle, setters at 338

Beaufoy, Mr. M. 27

Beard, Mr. Steyning 85

Beasley, Mr 134

Beauty III. (retriever) 392

Beck, Mr. C. H 263

Beckford's Harriers 82

Beckford, Mr. Peter 47

Beckah (dachshund) 535, 537

Beckmann (Herr) on the

dachshund 531

Beeswing (Mr. Brough's).. 16, 18
Belgian Waldmann (dachs-
hund) 542

Bell, Mr. Jacob 33

Bell, Mr. E. Weston 130, 134

Belle (spaniel) 47 1

Belle (Leach's) 250

Belle (pointer) 246, 254

Belle (setter) 297, 300

Belle des Bordes (pointer) ... 246

Bellew, Mrs 362

Belvoir Guider 65

Belvoir Hounds 46

Belvoir Senator, the 65

Index.

563

Page.

Bennett, Mr. John 345

Bennett's (Mr. W. C.)
account of the Irish setter... 344

Benson, Mr. John 118

Bentinck, Lord Henry 61, 133, 241
Berkeley Castle Cromwell, the 66

Berkeley, Mr. Grantly 31

Berners, Dame Juliana... 6, 82, 400

Bevan, Mr. F. R 320

Beverlac (spaniel) 470

Bevis (deerhound) 134

Bingley's Natural History ... 329
Birmingham (1860) Dog Show 132
Birmingham, Mr. Llewellin's

team of setters at 313

Bishop, Mr. Elias 259

Bismarck, Prince, and his dog 185
Black field spaniel, points

and description 474

Black field spaniels, prices

fetched by 47 1

Blackett, Mr 544

Blaine, Delabere 277

Blanchard, Mr 157

Blees, Mr. O. H 222

Blenheim spaniels used for

covert shooting 402

Blenheims working in covert. . . 488

Blew, Mr. W. C. A 45

Blitsay (Borzoi) 220

Blitz (dachshund) 536

Bloodhound, the i

Bloodhounds, points for judg-
ing

Bloodhounds, packs of 27

Bloodhounds tracking

Blount's "Ancient Tenures"
Blue Belle (beagle)

35

28

14
H5
101

O O

Page.

Blueberry, Mr. E. Brough's 24

Blue Cap (foxhound) 51

Blue Dash (setter) 300

Blue Rock (setter) 361

Boaler, Mr. E 435

Boaler, Mr. G 437

Bob (Irish setter) 353

Bob (spaniel) 457

Bodo (dachshund) 535

Boece's " History of Scotland" 120

Bondhu (setter) 30 1

Bono (bloodhound) 30, 38

" Book of St. Alban's " 6, 82

Boothby, Thos., Esq 45

Boothby, Squire 46

Bootiman, T 166

Borzoi at Agricultural Hall... 220
Borzoi at Alexandra Palace ... 223

Borzoi Club 226

Borzoi, colours of 224

Borzoi, description of ... 211, 226

Borzoi, hunting with

Borzoi judging in Russia

Borzoi, meaning of name

Borzoi, measurements of

Borzoi, performing

Borzoi, points of

Borzoi, prices fetched by

Borzoi, Prince Obolensky on...
Borzoi, Russian Imperial ken-
nels

Borzoi, strains of

Borzoi, training of

Borzoi, uses of 210

Borzoi, values of 232

Borzoi at Clumber 222

Borzoi, Mr. Kalmontsky's ... 213

Boss III. (spaniel) 448

2

215
228
218
230

210

230
220
2I7

232
231
225

564

Index.

Page.

Boswell, Lord 133

Bouchan (Great Dane) 1 89

Boughey, Sir Thomas 483

Boulton, Dr 489

Boulton, Dr. W. W 470

Bounce (pointer) 245, 254

Bourbon (basset) 511

Bowers, Mr. T. B. ... 46, 299,

301, 459, 461
" Braces Stakes " for setter ... 315

Brach, the 91

Bradley, Basil (animal painter) 363
Brailsford, Mr. W... 243,375,382

Bran (deerhound) 127, 129

Bran (Irish wolfhound) 199

Bredalbane, Lord 133

Breadalbane's (Marquis of)

setters 318

Brevity (spaniel) 490

Brian (wolfhound) 203

Bridford Battle (spaniel) 462

Bridford Naomi (spaniel) 462

Bridford Perfection 470

Brierley's (Mr. C. W.) pointers 252

Brighton Shows 101

British Fancier 1 74

Brockton, Mr 245

Brooke, Rev. A. G 447

Brough's (Mr. E.) bloodhounds

, 12, 16, 24, 27, 30, 33

Brown, Mr. Herbert 247, 265

Brown, Mr. D. (" Maida")... 160
Browne, Mr. C. M. (" Robin

Hood") 1 60

Brownie (dachshund) 538

Bruce (deerhound) 133

Bruce (setter) 301 , 353

Bruce, Mr. Knight 541

Page.

Bruce, Robert, and the blood-
hounds 5

Bruce's wager, King Robert. . . 123

Brush II. (spaniel) 447

Bryan's (Mr. Stawell) pointers 258
Buckhounds, Her Majesty's... 72

Buckle (spaniel) 473

Buckley, Mr. R. W 119

Bulled's (Mr.) pointers 256

Buller, Mr 97

Bullock, Mr 428, 454, 459

Burdett, Mr. F 469

Burgess, Mr 459, 483

Burgundy (bloodhound) 30, 39

Burton Contest, the 66

Burton Dorimont, the 64

Burton Regulars 66

Bustle (spaniel) 436

Byron, Mr 545

Caius, Dr 6, 82, 280, 370, 400

Calmady, Mr 118

Cambridge, Mr. H. P 100

Cameron of Lochiel's Bruce... 133
Campbell, jun., Mr. Morton. .. 135

Campbell of Monzie, Col 133

Canteleu, Count Couteulx de 28
Cardinal York (dachshund)... 543

Carew-Gibson, Mr 490

Carey, Messrs. R. B. and T. S. 422

Carhampton (greyhound) 162

Carl (dachshund) 532

Carlisle Otter Hounds 116

Carlo (Irish setter) 356

Carlo (pointer) 248

Carlo (retriever) 376

Carrick, Mr. J. C 108, 116

Carrington, Lord 27

Index.

565

Page.

Cartmel, Mr 307

Cash in Hand (setter) 303

Cawdor, Earl of 338

Cedric the Saxon (Great Dane) 180

Century Magazine 33

Cerise II. (dachshund) :.. 543

Cerito (greyhound) 153

Chalon, Mr. H. B 488

Champion Harp (spaniel) 421

Champion Paris (basset) 515

Champion Psyche II. (basset) 515

Champion Xena (basset) 515

Chance (spaniel) 454

Chang (pointer) 254

Chapman, Mr. R 263, 337

Charkow (dachshund) 539

Charles, Mr 447

Charles I. 's greyhound 146

Charlton Hunt, the 45

Chelmsford Clytie (spaniel) ... 448

Chenda (dachshund) 534

Cheriton, Mr. 118

Cheshire Beagle Hunt Club... 103

Chesterfield, Lord 243

Chicory (retriever) 376

Chopette (basset) 512

Chloe (spaniel) 457

Chute, Mr 97

Cid Campeador (Great Dane) 181

Claret (setter) 335

Clark, Mr. G. B 447

Clarke, Mr. H. T 162

Clayton, Captain 29

Clement, Mr. Louis 509

Clift, Mr. Harry 118

Cloete, Mr 119

Clonsilla (setter) 364

Clumber, Borzois at, .. . 222

Page.

Clumber spaniel, the 433

Clumber spaniels, anecdotes of 459

Clumbers at the shows 435

Clumbers, the three best of the

early shows 448

Coachman, the, and the beagles 93

Cobb, Mr. R. W

103

492
295

Cockers at Manchester Show 490
Cockers, points and descrip-
tions of '.

Cockerton, Mr. James B.
Cockerton's (Mr.) setters ... 307

" Cock-flushers " 435

Cocker spaniel, the 487

Coleraine (Irish setter) 360

Collier, Mr 118

Colquhoun, Mr. John, ...328, 394

Comber, Mr. R 473

Comrade (foxhound) 50

Coniston Foxhounds 48

Conqueror (foxhound) 50

Constance (bloodhound) 40

Couteulx de Canteleu, Count 28

Coop, Mr 188

Cooper, Major 534

Cooper, Mr. W. H 355, 363

Corbet, Mr. H 533

Corbet, Mr. Reginald 45

Cork, dog killed by a 456

Corsica (Great Dane) 189

Cossack (Borzoi) 209

Cotes, Colonel 262, 304, 320

Coulter, Mr 560

Count (Irish setter) 359

Count Wind'em (setter) 301

Countess (bloodhound) 33

Countess (deerhound) 134

Countess (setter) ...246, 300, 305

566

Index.

Page.

Countess Bear (setter) 314

Countess of Rosehill (spaniel) 463

County Down Hunt, the 79

Courland Borzoi, the 23 1

Coursing Clubs, early 148

Coursing in early times 143

Coursing points 165

Coursing Rules in Elizabeth's

reign 147

Cowen, Colonel 27, 32, 229

Cowdray Park, deerhunt in

(1595) 121

Cox, Mr. Harding 385

Cox, Nicholas 400

Crab (pointer) 246

Crane's (Mr.) Rabbit Beagles 94
Craven, Mr. F. B. ... 21, 27,

40, 103, 1 88

Craven Harriers, the 88

Crisp, Mr. G. E 204

Croker, Mr 520

Cromwell (bloodhound) 30

Cross, Mr 259

Culoz (dachshund) 541

Cumberland, the foxhounds

of 47

Cunnington, Mr 320

Cupid (basset) 515

" Cynographia Britannica "... 329

Czar (Borzoi) 208

Czarina (greyhound) 149

Dachs (dachshund) 533

Dachshund colours 559

Dachshund, description and

points 558

Dachshund, Herr Beckmann

on the 531

Page.
Dachshund, introduction of

the 525

Dachshund, Mr. Harry Jones

on the 532

Dachshund Stud Book, the ... 530

Dachshund, voice of 559

Dachshunds at the Shows,

532, et seq.

Dachshunds at work 527

Dachshunds, English breeders

of 532

Dachshunds hunting badgers 547

Daisy (setter) 300

Dame Juliana Berner 6,82

Damon (Borzoi) 221

Damper (spaniel) 448

Dan (setter) 301

Dandie (setter) 336

Dandy (pointer) 245

Dandy (setter) 335

Danger (bloodhound) 15, 18

Danger, Mrs 24

"Daniel's Rural Sports " 51

Dansey, George 143

Darby, Mr. S 377

Darlington Dog Show 163

Darlington Horse and Dog

Shows 89

Dartrey (setter) 363

Dash (Irish setter) 352

Dash (pointer), curious price

paid for 237

Dash (setter) 297, 301, 304

Dash (spaniel) 454, 457

Dash II. (setter) 298, 300

Dash III. (setter) 301

Dashwood, Mr. J. J. W 319

D'Aumale (basset) 512

Index.

567

Page.

Davvson, Capt 119

" Days of Deerstalking,"

Macneill's 126

Dean, Mr. H. S 542

De Beauffort, Count 274

De Clifford, Robert 77

Deer-parks 71

Deerhound Club 138

Deerhound, colour of 135

Deerhound, description of 130

Deerhound, Earl of Tanker-

ville on the 128

Deerhounds, heights and

weights 1 36

Deerhounds, kennels of 133

Deerhounds, long hunts by .. 137
Deerhound, manner of run-
ning 136

Deerhound, Bell's monograph 130

Deerhound, points of 1 39

Deerhound, the 121

" Deer Stalking," Scrope's ... 126

Dent, Mr. James 155

Derby, Earl of 241

"Derby" for setters 315

Despard, Mr. W. W 362

Desportes, paintings of dogs
by . .. 234, 285

Dessauer (dachshund) 534

Devon and Somerset Stag-
hounds 73

Devonshire pointers 253

Devonshire pointer breeders... 254

Dexter's (Mr.) pointers 264

Dhulart (wolfhound) 203

Dick (retriever) 395

Dicker, Rev. G. C 224

Dickon, Mr 300

Page.

Dickson, Mr. O. H 521

Dina (dachshund) 534

Ditton Brevity (spaniel) 490

Dixon, Mr. H. H 329

Dobson, Tommy 53

Dobson, William 276

Doctor (Irish spaniel) 420

Dogs, Isle of 145

" Dogs of the British Islands "

136, 177, 248, 497

" Dogs of Scotland " 124, 327, 332

Doll (pointer) 245

Don (bloodhound) 29

Don (spaniel) 430

Don IX. (pointer) 251

Double-nosed strain of pointers 243

Downe, Lord 301

Drachen (dachshund) 541

Drake (pointer) 245

Drake Duster, the 64

Drenagh (setter) 364

Drogheda (Irish setter)... 354, 363

Druid (bloodhound) 26, 31, 32

" Druid," the 329

Duck (Irish spaniel) 420

Duckmanton Harebell (dachs-
hund 545

Duckmanton Winkle (dachs-
hund 540

Duke (setter) 301

Duke (spaniel) 438, 448

Dumfriesshire Otterhounds ... 119

Durer's (Albrecht; St. Hubert 283

Earl II. (deerhound) 135

Earl of Warwick (Great Dane) 189

Edenbridge Harriers, the 88

Edge, Mr. Webbe 241

568

Index.

Page.

Edge pointers, sale of the 242

" Edmond Castle " breed of

setters 298

Edward III., King 71

Edwards, Sydenham 181, 233

Egyptian sculptures of dogs... 527

Elcho (Irish setter) 350

Elizabeth's (Queen) pack of

hounds 92

Elizabeth's reign, coursing

rules in 147

Ellis, Mr 362

Ellis (Mrs.) bassets 515

El Zingaro (dachshund) 537

Enfield Chase Staghounds ... 79
English pointers in America

261, 264

Enniskillen, Earl of 348

Ensign (deerhound) 1 35

Enterprise (deerhound) 1 35

Erdine (dachshund) 536

Erdman (dachshund) 532

Eskdale Foxhounds, the 53

Evans, Mr. R 349

Evans, Mr. Walter 134

Evelegh, Mr. B. C. (" Allan-

a-dale ") 160

Faber, Mr. T. H 103

Fairy III. (spaniel) 448

Farmer, Mr 456

Farrow, Mr. J. F. ...428, 472, 491
Farrow, Mr. J. F., on the

Irish Spaniel 413

Faust (dachshund) 535

Faust III. (dachshund) 540

Featherstone setter, the 320

Feldmann (dachshund) 533

Page.

Festus (dachshund) 533

Field, Mr. Barclay 263, 301

Field Trial meeting, the first 245

Finette (basset) 509

Fingal (setter) 362

Fingall II. (deerhound) 135

Finglass (setter) 363

Finkle, Tom, and his blood-
hound Voltigeur 8

F'innigan's Wake (setter) 363

Fino (basset) 509

Fino de Paris (basset) ... 502,

508, 513

Fino V. (basset) 511

Fino VI. (basset) 512

Fintragh (wolfhound) 203

Firearms, early 288

Firearms, laws regarding" 290

Fisher, Mr. John 529, 533

Fitzinger, Dr 529

Fitzroy, Lord Alfred 21

Flame (setter) 310

Fleming, Abraham 280

Fleming, Mr. J. N 245, 335

Flink (dachshund) 535

Flirt (spaniel) 470

Flo (spaniel) 430

Flora (spaniel) 483

Foljambe, Mr 445

Footman, Mr 469

Ford's (Mr. C.) pointers 259

Foreign dogs 284

Forester (basset) 506

Forster, Mr. R. Carnaby 115, 117

Fownes, Mr. Thos 46

Fox Bush Harriers, the 88

Foxhounds, cost of packs of 41

Foxhounds, earliest entry of... 45

Index.

569

Pa^e.

Foxhounds, early packs of 46

Foxhounds, extraordinary runs 49

Foxhounds, famous 60

Foxhounds, homing faculty of 53
Foxhounds hunting the wolf

in Russia ... 52

Foxhounds on the stage 56

Foxhounds, prices of packs ... 59

Foxhounds, points for judging 67

Foxhounds, sizes of 55

Foxhounds, speed of 51

Foxhounds, trencher-fed 54

Foxhounds, "Walking" 55

Frank (setter) 301

Fred (setter) 296, 305

Friar Boss (spaniel) 450

Frisco (Irish setter) 360

Fritz (dachshund) 534

Frou Frou (dachshund) 534

Fullerton (greyhound) ...155, 162

Gaiety (spaniel) 490

Gallon, Mr 113

Game, taking by nets 278

Garnet, Mr. C 27

Gamier, Colonel 203, 204

Garryowen (Irish setter) 359

Garth, Mr 300

Garth, Sir R 243

Garth's (Mr.) pointers, sale of 244

Gell, Mr., Hopton Hall 243

"Gentleman's Recreation "... 400

George (spaniel) ... 454,457, 461

George, Mr. F. D 204

George IV.'s Beagles 92

Geraldine (basset) 506

Geraldine (Irish setter) 363

Gesner, Conrad, on the dog.. 287

Page.

Gesner's "General History of

Quadrupeds " 121

Gibbon, W. J. S 87

Gibbons, Mr. VV 134

Gilbey's, Mr. .Spanish pointers 235
Gillett, Mr. \V. . 469

(iilpin, Sidney 236

Giltrap, Mr 351, 359, 361

Clipping Sam (spaniel) 473

Gladstone, Mr. R. F 156

Goodall, Frank 78

Gordon Castle, setters at 338

(iordon setter, breeds of 338

Gordon setter, description and

pointsof 339

Gordon Setter Club 336

(iordon setters, colour of 332

Gordon setter kennels in Scot-
land 334
Gordon setters, prices fetched by 33 1

Gordon setter, the 327

Gordon, Mr. W 133

Gordon's (Duke of) strain of

setters s 328

Gore, Sir W. St. George -133

Gorse, Mr. J. D. 376

Gortschakoff, Prince, and the

Dog • 186

Grafin II 540

Grafton (bloodhound) 33

Graham, Captain ... 133, 180,

197, 199, 204, 209
Grandmaster (Great Dane)... 185

Grant, Mr 133

Gratius Faliscus 6

Gray, Mr. Thomson 124, 332

Great Danes at the Oxford
Music Hall 185

57°

Index.

Page.
Great Dane, description of

(1863) 181

Great Dane, description of ... 190
Great Dane, heights and

weights of recent winners ... 189

Great Danes, performing 210

Great Dane, standard of

points ,. .. IQO

Great Dane, revenge in 183

Great Dane, the 176

Great Dane, the, in Ireland ... 179

Green, Mr. H. P 484

Greenbank, Messrs 338

Greengage (greyhound) 156

Gretchen (Great Dane) 1 89

Crete (dachshund) 532

Greyhound, the 143

Greyhound, the, as a show dog 161

Greyhound colours 1 65

Greyhound Kennels, the

leading 163

Greyhound, description of .. 164
Greyhound licences (1850) ... 151
Greyhound, old Sculpture of

in British Museum 144

Greyhound taxing 144

Greyhound taxing under King

John 145

Greyhound, points of 165

Griffon, Basset, the 501

Grove Barrister, the 63

Grove Rose (spaniel) 490

Guinevere (basset) 510

Hacke, Mr. Paul 223

Hackett, Mr. Paul 320

Hadden, Dr 133

Hagar (dachshund) 535, 538

Page.

Hamlet (pointer) 245

Hanbury, Mr. Barclay 529

Handicapping whippets 174

Handsel (dachshund) 538

Handy, Mr. J. A.... 245, 454, 460
Hannah (dachshund) ... 536, 538
Hannibal the Great (Great

Dane) 189

Hans (dachshund) 535, 538

Hardy, Colonel 93

Hare-hunting on foot 90

Harlequin Dane, the 181

Harlequin Nero (Great Dane) 189

Harrier, the 8 1

Harriers, packs of 86

Harriers, points for judging 89

Harrier Stud Book 102

Hartley, Mr, W 307

Harvey, J. G. (Queen's hunts-
man) 79

Haufmann (dachshund) 535

Hawkes, Mr. J. G 352, 361

Hawkstone Otter Hounds ... 115
Haylock and Barnard, Messrs. 447

Hazzard, Mr. Jason 348

Heap, Mr. S. R 204

Hebe III., Mr. J. W. Scott's

bloodhound 23, 25

Hector II., Mr. R. Hood
Wright's bloodhound ... 23, 25

Hector (setter) 361

Hedley, Mr. James 166

Herbert, Mr. Reginald, 96, 181, 188

Hercules (staghound) 77

, H erf rida (dachshund) 544

Her Majesty's Staghounds ... 72

Heseltine, Mr 521

Hickmann, Mr. G. W., 134, 199

Index.

57'

Page.

' ' H ighland Sports ' ' (St. John)

126, 137, 328, 374

Hilda (dachshund) 537

Hill, Mr. M. H 27

Hill, Hon. Geoffrey 115

Hilliard, Mr 359

Hincks, J. T 446

Hincks's, J. T., Clumbers,

anecdotes ot 449

" Historiae Animalium," by

Gesner 287

Hoare, Mr. M 540, 541

Hoare, Sir Edward 336

Hockey, Mr. G. S 421

Hodge, Mr 533

Hodgson, Mr. H 27

Hogg, Mr. Lindsay 21

Holcombe Harriers 84

Holford, Mr. C. E 26, 436

Holinshead's "Chronicles"... 122

Holland, Mr. Taprell 208

Holmes, Mr. H. H 446

Hopcroft, Mr 483

Hope, Lord Clinton 446

Horn, ancient hunting 45

Hotpot (spaniel) 446

Howarth, Mr. R. C 473

Huldman, Colonel 7

Humphries, Mrs 29

" Hunger's Prevention "...291,329

Hutchinson, Captain 353

Hutchinson, Colonel 370

Hutchinson, Rev. Hely 309

Hutton, Mr 533, 535

H'Vat (Borzoi) 221, 222

" Idstone," 94, 254, 328, 336, 353,
376, 429, 444

Page.

Ightfield Deuce (pointer) 262

Ightfield Dick (pointer) 262

Ightfield Rosa (setter) ....!.... 364
Inclosed meetings for grey-
hound coursing 158

Indiana (dachshund) 543

Inge, Lieut. -Col 132

Ingram, Mr 542

Irish setters at the shows 358

Irish setters, breeds of ... 344, 359

Irish Setter Club 354

I rish setters, colours of 344

Irish setters, en.lurance of 353

Irish setters, kennels of 361

Irish setter, noted breeders of 347

Isle of Dogs 145

Isola (basset) 516

Ivanhoc (Great Dane) 189

Jack Boot (dachshund) 546

Jackdaw (dachshund) 545

Jack o' Dandy (dachshund)... 545

Jacobs, Mr. T 470, 471

Jaff (bloodhound) 24

Jamaica, bloodhouuds sent to

(1795) 5

James I.'s " Book of Sports" 290

Jameson, Major 364

Janet (dachshund) 546

Jarvis, Dr. William 351

Jealousy (dachshund) 545

Jefferys, Mr. Allan 83

Jenning's bloodhounds, Mr.... 26

Jenny Jones (greyhound) 162

Jess Croft (dachshund) 545

Jet (retriever) 376

Je/ebel (dachshund) 537

Jilt of Braunfels (pointer) 267

572

Index.

Jingle (dachshund)
Joan of Arc (dachshund)
Jobling, Mr.,
Jocelyn (dachshund)
John o'Gaunt (spaniel)
Jonah (dachshund)
Jones, Mr. Harry
Jones, of Oscot, Mr
Joubert (dachshund)
Jubb, Mr
Jude (dachshund)
Juliet (dachshund)
Julius (dachshund)
Junker 1 1 . (dachshund)
Juno (pointer)
Jupiter (dachshund)
Juventa (dachshund)

Kalmontsky's (Mr.)

Kate (setter)

Kendal Otter Hounds

Kendal Ragman (otter hound )

Kennedy, Capt. Clarke

Kennel Club bloodhound

trials 20

Kennel Club Show, Borzois at 223
Kennel Club Show, retrievers

at 392

" Kennel Club Stud Book" ... 208
Kennels of greyhounds, the

leading 1 63

Kent, greyhounds in early

times in 145

Kent (setter), supposed pedi-
gree of 336

' Kerr, Lady Innes 219

Kerr's (Lad)' Charles) Borzois 209
Kerry beagles 96, 99, 100

545

Keyes, Dr. (1570), on Blood-

1)

54«

hounds 6, 82

336

Killiney (Irish setters) 361

.-538,

544

King John, greyhound taxes. . 145

.446,

44*

King John's otter hounds 113

^7

King" Koffee (retriever) 393

oo/

..528,

532

King, Mr. John G 346

• 320,

469

Kingston's (Duke of) black

538

pointers 238

72Q,

7-2?

Kirkham hounds 83

• • O / !

V.JOO

538

Kitchingman, Mr. V 447, 473

528

Knipe Scar Coursing Meeting 407

544

Knowles, Mr. B. C 23

vi.i

Koat (Borzoi) 221

fcJ"t*T

236

Koodoo (bloodhound) 23, 25

544

Korotai (Borzoi) 200, 219,

54<>

221, 224

Krehl, Mr. G. R 509, 517

Sorzois

213

Krilutt (Borzoi) 217, 221,

•••335.

36l

223, 231

117

" Kunopsedia " 276

ound)

ii7

118

Lady (dachshund) 540

Lady (spaniel) 42 1

Lady Lyons (greyhound) 154

Lambert, Daniel 241

Lamonby, Mr.W. F. ("Skid-
daw") 161

Lancaster, Henry, Duke of ... 146

Landseer, Sir E 33

Lane Hounds (basset) 517

Lang, Mr. S 471

Langdon, Mr 84

Larry Doolin (spaniel) 422

Lasca (Borzoi) 220

Lascelles, Hon. Gerald 532

Lauder, Mr. T 302

Lauderdale's (Earl of) pointers 238

Index.

573

Page.

Laurie (spaniel) 456

Laverack, Mr. Edward 295, 356

Laverack setter, the 296

Laverack setters at field trials 301

Lawrence, Mr. C 473, 491

Laycock's Dairy Yard, Show

at 413

Leal (Great Dane) 181, 189

Legh, Lieut. -Col. Cornwall ... 385

Lemor or Lymer, the 6

Lennard, Sir T. B 262

Lewis, Major 134

Lichfield, Lord 241

Liddell, Mr. H 385

Life-saving retrievers 396

Linda (dachshund) 534

Lindoe, Capt , 420

Lipscombe, Mr. W. H 362

Liver and white spaniels 482

Llanidloes setter, the 319

Llewellin setters at field trials 315
" Llewellin" setter, description

of the 308

Llewellin setters imported into

America 316

Llewellin, Mr. R. L. P 301

Llewellin's (Mr.) Laverack

setters 311, 320

Lloyd, Mr. Freeman 223

Lloyd, Mr. Jackson 351

Lloyd, Sir Marteine 103

Lloyd- Lloyd's (Mr.) pointers 257

Lomax, Squire 112

Lonsdale, Mr. Hey wood

(English setters) 303,364

Lonsdale's (Mr. Hey wood)

pointers 261

Loo VII. (Irish setter) 362

Lord, Mr

Lort, Mr. \V

Lovat, Lord

Lovell, Mr. F

Lovell, Rev. G. F. ...532,

Lowe, Mr. F. 52, 212,

246,

Lowe, Mr. G. S

Lowndes, Mr. Selby

Luath XL (bloodhound)

Lucy, Mr. Spencer

Lune Belle (setter)

Lymer or Lemor, the

Page.

5i6, 535
.101, 320

338

80

538, 545

222,

262, 302

..60, 301

28

29

. 133
307

6

Macdona, Mr. J. C., 208, 353, 518

Macdonnel, Ronaldson 137

Macneil, Sir John 133

Macneill of Colonsay 1 26

Mac's Little Nell (setter) 361

Mahon , Rev. H 344

" Maida " (Mr. D. Brown) ... 160

Maid of Kent (pointer) 264

Major (greyhound) 151

Major (pointer) 245

Malcolm (deerhound) 127

Malt (pointer) 265

Manchester's (Duchess of)

Borzoi 209

Man-hunting with blood-
hounds at Boxmoor 14

Manners, Earl 447

Manning, Mr 33$

Marguerite (dachshund) 534

Markham, Gervase 291, 329,

400, 412
Maroons, insurrection in

Jamaica ^

Marples, Mr. T 1 74, 473,

574

Index.

Page.
Mar's (Earl of) deerhounds 125

Martin, Mr 243

Mask (Irish wolfhound) 203

Mason (Mr. C. H.), of New

York 274

Mason's (Mr. C. H.)

pointers 253

Master Dan (pointer) 274

Master M'Grath (greyhound)

153. 162
" Master of the Game," the... 401

Master Sam (setter) 302

Match between musket and

bow and arrows 289

Matthews, Mr. S. 376

Maud (spaniel) 459

Maw, the late Mr. G 251

Maximus (dachshund) 534

Maxwell, Captain 447

Maxwell, Mr. A 134

Mayhew, Mrs. Reginald .„ 101

M'Carthy's (Mr.) description

of the Irish spaniel 410

McGoff, Mr 361

M'Kenna, Mr. J. H 447

McKenzie, Mr 133

McNamara, Mr. 97

Melnotte II. (dachshund) 545

Melville's (Viscount)

retrievers 376

Menzies, Mr 133

Merkin (Col. Thornton's fox-
hound) 51

Merlin (Irish wolfhound) 203

Merry (beagle) 101

Merry Belle (spaniel) 490

Mexborough, Lord 241

Meynell, Mr.

46, 242

Page.

Meyrick, Mr. 382

Mickey Free (spaniel) 421

Mignarde (basset) 513

Mignonne (dachshund) 538

Mike (pointer) 263

Mike (pointer), winnings of... 266
Mike-Romp strain of pointers 264
Millais, Mr. Everett, 30, 497,

52i, 523

Milner, Captain 360

Miriam (basset) =51=5

Miss Prim (pointer) 251

Miss Signal (setter) 362

Miss Sixpence (pointer) 246

Mithe (greyhound) 146

Model (basset) 506, 508

Moll (pointer) 245

Moll III 298

Molodetz (Borzoi) 208

Molodyets (Borzoi) 224

Money-Wigram, Mr. A. 385, 393

Monk of Furness (setter) 302

Monmouth, Duke of 4^

Monmouth, Duke of, dis-
covered by bloodhounds ... 5

Moonstone (spaniel) 473

" Moor and the Lock," the

328, 394

Moore, Mr 243

Moore, Mr. Cecil 348, 359

Moore, Mr. George 242

Moore's (Dr. Bond) retrievers 382

Morna (deerhound) 134

Morrel, Mr 27

Morris, Dr 376

Morrison, Mr. John 385

Morrison, Mrs 219

Morton, Mr. N 422

Index.

575

Page.

Moses (retriever) 384

Moss troopers, the, and blood-
hounds 2

Mouse (dachshund) 533

Mudie, Mr 536

Muirhead, Mr 506

Muir, Mr. K 219, 222

Miinster, Count 534

Muskerry (setter) 362

Musson, Mr 516

Musters, Mr. H. C 133

Musters, Mr. John 47

Nabob (spaniel) 438, 448

Napoleon II. (basset) 515

Naso of Kippen (pointer) 267

Naso of Strasburg (pointer) ... 274
Naso of Upton (pointer) 256, 266

National Coursing Club 160

Nebo (spaniel) 473

Nellie (setter) 305, 363

Nellie (black spaniel), 469,

470, 490

Nep (retriever) 384

Nero (retriever) 394

Nevil, Mr. T 28

Newcastle, Duchess of ... 219, 222

Newcastle, Duke of 434, 446

Newcastle setter, the 320

Newington, Mr. Campbell 455, 462

Nichols, Mr. E 27, 29

Nicholson, Mr 302

Nickels, Captain 396

Nigger (pointer) .247

Nigger (spaniel) .. ..471

Nijni (Borzoi) 208

•" Nimrod " 46

Nora Friar (spaniel) 448

Page.

Norfolk spaniel, points and

description of 479

Norrish's (Mr. E. C.) pointers 256

Norseman (Great Dane) 189

North, Colonel 155

" Northern Tour " 327

" Noticia Venatica " 45

Nouailles, Due de 434

Novel (setter) 301

Nun of Kippen (setter) 302

Nutt, Mr. G. H.... 95

Nuttall, Mr. Falkiner 362

Obolensky (Prince) on the

Borzoi 217

O'Brian, Mr. R. D 199

O'Brien, Rev. H. 1 204

O'Callaghan, Rev. R. (Irish

setters) .. 355, 362

O'Connell, Mr. John 97

O'Connor, Mr. Maurice 350

Octavius (dachshund) 537

O'Keefe, Yelverton 345

Old Bang (pointer) 256

Old Bebb (spaniel) 459

Old Bob (spaniel) 470

Old Kate (setter) 301, 359

Old Moll (setter) 297

Olga (dachshund) 535

Olympia (dachshund) ...536, 539

Olympian (dachshund) 540

Omagh, Irish setter trials at... 363

Onslow, Lord 508, 533

Ooslad (Borzoi) 221

Orford, Earl of 147, 149

Osbaldeston, Mr 242

Osbaldeston Furrier, the 63

Osbaldeston, Squire 47

576

Index'.

Page.

Osborne Ale (pointer) 265

Oscar (deerhound) 127, 133

Otley Otter Hounds 119

Otter hound, the 107

Otter hounds, a mixed pack of 1 1 1

Otter hounds, colours of 119

Otter hounds, height of 119

Otter hounds, points for judg-
ing 1 20

Otter hounds, recently esta-
blished packs 119

Otter hunt, a novel 1 1 1

Otter hunting 109

Otter hunting, early davs of... 113

Otto (dachshund) 535

Oudar (Borzoi) 220

Owdalzka (Borzoi) 208

Oxford Music Hall, Great

Dane at 185

Ozone (dachshund) 537

Paget, Lord Alfred 375

Pagooba (Borzoi) 217, 222

Palm (spaniel) 47 1

Palmer, Sir Roger 1 80

Palmerston (Irish setter)... 349, 359

" Pantherius " (spaniel) 400

Paris (basset) 506

Paris (retriever) 385

Parishes ordered to keep strong

dogs (1616) 4

Parker, Mr. H. P 134

Parlett, Mr. F 447

Parry, Dr 27

Parry's (Dr. Hales) blood-
hound Primate 24

Pax of Upton (pointer) 247

Payne-Galwey, Sir Ralph 200

Page.

Peach, Captain 384

Pearce, Rev. Frank, see "Id-
stone "

Pearce, Rev. Thomas 353

Pearl (pointer) 255

Peel, Lady Emily 208

Peele, Mr. de Courcy 544

Peg (pointer) : 251

Peg and the cyclist 252

Peggie (spaniel) . 457

Pengelly, Mr 396

Penistone Harriers, the 87

Pennant on the deerhound ... 125
Perrin's (Mr.) Irish setters ... 361
Peterborough Hound Show ... 85

Phillips, Mr. C. A 385, 491

Phryne III. (dachshund) 544

Phyllis IV. (dachshund) 544

Picts and Scots, fight between

about deerhounds 122

Pilkington, Mr 244

Pilkington's (Mr.) sale of
pointers, prices realised at 260

Pixie (dachshund) 533

Playford, Mr 204

Plunket, Hon, D 353

Plunket (Irish setter) 353

Plunket (setter) 310

Pluto (pointer) 236

Pointer, American breeders of 274

Pointer Club, the 267

Pointer Club Trials 246

Pointer, the, as a sporting dog 267
Pointer, the, description of ... 269
Pointer, the, supposed origin

of 233

Pointers, colours of, a century
ago 238

Index.

577

Page.

Pointers, colours and work of 247
Pointers, Daniel Lambert's

black 241

Pointers, Duke of Kingston's

black 238

Pointers, high prices fetched

by 260

Pointers, kennels of 241

Pointers on point, anecdotes

about 236

Pointer, scale of points 273

Pointers, scoring at field

trials by 246

Pointers, Spanish, at the dog

shows 235

Pointers, strain of double-
nosed 243

Ponto (setter) 297, 436

Pooley, Rev. J 262

Portland, Duke of 446

Potter, Mr. G 307

Powell, Captain 10

Power, Sir John 199

Pratt, Mr. R 473

Priam (pointer) 251, 265

Price, Mr. H. J 490

Price, Mr. R. J. Lloyd ... 244,

260, 320, 386

Price, Mr. Sam 255

Pridmore's (Mr. G. E.) setters 307

Prince Consort, the 242

Prince Rupert (retriever) 393

Pring, Mr 259

"Psovi," suggested name for

the Borzoi 218

Psovoy Borzoi, the 23 1

Psycho (spaniel) 448

Pterodactyl (dachshund) 545

[VOL. I.] P

Page.
Purcell-Llewellin's (Mr. R.

L.) setters 295, 300

Pwlai (Borzoi) 222

Quail of Upton (pointer) 246

Queen Bess's pack of hounds 91

Queen of Saxony (Great Dane) 189

Quits Baby (pointer) 246

Rabbit coursing by whippets

168, 170

Race, Mr. G 87

Rachel (dachshund) 539

Racing by whippets 168, 171

Ragman (otter hound) no

Rake (pointer) 244

Rake (spaniel) 420

Rally (otter hound) 111,560

Random (pointer) 256

Ranelagh Club Grounds, Great

Dane Show in 180

Ranger (setter) 304

Rap (pointer) 25 1

Raper, Mr. G 274

Raper, Tom 166

Rapture (harrier) 84

Rapunzel (dachshund) 541

Ravenor, Mr 545

Ravry, Mons 517

Ray, Dr. Reynolds 27

Realm Dog, the 186

Red dogs, difficulty in seeing 352

Red Rose (dachshund) 545

Regent, Mr. Holford's blood-
hound 26

Reinagle 405

Reinagle, painting of dog by 197

Relf's (Sussex spaniels) 455

P

578

Index.

Page.

Retriever, choice of a 397

Retriever Club 378

Retriever, curly-coated black 373
Retriever, flat-coated, first

shown 381

Retriever, flat or wavy-coated

black 380

Retriever, Norfolk 393

Retriever, origin of the 369

Retriever, points of curly-
coated 378

Retriever, Russian (so-called) 390

Retriever trials 372

Retriever, wavy-coated, points

of 387

Retrievers as companions 374

Retrievers as deerhounds 397

Retrievers, brown 392

Retrievers, classes at shows for 375

Retrievers, clever 394

Retrievers, field trials for 371

Retrievers, "Irish" 391

Retrievers, judging wavy-
coated 386

Retrievers, kennels of 376

Retrievers saving life 396

Retrievers, wavy-coated, ken-
nels of 385

Rex (setter) 335

Reynolds, Rev. E. M 48

Rhea (spaniel) 490

Ribblesdale, Lord 79

Richard II. and his hounds ... 145

Richardson, H. D 277

Richardson, Mr. H 199

Richardson on the Irish setter 357

Richardson, Rev. W. J 262

Richmond (setter) 307

Page.

Ridehalgh, Colonel 85

Ridgway Club (1828) 148

Ridley, Mr 25 1

Riego, M 181

Rightaway (retriever) 387

Rip-Rip (pointer) 264

Rivington Merry Legs 490

Robertson, Mr 307

" Robin Hood" (C. M.

Browne) 160

Robin Hood (Retriever) 377

Robinson, Mr. J. R 299

Rock (setter) 301

Rogers, Bill 333

Rolf (spaniel) 47 1

Romano (basset) 518

Romp (pointer) 244, 263, 264

Rosa (dachshund) 539

Roscommon Hunt, the 79

Rose (Irish setter) 351

Rose (spaniel) 490

Rosebud (harrier) 84

Rosehill strain of spaniels 454

Rossendale Harriers 84

Rossie Blue Bell (deerhound) 135

Ross Mahon Irish setters 344

Rossmore (setter) 363

Rothschild, Baron 447

Rothschild, Sir H . de 79

Roussalka (Borzoi) 222, 224

Routledge, Thomas (Slough

Dogs) 3

Rover (spaniel) 428

Rowan, Hamilton 199

Royal Dublin Society Museum,

wolfhound skulls in 198

Royal Lufra (deerhound) 135

Royal Rap (setter) 284

Index.

579

Page.

Royal Rock Beagles 103

Rummager (buckhound) 78

Rural Almanac 85, 106

" Rural Sports," Darnell's ... 488

Russell, Rev. John in

Russet (spaniel) 471

" Russian Deerhounds" 208

Russian Imperial Society for
Encouragement of Sports

(Borzoi) 226

" Russian " retrievers 390

Russian setter, the (so-called) 320

Russian wolfhound 207

Ryan, Mr. Cleme.nt 97, 99

Sailor (retriever) 384

St. John, Mr. Charles ... 126, 328
"St. Leger breed" of water

spaniels 409

Salter, Mr. J. H., 102, 247, 262,

265. 376, 392, 454, 455, 492

Sam (setter) 301

Sam (spaniel) 483

Sancho (pointer) 255

Satan (dachshund) 532

Satan (Great Dane) 178

Satin Bondhu (setter) 306

Saule (pointer) 260

Saxby, Mr 459

Scarsdale Julia (dachshund) 545
Scarsdale Jungfrau (dachs-
hund) 544

Schlank (dachshund) 541

Schlupferle (dachshund) 534

Schnaps (dachshund) 533

Schofield, Mr. F. E 473

" Scientific Education of Dogs

for the Gun," the 397

Page.

" Scotch setter" 327

Scott, Mr. W. J 23

Scottish deerhounds 122

Scratton, Mr 259

Scrope's " Deer Stalking " ... 126

Sea King (Great Dane) 189

Seavington Hunt 84

Sefton, Earl of 151

Segesta (dachshund) 537

Seidel (dachshund) 540

Senta (dachshund) 535

Serjeantson, Rev. W 385

Seton, Dr 518, 533

Setter called a spaniel in Ire-
land 276

Setter Club, the English 321

Setter, contract for training

(1685) 292

Setter dogs lost while pointing 352

Setter, early history of 276

Setter (Irish), points and de-
scription of 366

Setter, other varieties of 317

Setter, points of the English... 321

Setter, the black and tan 327

Setter, the, description of 275

Setter, the English 295

Setter, the Irish 343

Setters at Birmingham, Mr.

Llewellin's 313

Setters at Gordon Castle 329

Setters, best colour for 365

Setters, black, in Westmore-
land 317

Setters, double-nosed 318

Setters in the i8th century ... 329

Setters, kennels of 307

Setters, various strains of 317

580

Index.

Page.

Shandon III 363

Shandygaff (pointer) 266

Sharpies, Mr. T 162

Shepherd (deerhound) 135

Shield, Rev. W 262, 471

Shirley, Mr. S. E. ... 301, 383, 387

Shorthose's (Mr. John) setters 307

Shotover (dachshund) 541

Shuter, Mr. L. A 383

Siberian wolfhound 207

Sieger (dachshund) 544

Signal (setter) 362

Simondsbath (staghound) ... 72

Singer, Mr. W. H 134

Sir Alister (setter) 301

Sir Gavin (deerhound) 135

"Sixty-one" 309

"Skiddaw" (Mr. Lamonby) 161

Skidmore, Mr. J. S 415, 420

Skipworth, Mr. Henry 377

Slap (dachshund) 533

" Sleeping Bloodhound," the

(Sir E. Landseer's) 33

"Slough dogs," warrant for

keeping 3

Smith (Coleshill) Mr. J 473

Smith, Mr. Assheton 371

Snowball (greyhound) 150

Solms, Prince 267

Southwell, Mr 538, 540

Spalpeen (Irish setter) 360

Spaniel, black field 467

Spaniel Club, the 406

Spaniel Clubs, Irish water,

418: description by 418

Spaniel (Clumber) 433

Spaniel (Clumber), description

of 439

Page.

Spaniel, Cocker, the 487

Spaniel, description of the

show 403

Spaniel (English water), 405,

427 ; Mr. J. F. Farrow on... 428
Spaniel (English water), points

and descriptive particulars. . . 431
Spaniel (Irish), descriptive

particulars 423

Spaniel (Irish), early history

of 412

Spaniel (Irish), principal

exhibitors of 422

Spaniel (Irish), correspon-
dence in the Field con-
cerning 409

Spaniel (Irish), weight of 426

Spaniel known in Sixteenth

Century 278

Spaniel, Mr. J. F. Farrow, on

the Irish 413

Spaniel, Mr. McCarthy's

description of the Irish 410

Spaniel, Norfolk 406

Spaniel, Norfolk, the origin of

477. 482
Spaniel, Norfolk, points and

description of 479

Spaniel, origin of the 399

Spaniel, supposed origin in

Spain 284

Spaniels beating for coursing

meeting 407

Spaniels, black field, kennels

of 472

Spaniels, black field, points

and description of 474

Spaniels, classes for 405

Index.

Page.

Spaniels (Clumber), kennels of

436, 445
Spaniels (Clumber), points and

descript i ve particulars 45 1

Spaniels, Cocker, points and

description ot 492

Spaniels, cutting the tails of... 400

Spaniels, early engravings of 279

Spaniels in early times 401

Spaniels in modern times 405

Spaniels, liver and white 482

Spaniels other than black 481

Spaniels other than black, de-

cription of 485

Spaniels, Sussex 453

Spaniels, Sussex, colour, &c.,

of 458

Spaniels, Sussex, points and

description of 463

Spaniels superseded by

beaters 407

Spaniels used with hawks, 279, 400

Spaniels, variations in 404

" Spanish Pointer," picture by

Stubbs 234

Spanish pointers at the dog

shows 234

Spencer, Earl 446

Sperling's (Mr.) harriers 84

" Sport illustrated by Art " at

the Grosvenor Gallery 283

" Sporting Magazine " 435

" Sports and Pastimes " 278

" Sports and Pursuits of the

English" 46

" Sportsman's Cabinet," 149, 197,

292, 405, 417, 427

"Springers" 435

Page.

Spurgin, Mr. H. B 469, 473

Staghound, the 71

Staghounds, Her Majesty's ... 72

Staghounds, long runs of 77

Stag hunting, decline of 72

Starkie, Colonel Le Gendre 21, 337

Statham, Mr 243

Statter, Mr 353

Statter, Mr. Thomas 242

Statter's (Mr. T.) pointers,

sale of 261

St. Clair, Henry 121

St. Clair's wager, Sir William 123
Steadman's (Mr. T.) setters... 307

Steel, Mr. James 116

Stephanie (dachshund) 545

Stockton Beagles 103

" Stonehenge " 26, 31, 57, 59, 67,

94, loo, 143, 160, 163, 218, 304,

320, 321, 387, 448, 453, 497

Stout (pointer) 265

Strabo 6

Strutt, Hon. Miss E 533

Strutt on the spaniel 278

Stylograph (dachshund) 543

Summerson, Mr 222

Superbus (dachshund) 538

Sure Death (setter) 363

Surrey Staghounds 80

" Surrey Archaeological Col-
lection " 45

Sussex beagles 100

Sussex spaniel 453

Sussex spaniel as a worker ... 460

Sussex spaniel, colour of 458

Sussex spaniels, strains of 454

Susi (setter) 362

Sutherland, Duke of 133

S82

Index.

Page.
Swaffham (Norfolk) Coursing

Club (1776) 147

Sweep the Green (setter) 302

Swift (deerhound) 1 35

Swinburne, Mr. T 376

Sylvia (dachshund) 540

Sylvie (I rish setter) 345

Tarn o' Shanter (setter) 301

Tamooski, Lieut. G 218

Tankerville, Earl of 128, 320

Tankerville's (Earl of) Bran 129

Tap (pointer) 247

Tara (wolfhound) 203

Tarbat (setter) 363

Tatham, Mr. J . R 338

Tattersall's, sale of Gordon

setters at 331

Tattersall, Mr 117

Taylor, Mr. A. E 364

Taylor (of Dorset), Mr 364

Tchistopsovoy Borzoi, the 231

Teck (dachshund) 535

Termino (basset) 511

Terriers, clever 394

Thekla II. (dachshund) 533

Theo (basset) 510

Theodore Nero (retriever) 394

Thomas, Capt. Moreton 472, 473
Thompson, Col. Anstruther ... 103

Thornton, Colonel 47, 92, 327

Thornton's (Colonel) pointers 235

"Thoughts on Hunting" 93

Thusnelda (dachshund) 537

Tinker, Mr 27

Tinker (dachshund) 545

Toil (pointer) 246

Tom ( Russian hound) 268

Page.

Topham, Major 150

Tower (spaniel) 446

Trail hunting 51

Trench, Col. the Hon. W. Le

Poer 421

Trimbush (Clumber spaniel) . . . 448

Trip of Kippen (setter) 303

Triumph (bloodhound) 29

True (retriever) 376

Trust (spaniel) 448

Tufters 74

Tunbridge Wells Show 101

Twici (huntsman of Edw. II.) 44
Tyras (Great Dane) 186

Umbrellas, retriever stealing 395
Uric (Great Dane) 189

Vale, Mr 43

Valiant (harrier) 87

Vendetta (Great Dane) 1 88

Venus II. (basset) 515, 545

Vesta (pointer) 255

Vicar (setter) 363

Victor (retriever) 383

Vivien (basset) 510

Von (dachshund) 535

Von Jostik (dachshund) 536

Wag (dachshund) 535

Wagtail (dachshund) 541

Waldine (dachshund) 534

Waldmann (dachshund) 534

Wales, H.R.H. the Prince of

445, 5i9» 533

Wales' (Prince of) Borzoi 208

Walker, Mr. W 377, 540

Wallace and the sleuth hounds 5

Index.

583

Page.

Wallace, Sir Richard 484

Walsh, Mr. H. V 103

Walsh, Mr. J. H., see "Stone-

henge."

Walton, Izaak 43

Wanton (foxhound) 51

War Cry (Great Dane) 1 89

Ward Union Hunt, the 79

Warde, Mr. F 262

Warrior (deerhound) 134

Warwick, bloodhound trials at 1 1

Warwick, Mr. G 166

WTater-dogs, trials of at Maid-
stone 394

Waterhouse, Mr 361

Waterloo Cup meetings 152

Waterloo Cup winners 153

Webber, Mr. Thomas 85

Wee Kate (setter) 361

Welcome, Mr. Jennings's

bloodhound 26

Wellesley, Colonel 216

Wellesley, Col., and the Hon.

Mrs 219

Welshpool Dog Show 319

W'estenra, Colonel 347

Westminster, Duke of 446

Westminster, thelateMarquis of 241
Westmoreland, black setters in 317
Westmoreland, the foxhounds

of 47

Whaddon Chase, bloodhounds

at 28

Wheatley, F., R.A 435

Whippet, the 167

Whippet coursing and racing

rules 170, 172

Whippets, size of 169

Page.

W'hirlwind (Borzoi) 223

White Heather II. (Gordon

setter) 338

Whitehouse, Mr 243, 245, 250

W'iggle (dachshund) 541

W'ilbey, Mr .'. 27, 189

Wilde, Dr 198

Wilkinson, Mr. T 118, 166

Williams, Dr 456

Wilson, Mr. H. M 363

Wilton, Lord 45

Windle Princess (Great Dane) 189
Windle Queen (Great Dane) 189
Windrush Riot (dachshund)... 545
Windrush Waldine (dachs-
hund) 545

Wolfhound Club 203

Wolfhound, heights and

weights of 203

Wolfhound, Irish 195

Wolfhound, Irish, character of 200
Wolfhound, standard of points 204
Wolverton's (Lord) pack of

bloodhounds 27

Wood, Dr 305

Woodbine (setter) 363

Woodhead, Dr 506

Woodhill Beta (setter) 303

Woodhill Bruce (setter) 303

Woodhouse, Mr. A. 1 521

Wroolland, Mr. M.... 455, 462, 470

Wootten, Mr 538

Wrestler (Irish setter) 355, 363

Wright, Mr. Hood 23, 27, 134, 204

Wright, Mr. J 133, 208

Wyndham (retriever) 382

Wynne, Hon. C. H 119

Wynnstay Royal, the 66

5*4

Index.

Page.

Xaverl (dachshund) 533

Xena (basset) 506

Xitta (basset) 513, 515

XL. (retriever) 376

Yates, Mr. W. C 118

Yorkshire Exhibition of Fox-
hounds 57

Youatt, William 357, 406, 433, 478

Young Hilda (spaniel) 421

Young Kent (setter) 335

Young Patsey (spaniel) 421

Page.

Zadkiel (dachshund) 538

Zaidee (dachshund) 538

Zanak (dachshund) 535

Zanker (dachshund) 536

Zenica (dachshund) 544

Zero (basset) 515

Zeyn (dachshund) 540

Zieten (dachshund) 534, 536

Zigzag (dachshund) 535, 538

Zither (dachshund) 540

Zloeem (Borzoi) 223

Zulette (dachshund) 535

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CHARLES FRAZER'S EXORS.,

PALACE PLAIN WORKS, NORWICH.

No. 136.

PORTABLE DOG KENNEL
AND RUN,

REDUCED CASH PRICES-
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£ s. d.
For Terriers (with <;ft.

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For Collies (with fft.

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For Mastiffs (with gft.

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Wood Floor for Runs, 8s. 6d.,
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No. 83.

PORTABLE DOG KENNEL.

Strongly made of seasoned
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REDUCED CASH PRICES.
Carriage Paid on 40s. value.
£ s. d.

For Small Dogs 086

For Terriers 0 18 6

For Collies, Spaniels,

&c 115 0

For Mastiffs, &c 210 0

Outside Platforms for Dog to
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NEW TRAVELLING BOX FOR DOGS.

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CASH PRICES-Carriage Paid on 40s. value.

LENGTH. WIDTH. HEIGHT. £ S. d.

27in. by 2oin. by 24in 0 15 0

36in. by 24in. by 27in 150

48in. by 3oin. by 36in 1 15 0

For long journeys a Drawer is provided, as per

illustration, for Food and Water, at 2s. 6d., 3s. 9d. ,

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Large Illustrated Catalogue of Conservatories, Greenhouses, Poultry
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SPORTING GUN AND RIFLE MAKER,
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BEWARE
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CHILLED SHOT
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IMPROVED KENNEL, with Lifting Front and Sliding Day Bench, finished in the best
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THOMAS & SONS,

SPORTING TAILORS AND RREECHES MAKERS,

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Advertisements.

WORMS IN DOGS.

" OTONEHENGE," in his celebrated work on the Dog,
^-^ says : " Worms are a fertile source of disease in
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Naldire's Soap is harmless to dogs, but fatal to fleas."— ¥R AN K BUCKLAND.

SOLD BY ALL CHEMISTS, PERFUMERS, AND STORES.

Works Published by Horace Cox,

Pheasants :

Their Natural History and Practical Management. By
W. B. TEGETMEIER, F.Z.S. (Member of the British
Ornithologists' Union), Author of "The Natural History
of the Cranes," &c. Illustrated with numerous full-page
engravings drawn from life by T. W. Wood. Second
Edition, greatly enlarged. Royal 4to., bevelled boards,
gilt edges, price 153., by post 155. gd.

NOTICB:S OF THE SECONI> EDITION.

From Yarrell's " British Birds," fourth edition. — " For further details, as well as for instructions
as to the management of pheasants, both in the covert and the aviary, and the disorders to which
they are liable, the reader is referred to Mr. Tegetmeier's excellent work, to which the editor is
under great obligations."

From Nature. — " The work will be found invaluable to anyone projecting the cultivation of
pheasants either in the covert or the aviary."

From the Daily "Telegraph. — " Both in its descriptive and in its practical aspects the treatise is
admirable."

From the Spectator.—" A valuable monograph."

From the Pall Mall Gazette. — "This new and sumptuous edition contains so large an amount of
fresh matter that it may be regarded practically as another work. In its own way it is quite
exhaustive ... In the technical details of rearing and preservation, Mr. Tegetmeier will be
found a thoroughly trustwor hy and scientific guide."

Essays on Sport and Natural
History.

By J. E. HARTING. 8vo., pp. 463, with thirty-two illustra-
tions, price IDS. 6d., by post us.

CONTENTS. — Shooting" ; Hawking"; Fishing"; Training Hawks; Lark Mirrors;
Plover Catching-; Fishing1 with Cormorants; Decoys ; the Irish Wolfhound; the
Badger; Wild Turkeys; the Great Bustard; Seals; Wild Swans, &c.

Thirty-eighth Essays : concluding with Practical Hints on Bird Preserving for the
use of Travellers and Collectors.

Hints on the Management of
Hawks.

By J. E. HARTING, Author of "A Handbook of British
Birds," " Essays on Sport and Natural History." In
demy 8vo., price 33. 6d., by post 35. gd.

"Field" Office, Windsor House, Bream's Buildings, E.G.

Advertisements.

DOG PILLS.

HIND'S ALTERATIVE PILLS

FOR PREVENTING DISTEMPER

AND GETTING DOGS INTO SHOW CONDITION ARE
UNRIVALLED.

W. W. THOMPSON, Esq., writes: " I consider your Pills for getting dogs into condition
most excellent. I have given them a good trial."

R. HOOU-WRIGHT, Esq., writes : " I have never had a single case of distemper amongst
my Deerhounds since I used them."

In addition to the above, the following, amongst a long list of well-known gentlemen,
have signified their entire approval of them : H. Ralph, Esq., T. Easton, Esq., G. Cartmel,
Esq., R. B. Lee, Esq.

SOLD IN BOXES, is. id., as. 6d., and js., Post Free.

WORM POWDERS, A SAFE AND CHEAP VERMIFUGE FOR DOGS, Sold in
Packets, free by Post, Is. Id., by

HIND, CHEMIST, KENDAL.

TRY MY PASTE FOR DESTROYING FLEAS, TICKS, &c. In Tins, gd., is. 3d.
and as. 3d., post free.

WORKS PUBLISHED BY HORACE COX,

Gipsy Tents, and How to Use
Them.

A Handbook for Amateur Gipsies. By G. R. LOWNDES.
Crown 8vo., profusely illustrated, price 2s. 6d., by
post 2s. 9d.

CONTENTS. — Camping- as a Fine Art; Of the Tent Ordinary; The Gipsy Tent
Elementary ; The Gipsy Tent Developed ; The Baulk ; Pitching" and Striking ; Of
Camp Fires; Of a Permanent Camp; A Boating Camp; Of Vans; Pack Saddles;
Cooking Utensils, &c. ; Bedding and Clothes; Of Joys and Sorrows; Addenda;
Index.

LIST OF PLATES. — Amateur Gipsies; A Quiet Backwater; At Shiplake ;
Interior of a Gipsy Tent; Our First Tour; On the Way to the Farm; An Anxious
Question; In the Land o' Cakes; A Visitor; On the Road; Forerunners of the
Sunday Crowd ; A Critical Moment.

"Field" Office, Windsor House, Bream's Buildings, E.G.

Works Published by Horace Cox,

Yacht Architecture.

By DIXON KEMP, Associate of the Institute of Naval
Architects and Member of the Council. This work
enters into the whole subject of the laws which govern
the resistance of bodies moving in water, and the
influence a wave form of body and wave lines have
upon such resistance. It also deals comprehensively
with the subject of Steam Propulsion as applied to
yachts. An easy System for Designing is provided,
and every necessary calculation is explained in detail.
The latter part of the work is devoted to Yacht
Building, and engravings are given of every detail
of construction and fitting, including laying off,
taking bevels, &c. The List of Plates (exclusive of
over thirty devoted to the elucidation of the text, and
nearly two hundred woodcuts) exceeds fifty, and com-
prise the Lines of some of the most celebrated Yachts
afloat by the most successful builders and designers.
SECOND EDITION. Super-royal 8vo., price £2 2s., by
post £2 33.

OPINIONS OF THE PRESS.

'** Mr. Horace Cox, London, has published a new edition of Mr. Dixon Kemp's treatise on

* Yacht Architecture.' The book, which is an admirable exposition of the whole science and art
of designing and building yachts, has been revised, partly re-written, and much enlarged in this
edition. No small part of the new matter consists of new diagrams and plates. The work has from
•the first been exceptionally rich in this practical help to builders. It now contains probably the
miost complete collection of designs of this kind that have been brought together into a book.
The text takes notice of all recent improvements in building and of new developments in the
scientific theories of propulsion by steam and sail. The new edition, on the whole, will keep the
book in its place as an indispensable work of reference and instruction for builders."— The Scotsman,
April 20, 1891.

"One great merit in the second edition of Mr. Kemp's 'Yacht Architecture' is that it is in
•every part written up i o time. The chapter on stability is in every_ respect highly satisfactory,
technical enough to satisfy the specialist, and yet plain enough to inform th^; msn of ordinary
intelligence. So also in regard to centre-boards. When the first edition was published, few
English yachtsmen knew or cared as to what was meant by the term; but the racing for the

* America' Cup, and especially the running of the Thistle with the Volunteer in the autumn of
1887, has created quite a new interest in centre-boards, and the subject is discussed in this edition in
a manner at once simple and lucid. The chapters devoted to steam yachts are among the most
•satisfactory in the book."— Daily Graphic, April 29, 1891.

"'Yacht Architecture,' by Mr. Dixon Kemp, has been re-issued from the Field office, partly

re-written, revised, and enlarged A series of new plates of the lines of the most modern craft

take the place of those accompanying the first edition of the work. By means of these illustrations
the respective British and American types of yachts may be compared, and the amateur may learn
the practice of the best builders upon both sides of the Atlantic."— Daily Telegraph, May 19, 1891.

A handsome and portly volume, which ought to find a place in the library of every yachtsman."
—Glasgow Herald, April 23, 1891.

" Mr. Dixon Kemp's volume supplies yachtsmen with every possible information in a plain
-practical manner, and, furthermore, to the most experienced theorist it will be found of almost
constant use for reference in both theoretical and practical knowledge."— Irish Times, April 28, 1891.

"Field" Office, Windsor House, Bream's Buildings, E.G.

Works Published by Horace Cox,

A Manual of Yacht and Boat
Sailing.

By DIXON KEMP, Associate of the Institute of Naval
Architects and Member of the Council, Author of
" Yacht Designing " and " Yacht Architecture." This
edition has been largely re-written, and contains a
great number of new subjects, and the lines of many
boats never before published, the total number of
Plates exceeding 100, besides more than 350 woodcuts
in the text. Seventh Edition. Super-royal 8vo., price
255., or by post 26s. (The Lords Commissioners of the
Admiralty have ordered this work to be supplied to
the Libraries of the ships of the Royal Navy.)

CONTENTS.— Selecting- a Yacht; Examination of the Yacht; Building a Yacht;
The Equipment of the Yacht ; Seamanship ; The Management of Open Boats ; The
General Management of a Yacht ; The Rules of the Yacht Racing Association ;
Yacht Racing; Handling a Yacht in a Match; Centre-Board Boats; Centre-Board
Boats for Rowing and Sailing; Sails for Centre-Board Boats; Small Centre-Board
Yachts; Mersey Sailing Boats ; Clyde Sailing Boats; Belfast Lough Boats; Dublin
Bay, Kingstown Boats; Cork Harbour Boats; Itchen Boats; Falmouth Quay Punts;
Thames Bawley Boats; Lake Windermere Yachts; Yachts of the Norfolk Broads;
Small Yachts and Boats of Y.R.A. Rating; Single-handed Cruisers; Types of
Sailing Vessels; Double Boats; Steam Yachting; Ice Yachting; Canoeing;
Amateur Canoe Building (in America).

Appendix contains complete instructions as to Practical Boat Building. This
section is arranged alphabetically in the form of a dictionary, and embodies a variety
of information connected with Yachts, Boats, the customs of the sea, laws relating to
seamen, nautical terms, and in fact everything which might be expected in a nautical
cyclopaedia. Full instruction is given as to the building and management of every
boat described.

British and Irish Salmonidae.

BY FRANCIS DAY, C.I.E., F.L.S., and F.Z.S. This work
is an exhaustive treatise on the Salmonidae of the
British Islands, and will be found equally valuable to
the Angler, the Fish Culturist, and the Scientific
Icthyologist. In one volume, imperial 8vo., cloth,
price £1 is., by post £1 is. 6d. With twelve coloured
plates and many woodcuts. A few copies to be had,
beautifully bound in whole calf, full gilt, price 358.

"Field" Office, Windsor House, Bream's Buildings, E.G.

Works Published by Horace Cox,

The Fishes of Great Britain and
Ireland.

By FRANCIS DAY, C.I.E., F.L.S., F.Z.S., Knight of the
Crown of Italy, Hon. Member Deutscher Fischerei-
verein and of the American Fisheries' Society, formerly
Inspector-General of Fisheries in India. In 2 vols.r
imperial 8vo., cloth, price £2 2s., by post £2 35. 6d.,
with engravings of all the species after drawings by
the Author.

The work of Dr. Day is the most elaborate which has been written on the subject.
Each species is, in the first instance, accurately described and illustrated by an
admirable drawing", then follow articles on its habits, its mode of capture, its use as
food, its varieties when any are known to exist, its method of breeding", its general
habitat, and every particular that is known respecting- it, even so far as its diseases,
its local names, and its mode of cookery. The volumes are preceded by an admir-
able introduction of one hundred pages, giving- an account of the peculiar structure of
fish, their senses, mode of breeding-, both natural and artificial, even going so far as
to treat of their instincts and emotions.

To the scientific naturalist and the fish culturist, who desire accurate details, and
the angler who wishes for a more general account of the habits, food, and capture of
each species, the work is equally valuable.

The Fox Terrier.

A History and Description, with Reminiscences, of the Fox
Terrier. By RAWDON B. LEE, Kennel Editor of the
" Field." The illustrations by Arthur Wardle. Second
Edition, demy 8vo., printed on plate paper, with
illustrations on toned paper, price 33. 6d., by post
35. i id. A few copies on large paper, price los. 6d.,
by post us.

" Mr. Rawdon Lee, the Kennel Editor of the Field, has produced one of the, and probably the best
and most complete works on these charming little dogs that has ever been written. The charming
illustrations, the portraits of celebrated dogs, and the vignettes at the end of chapters by Mr. Arthur
Wardle, are well executed, and add much to the beauty of one of the best books of the kind we
have come across."— Poultry, March 28, 1800.

" We have already referred to the new edition of Mr. Rawdon Lee's important work on ' The Fox

destroy.

great value as a record of all that is worth knowing about fox terriers, Mr. Lee's book in its present
cheap and elegant form is a delightful historical, typographical, and artistic addition to the literature
of dogology."— Westmoreland Gazette, March 29, 1890.

Field" Office, Windsor House, Bream's Buildings, E.C.

Works Published by Horace Cox,

The Collie or Sheepdog.

A History and Description of the Collie or Sheepdog, in
his British Varieties. By RAWDON B. LEE, Kennel
Editor of the " Field," and Author of " The Fox
Terrier." Demy 8vo., printed on plate paper, with
illustrations by Arthur Wardle, price 35. 6d., by post
35. i id. A few copies on large paper, price los. 6d.,
by post us.

"'The Collie or Sheepdog ' is a sufficiently well known and popular animal to render a history
and description of the British varieties of the species a welcome addition to the library of the dog
fancier. Mr. Rawdon Lee publishes a volume dealing with the subject, which is issued by Mr.
Horace Cox at the Field Office. Much information as to the breeding and points of th ; dog is given,
together with an exhaustive account of competitive trials, of which the writer has a large experience.
It is needless to say that anecdotes as to the sagacity of the collie are numerous."— Morning Post,

" The subject of the present volume is the ever-popular collie, which is treated in the same attrac-
tive manner as the previous work. It breathes of the hills, and living as Mr. Lee did for so many
years in Westmoreland, he can transfer to his pages many interesting reminiscences of the sheepdog
as a worker, comparing him with the collie in the more refined period of his life. The initial
chapters are excellent reading, and the author has displayed considerable skill in them, bringing as
he does the testimonies of poets and of painters, of shepherds and of breeders." — Fancier's Gazette,
July 18, 1890.

" Mr. Lee's book, filled as it is with accurate information as to the various strains and valuable
suggestions as to their rearing and management, is a manual which to all collie owners or collie
breeders is likely to be highly serviceable."— Saturday Review, May 16, 1891.

The Dogs of the British Islands :

Being a Series of Articles on the Points of their Various
Breeds ; and the Treatment of the Diseases to which
they are Subject. By the late J. H. WALSH, " Stone-
henge," Editor of the " Field" (with the aid of several
experienced Breeders). Fifth Edition. Re-written,
with additions, and new full-page engravings. In one
volume, bevelled boards, gilt edges, price 155., by
post 153. gd.

CONTENTS — GENERAL MANAGEMENT: Management of Dogs in Health; Drugs
Commonly Used for the Diseases of Dogs, and their Modes of Administration ; the
Ordinary Diseases of the Dog and their Treatment; Judging at Dog Shows and
Field Trials. SPORTING DOGS: Dogs Used with the Gun; Hounds and their
Allies. NON-SPORTING DOGS: Watch Dogs; Sheep and Cattle Dogs; Terriers
(other th n Fox and Toy) ; Toy Dogs.

" This edition of 'The Dogs of the British Islands ' contains so much fresh matter that it may
be almost considered a new work. To breeders and lovers of dogs the b9ok is an invaluable one-
Here are all the discussions upon moot points of breed, strain, colour, size, and form, which have
taken place in the columns of the Field since 1865 ; here the law for judging dogs, and the number of
marks to be awarded for the various points are clearly laid down : here the specialities of the most
celebrated sires of various species are talked over, and the history, so to speak, of each breed of dog
is given. To this are added directions for the management and treatment of dogs in health and in
sickness. Altogether it is a i>ade mecum for the dog fancier and breeder."— Evening Standard.

"Field" Office, Windsor House, Bream's Buildings, E.C.

[2]

Works Published by Horace Cox,

The Modern Sportsman's Gun and
Rifle.

Including Game and Wildfowl Guns, Sporting and Match
Rifles, and Revolvers. In Two Volumes : Vol. L,
Game and Wildfowl Guns ; Vol. II. , The Rifle and
Revolver. By the late J. H. WALSH, " Stonehenge,"
Editor of the " Field/' Author of " Dogs of the British
Islands/' " The Greyhound," " British Rural Sports,"
&c. Demy 8vo., in TWTO Volumes, price 155. each, by
post 155. 6d. each.

" A perusal of Mr. Walsh's book has forced upon us the conclusion, one that will be shared by
neariy every leader, that it is indisputably the standard work on the subject, and is likely 'ong to

remain so— a position it richly merits We are only fulfilling a duty to the public when

we say that no man connected in any way with guns or gunnery should be without a copy of Mr.
Walsh's masterly volume."— Birmingham Daily Gazette, Nov. 21, 1882.

Sporting Sketches with Pen and
Pencil.

By the late FRANCIS FRANCIS and A. W. COOPER. Demy
4to., with twelve full-page illustrations, some of which
contain Portraits of Sporting Celebrities, and twenty-
four vignettes, price los. 6d., by post us.

CONTENTS. — The First of September; A Day in a Punt; Mark Cock! T routing;
Long" Tails and Short Ones; Paying" the Pike; Rabbit Shooting"; Reaching; Grouse
Shooting; Salmon Fishing; Snipe Shooting; Grayling Fishing.

The Cattle of Great Britain :

Being a Series of Articles on the Various Breeds of Cattle
of the United Kingdom, their History, Management,
&c. Edited by the late J. COLEMAN, Editor of the
Farm Department of the " Field," and formerly
Professor of Agriculture at the Royal Agricultural
College, Cirencester. Illustrated with full - page
engravings drawn principally from life by Harrison
Weir. In Imperial 4to., bevelled boards, gilt edges,
price i8s., by post i8s. gd.

"Field" Office, Windsor House, Bream's Buildings, E.C.

Works Published by Horace Cox,

The Sheep and Pigs of Great
Britain :

Being a Series of Articles on the Various Breeds of Sheep
and Pigs of the United Kingdom, their History,
Management, &c. Edited by the late J. COLEMAN,
Editor of the Farm Department of the " Field," and
formerly Professor of Agriculture at the Royal
Agricultural College, Cirencester. Illustrated with
full-page engravings drawn principally from life by
Harrison Weir. In Imperial 4to., bevelled boards, gilt
edges, price i8s., by post i8s. gd.

Estate Management :

A Practical Handbook for Landlords, Agents, and Pupils.
By CHARLES E. CURTIS. With a Legal Supplement
by a Barrister. Third Edition. In demy 8vo., price
i os. 6d., by post i is.

CONTENTS. — Letting" and Leases; Farm Valuations; Forestry; Underwood;
Fences; Grasses suitable for Woods and Plantations; The Home Farm; Repairs
and Materials; The Blights of Wheat and other Cereals; Accounts; Useful Rules
of Arithmetic and Mensuration.

Poultry for the Table and Market

Versus Fancy Fowls, with an Exposition of the Fallacies of
Poultry Farming. By W. B. TEGETMEIER, F.Z.S.
Second Edition nearly ready, revised and enlarged,
with many additional engravings. Demy 8vo., price
2s. 6d., by post 2s. yd.

CONTENTS. — Introductory; Game Fowls; Dorking; Cochins; Brahmas; Lang-
shans, Plymouth Rocks, and Wyandottes; Malays, Indian Game, and Aseels;
French Table Breeds — Houdans, Crevecoeur, and La Fleche ; Non-sitting Varieties —
Spanish, Minorcas, Andalusian, and Leghorn; Non-sitting and Other Varieties;
Housing; Feeding; Hatching; Rearing the Chicken; Breeding for the Market —
Eggs; Breeding for the Market — Chickens; Fattening; Turkeys and Guinea Fowl ;
Ducks; Geese; Diseases of Poultry ; Fallacies of Poultry Farming; Fowls in Small
Runs; Caponising.

"Field" Office, Windsor House, Bream's Buildings, E.C.

Advertisements.

ANDERSONS'
CELEBRATED " BREADALBANE " WATERPROOF

SHOOTING COSTUME.

Extract from the " FIELD," Dec. i2th, 1891.

SIR,— The letters on "Shooting Garments for Rough Weather" in your last issue will
doubtless be read with interest by those who, like myself, require garments which when
donned will not only allow the wearer to SHOOT WITH EASE
AND COMFORT, but which will comply with the (to my mind)
far more important conditions of LIGHTNESS AND DURA-
BILITY, and of allowing the wearer to put them on and off
without loss of time. I have at length
secured what I have for some time been on
the look out for, viz., combination water-
proof garments, which, while fulfilling
the above conditions, also keep me ABSO-
LUTELY DRY IN THE HEAVIEST RAIN.
MY "COMBINATION," the excellence of
which I have had lately ample facility of
putting to the proof, is of the following descrip-
tion : Besides the usual shooting cape (fitted
with straps passing under the arms, to admit of
the cape being thrown off the shoulders when
required), I wear, when the weather demands
it, a skirt or kilt of the same material as the
cape. THIS SKIRT buckles round the waist,
and reaches down a couple of inches or so below
the top of the gaiters. TH E CAPE is made long
enough to reach down some loin, below the top
of the skirt, thus covering TWO CAPACIOUS
CARTRIDGE POCKETS (which are also pro-
tected by flaps) placed on either side of the skirt.
Capes are all very well to keep the shoulders dry,
but naturally they drip at the corners, thereby
before very long effectually wetting the thighs
and legs — the wet, moreover, eventually soaking
into the boots. I, in common with many others,
can no longer risk with impunity sitting down to
lunch with wet legs and feet. TH E CAPE AND
SKIRT worn together will, as I have stated,
keep legs and thighs, as well as the shoulders,
absolutely dry in the heaviest downpour. • The
material I selected is very light and durable, as
well as perfectly waterproof, and the two gar-
ments can be put on and off in a very short
time (which is more than can be said of the
smock), and are quite comfortable to walk in.
They fit into a valise about i8in. by 8in., which
can be slung over the shoulder, and weighs but
little. Messrs. Anderson, Anderson, and
Anderson, of 37, Queen Victoria Street, made
mine to order, and though I claim
no originality for them (I believe
they have been used before now), I
am bound to say they fulfil the con-
ditions I insisted on — that I should
be able to SHOOT WITH EASE,
WALK ANY DISTANCE WITH
EASE, AND, ABOVE ALL, KEEP
DRY. SOLDAT.

FISHING WATERPROOFS YACHTING

Carefully Note
Address,

A ~M"T\T~D O A"KTdJ THE WATERPWOOF MANUFACTURERS,

AIN JJJCjIloUlN O 37, QUEEN VICTORIA ST., LONDON, E.G.

14 DAY USE

RETURN TO DESK FROM WHICH BORROWED

LOAN DEPT.

This book is due on the last date stamped below, or

on the date to which renewed.
Renewed books are subject to immediate recall.

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