 Section 22 of The American Book of the Dog. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by William Jones. The American Book of the Dog, G. O. Shields Editor. Section 22. The Smooth Coated Fox Terrier by August Belmont Jr. I have been earnestly and repeatedly requested by the editor of this book to write an article on the Fox Terrier. I declined it first for a want of time and because I felt that someone else might do the work in a more finished manner than I. I would gladly have persisted in this course, but was led to consider it my duty to undertake the task because I represent so important an interest in the breed and because I desire to do everything possible to promote its growth in public favor. This beautiful species of terrier is, it must be admitted, better and more widely understood and appreciated at his home in England than here in America. On this side of the water, his popularity has but just begun and his early history has been more ably treated by English writers than it is possible for an American to treat it. It will therefore suffice for the purposes of this article to give a general sketch of the Fox Terrier's early history, which at best is somewhat vague a description of its characteristics as condensed a review as possible of the principal strains and a brief survey of what we possess here in America on which to found a worthy branch of a now magnificent breed in Great Britain. Terriers corresponding to the present Fox Terrier, both wire haired and smooth, have undoubtedly existed for several centuries, although they were as far as any allusion to them can be found in the works of early writers on sporting matters, clasped and spoken of under the general term of terrier. A corrupted word derived from their Latin appellation terrarious, indicating their propensity to hunt underground. The characteristics of the terrier, whether of one species or another, were in the main the same as they are today. Viz, a natural inclination to hunt and destroy vermin of any kind, pursuing it to its refuge wherever it be within the terrier's power to reach it. This trait, being accompanied by a sprightly and tense nervous nature, keen sense of hearing, quick vision, a most unerring nose and an indomitable gameness. This last quality must not be misunderstood as it often is when applied to this breed. Bulldog tenacity is not wanted in a dog bred and used for the purposes for which the Fox Terrier is most popular and therefore should not be an attribute. Being intended to hunt with and for his master, he should be ready and eager to attack the object of the hunt, entering into its hiding place and indicating the locality by giving tongue or drawing out the game into the open. It is not desirable that he should close with and kill the game as a bull terrier would do. Of course the Fox Terrier will do this eventually, as he should as a last resort, or if urged to by its master. This style of hunting and fighting requires great dash, courage and dexterity. In trying to succeed in this method of helping to secure the animal hunted, he is often compelled to receive more punishment than if his tactics were purely a light to kill. His nose is keener for general game than that of any other breed of terrier. He was often used by gamekeepers in bygone days and even by some of them in modern times to do the work of a spaniel. It is clearly established that in accordance with the special preferences of individual sportsmen in early times, for hunting certain animals so they unquestionably selected bread and used, in accordance with their size and make-up, the terriers best suited to each animal hunted. From the fox and the otter down to the common rat, for the fox, therefore, a dog about size and general confirmation of the fox terrier of today, waned from sixteen to eighteen pounds, was undoubtedly employed, and old prints and paintings now and then met with illustrate terriers of this form in a moderately accurate way. As fox hunting came in vogue in England and grew in popularity, we find attached to the kennels terriers which are progenitors of the present fox terrier. They appear to have been bred, however, for use only and aptitude for their work must have been paramount to beauty as most old paintings and prints illustrating the bolting of foxes from their earth by dogs represent as a real rather dark and not prettily marked terriers, often with prick ears. Here and there a clue is given by some author or artist to white and pied terriers, both smooth and rough-coated, but there is no such thing as an absolute and exact type traceable in the fox terrier as is the case with grey hounds and different species of hounds used in the chase for centuries past. It will have to satisfy the fox terrier lover who desires to establish the claim of his pet breed to purity of blood to say that the best fox hound kennels in the beginning of the century were possessed of good terriers and are known to have given their breeding the most careful attention so that when recourse was had to such kennels as the grove, velvore and corn to the bill of the present breed of fox terriers upon, terriers were easily found in and about these kennels as true in type as the best of today, although perhaps not so perfect in the special points which breeding purely for the bench chose has since produced during the early part of the century. The indications are that the terrier which accompanied the earth stopper or the pack was often dark in color. I have myself an old print of 1825 which I found at Oxford ten years ago representing Sir Tatton Sykes hounds drawing covert in the lower corner is depicted the earth stopper spade in hand watching the workings of the hounds with an excellent pale colored black and tan terrier by his side good drop ears straight legs who apparently standing a little higher from the ground than is desirable at the present time. The history of the fox terrier resolves itself into three periods the first dating from about the 16th century to the end of the 18th during which time we have evidence of his existence along with the rest of the genus terrier bred in the stable yard and by gamekeepers as a real plebeian master then the fox terrier graduates and we read careful descriptions of him and records of his having been bred with great care but for work primarily in connection with well established and conducted packs of foxhounds in England breaking as a necessary adjunct of the hunt down to the middle of the present century at this time the country was rapidly becoming more open the pace growing very much faster and the chase and preservation of the fox much more artificial in consequence the little fox terrier's vocation seems to be on the wane and his future in doubt at the end of this the second period of his history we find him suddenly about 1863 attracting the attention of the general public at the then budding dog shows of Birmingham Leeds Manchester and other Midland and northern cities he is immediately taken up by the fancier and from that time begins the third and great period of his history with all its modern adjuncts noble lineage jealous and active competition among his patrons research and study of the past for evidences of his royal blood prominence in the sporting prince of the day and later journals and magazines especially devoted to his interests an insatiable demand springs up for him from every quarter resulting in most princely prices being paid and last but not least associations formed by men of means and prominence to intelligently perpetuate and improve his type the fancier's first care was naturally enough directed to the typical kennel terrier of the day keeping in view symmetry and the accepted features of his anatomy which his vocation and selection in breeding had produced in the hands of breeders in riders of good hunters and the huntsmen and masters of cracked packs of hounds the fox terrier was in no small degree bred to agree in general conformation and type with both hunter and hound the same hard and continuous work in all sorts of weather being required of all three the earlier judges at the shows followed this idea and the fans years through the fox terrier club later adopted a standard which confirms this and which has been incorporated in the rules of the American fox terrier club and is today the standard according to which the fox terrier is judged at all shows in the United States and Great Britain some 12 years ago a cloudy short horn pattern of terrier found a passing support but was soon dropped without greatly damaging the breed standard and scale of points of the American fox terrier club head and ears 15, stern 5, neck 5, legs and feet 20 shoulders and chest 15, coat 10, back and loin 10, symmetry and character 15, hind quarters 5 for a total of 100 disqualifying points 1, nose, white, cherry or spotted to a considerable extent with either of these colors 2, ears, prick, tulip or rose 3, mouth, much undershot or much overshot the skull should be flat and moderately narrow and gradually decreasing in width to the eyes not much should be apparent but there should be more dip in the profile between the forehead and top jaw than a scene in the case of a greyhound the cheeks must not be full the ears should be V shaped and small of moderate thickness and drooping forward close to the cheek not hanging by the side of the head like a foxhounds the jaw upper and under should be strong and muscular should be a fair punishing strength but not so in any way to resemble the greyhound or modern English terrier there should not be much falling away below the eyes this part of the head should however be moderately chiseled out so as not to go down in a straight slope like a wedge the nose toward which the muzzle must gradually taper should be black the eyes and the rims should be dark in color, small and rather deep set full of fire, life and intelligence as early as possible circular in shape the teeth should be as nearly as possible level i.e. the upper teeth on the outside of the lower teeth the neck should be clean and muscular without throating us a fair length and gradually widening to the shoulders shoulders should be long and sloping well laid fine at the points and clearly cut at the withers chest deep and not broad back should be short straight and strong with no appearance of slackness loin should be powerful and very slightly arched the fore ribs should be moderately arched the back ribs deep and the dog should be well ribbed up hindquarters should be strong and muscular quite free from droop or crouch the thighs long and powerful, hocks near the ground the dog standing well up on them like a foxhound and not straight in the stifle stern should be set on rather high and carried gaily but not over the back or curled it should be of good strength anything approaching a pipe stopper tail being especially objectionable legs viewed in any direction must be straight showing little or no appearance of ankle in front they should be strong in bone throughout short and straight in pasturn both fore and hind legs should be carried straight forward in traveling the stifles not turning outward the elbows should hang perpendicularly to the body working free of the sides feet should be round compact and not large the soles hard and tough the toes moderately arched and turned neither in nor out coats should be smooth flat but hard dense and abundant the belly and underside of the thighs should not be bare color white should predominate brindle red or liver markings are objectionable otherwise this point is of little or no importance symmetry size and character the dog must present a generally gay lively and active appearance bone and strength in small compass are essentials but this must not be taken to mean that a fox terrier should be cloggy or in any way coarse speed and endurance must be looked to as well as power and the symmetry of the foxhound taken as a model the terrier like the hound must on no account be leggy nor must he be too short in the leg he should stand like a cleverly made hunter covering a lot of ground yet with a short back as before stated he will then attain the highest degree of propelling power together with the greatest length of stride it is compatible with the length of his body weight is not a certain criterion of a terrier's fitness for his work general shape size and contour are the main points and if a dog can gallop and stay and follow his fox up a drain it matters little what his weight is to a pound or so though roughly speaking it may be said that he should not scale over 20 pounds in show condition wire haired fox terrier this variety of the breed should resemble the smooth sword in every respect except the coat which should be broken the harder and more wary the texture of the coat is the better on no account should the dog look or feel woolly and there should be no silky hair about the pole or anywhere else the coat should not be too long so as to give the dog a shaggy appearance but at the same time it should show a marked and distinct difference all over from the smoothed species the premier honors in the dog classes of the earliest shows were divided in the main between the four great terriers Jock, Trap, Carter and Rattler the first two became celebrated at stud Jock succeeding principally through the female line while Trap was successful through both male and female both traps and Jock's pedigrees are obscure but their origin as far as deciphered points strongly to the grove kennels strain of terriers and while white with but little markings it has always claimed the black and tan ran in their veins the combination of these two great dogs gave to the fancy a host of terriers which made their market stud and on the bench and which figured today in most of the pedigrees of the prize winning strains Tyrant by old trap out of violent by old Jock was the sire of chance who bred to a daughter of old Jock gave to the terrier world Trixie the dam of Brock and Hearst Joe and champion olive son and daughter of the bell grave Joe a bell war breed terrier Brock and Hearst Joe who passed his last days in this country more than any other dog is responsible through his son Brock and Hearst Raleigh for the celebrated strain of the Messers Clark of Nottingham it includes among its enormous list of winners result pronounced by competent judges as the best terrier of modern times champion olive produced Pickle the second who while not a show terrier was the sire of more successful brood bitches than any dog in the annals of fox terrier breeding olive was also the dam of champion Spice of whom more later Jock's only descendants in the female line which command our interest today was through his grandson gesture the second the sire of many a good one while the strain has rather poor woolly coats and indifferent heads it possesses great character gameness and excellent bone champion bedlamite the dam of Bakhanal now the property of Mr. John A. Logan Jr. of Youngstown Ohio is a daughter of gesture the second son Joker Bakhanal possesses probably the truest terrier character of any dog we have on this side of the Atlantic tartar while successful in a measure as a sire cannot be classed with the first two as a great progenitor of today's breed perhaps his best strain is the one which came through his son Trophy the grand sire of Corinthian a dog which produced so many good ones that his blood became at one time a very popular and successful one they were noted for the rapid maturity but as they advanced in years tended to grow coarse and thick in the head most of their bench honors were acquired during their puppyhood in early maturity Mr. Fred Hoy's champion valet however who is directly of this strain and is now quite well along in his years is a marked exception rotating his form wonderfully his incurable and unaccountable impotence has been a very great loss to American breeders the tartars are all game as wild cats old Trophy who passed his last days with Sir Bache Cunard's hounds in Leicestershire sported but half a jaw having lost the other half to a badger Sir Bache told me that this dog remained unconquerably game to his last hour I owned a lovely bitch Nelly whom I brought home in 1876 by old tartar said to have been out of the honorable T. W. Fitzwilliams nettle she bred me some extraordinarily game terriers to Bismarck a son of the marquee of Huntley's Bounce he a son of Old Trap and the grand sire of the peerless Buffett she also bred me some good ones to a son of Hognistan Doe and Ferry the dam of Mixture whom I got from Mr. Murchison in 1878 I have no more of this strain and while not quite as good for the bench as my present prize winners they were true terriers and would be invaluable to me today to infuse great character and gameness in my kennels from a bench show point of view Tike was undoubtedly tartar's best son he never did very much at stud and owing to the line coats which appeared in this line of blood there is a strong suspicion of a cross of bull terriers somewhere shovel a son of tartar's good son trumps is now in California and possessing as he does an infusion of Belvoir blood ought to do good service in improving the breed on the pacific coast rattler the fourth of the early great terriers mentioned above represented nothing but a brilliant personal career he was a failure at stud his antecedents were cloudy and yet he for many years was invincible on the bench a strain which every breeder today cannot fail to wish to know about considering its phenomenal success through such dogs as Splinter and all of his famous sons headed by Lucifer and female descendants headed by the great Vesuvian including champion Diana and Diana the last two having for some years figured as American matrons is the foiler strain its origin is principally from the grove terriers foiler being by Old Grip a son of grove Willie out of Judy one of Reverend Jack Russell's strain the characteristics of the strain are excellent heads, legs and feet in the latter point these terriers as an average excel all others they are prone however to drooping quarters hind do-claws and if bed in closely large ears the foilers are the most difficult of all to handle in breeding but with care I prefer them to all others they are well represented in this country by a number of stud dogs Lucifer, dusky trap and splogger are direct descendants of the male line from the old dog perhaps the most important of all are the Belvoir terriers about 16 years ago Belgrave Joe began to attract attention as a sire and from Mr. Luke Tanner's and Mr. Murchison's kennels came a host of winners these terriers were essentially of the Belvoir kennels strain every pedigree today whether of one family or another is thoroughly saturated with this blood freer from bullcross than any others it greatly changed the type of the winning terriers when widely introduced and with this extraordinary ability to stand successful in breeding it may be said to have done more to disseminate a good average terrier than any other strain it brought symmetry, character and good coats although more profuse than before and it was not until the advent of Champion Spice with his doubtful lineage on his damned side that a branch of the Belvoir strain through him went all two pieces as regards their jackets the tremendous opportunities given this very good dog at stud resulted in a very few good ones Mixtur, Brockenhurst Spice Earl Leschesser and Heisop were about the best his blood however with careful handling and tempered with that of strains of more fixity of type helped produce Rachel First Flight, Syrup Raffle, Chateaux and a host of others in the second third and fourth generations Spice was brought to America in 1886 by Mr. Kelly of New York at the largest price ever paid by an American exhibitor his career was very short after doing that little service in the stud he lost his life in a fight with one of Mr. Kelly's dearhounds within the year so that what spice blood we have in this country did not come to us directly from him Earl Leschesser, his kennel companion was disposed of in the same way by Mr. Kelly's Grecian Greyhound last year Mixtur is in Mr. John E. Thayer's kennels at Lancaster, Massachusetts where he has done excellent service in the stud just at this moment his strain is becoming a special interest it is the buffer through his grandson buff at one time much thought of but of recent years little used and often much abused the buffers were always accused of possessing a cross of beagle which brought them heavy listless ears and a want of true character I must say my own experience with blood akin to it gave me some results of that very sort Buffer with a son of the Marquis of Huntley's Bounce and the dog I used with my tartar bitch Nellie spoken of already in this article was also a son of his called Bismarck 10 years ago a friend of mine and I also tried in breeding for three generations the marked features above alluded to cropped out now and then although I will acknowledge one dog a real terrier was a game big brute and weighed 33 pounds Buffer produced Buffett claimed by competent judges to have been the most perfectly built fox terrier that has to their knowledge existed he sired little of great value outside of his famous son buff this white dog possessing wonderful legs and feet great character and symmetry had a very successful career on the bench and was extensively used at stud his get was only fair with the exception of two beautiful daughters bloom and blossom buff was cursed with periodical attacks of eczema and this with the fact that careless use of his blood and attempts at inbreeding brought out large ears and bad hands soon caused his blood to be discarded for the more successful families that followed his period certainly what buff produced for Mr. Lawrence to jeopardy and some other bitches in this country was not good I had a bitch inbred to him with which I never succeeded in rearing a fit puppy to escape the stable pale measures Rutherford and a nice little son above called it nailer who got some very neat terriers such as they were in America at the time he figured on our benches Mr. Gushing of Boston has however today a very useful dog by buff out of jeopardy if anyone desires the old dog's blood I dare say his services might be obtained true buff enters into the Clark Strain through Rolik but it only appears as a small and useful ingredient where however today we see this blood jumps suddenly to the front is through Mrs. Vickery's kennels it's crossed with the foilers through splinter in his hands has given us Vesuvian and Vino the extent to which the latter is being used at stud and I hear with success and the fact that I have four young sons of his out of Rachel coming on who are likely or accidents to disseminate the blood in this country makes the study of this fortunate combination interesting the simplest ways to give an extended pedigree of the cross and by it will be seen how through foiler on the sire Vesuvian side a little brother of Lucifer's the blood of Rolik predominates buff on the damn vanilla's side appears through an inbred cross to conclude the subject of the different strains of blood among fox terriers I have selected the Clark or Brockenhurst rally strain because it is the most distinct in type because it has in a given period produced more high class bitch winners than any other and because it furnishes the best example of a most carefully worked out instance of successful inbreeding known to fox terrier history the Messers Clark two brothers living in Nottingham founded the family with practically three terriers one dog and two bitches the dog was Brockenhurst rally an excellent son of Brockenhurst Joe and Moss the second a granddaughter of old white tyrant the bitches were Jess a daughter of Hazel Hurst's Grip he a son of Turk out of Patch a granddaughter of Oldtrap and Rolik a daughter of Buff and Nectar the second by Old Foiler the first rally was bred to both Jess and Rolik the offspring of these two unions were bred together for several generations and this crossing and re-crossing the two precisely the same blood is what produced result and all the terriers so closely related him including Roysterer, Regent, Reckoner, Rachel Radiance, Reckon, Rational Raffle, etc. which for the last six years have held almost undisputed its way on the English Benches it was but last year that they finally succumbed to Mr. Vickery's kennels although Russelly Toff the best puppy of this year and purchased by Mr. F. Redmond from his breeder Mr. W. F. Tomer of Swindon for 200 guineas essentially of the Brockenhurst rally family now and then an outcross was made such as that to heist up the best fronted son of Spice from which came Heather Bell and Harmony respectively the dams of Rachel and Raffle and to New Forest the son of Splinter and Olive the second from which Cross first flight was the fruit Reckoner is also credited with one outcross in his grand damn knell a bitch of foiler and buff blood in the main however the Clark Terriers trace to Brockenhurst rally and the two bitches Jess and Raleigh here there appears a complicated multi-page lineage chart the family tree of this breed it is undoubtedly Brockenhurst rally's Belvoir blood as well as the care and intelligence of Messer Clark's handling which has permitted the inbreeding of these carriers to be so remarkably successful the striking features of the Clark Terriers are a tendency to uniformity in markings all black or black with very little tan markings on the head predominate white bodies of course or white bodies with black patches accompanying a high average of well carried and exceptionally small ears a smooth outline their muscles being beautifully distributed and showing no bossiness excellent coats legs and feet grand ribs and loin and they are from my own experience very game and good workers their peculiarities naturally appear persistently and are domed skulls shoulders not a blink enough and consequently a tendency to stand out at the elbows thereby sometimes in the judging ring throwing away well-deserved prizes before a judge fastidious on the question of narrow and straight fronts returning to Russell a toff a dog I have not seen but which my kennel manager Mr. German Hopkins saw when abroad last spring it has carefully described to me I should judge to be a dog with all the best features of the Clark carriers and with neither of their prominent faults that is to say domed skull or indifferent shoulders toff is a beautifully fronted dog in fact that would have to be the case for Mr. Redmond to own him he being compromisingly wedded to that most important of all points in a fox terrier toff's out cross is however right back into the blood the Messers Clark drew from he is by stipendiary a son of Rachel's son Reckon out of Shendi a granddaughter on both sides of Belgrave Joe his dam is by Regent out of Rutty Rutty is by Brockenhurst Joe rally's sire not of a granddaughter of champion Olive the sister of Brockenhurst Joe he will thus be seeing that there is still reason to expect this great strain to hold its own in the front rank although as it is the world over the latest champion is always the most popular American breeders while not having as yet produced a result Vesuvian have really a most excellent collection of terriers to breed from including practically every strain of consequence the blood of jock trap and tartar first came to us through the importation by Mr. Newbold Morris of a very fair terrier called Gamester in 1877 he produced quite a number of nice puppies at the time but his blood has now quite disappeared from our bitches nothing very serious was done in getting out high class terriers until the Messers Lawrence of Grotton, Massachusetts and Messers Rutherford of Allmatchy Warren County, New Jersey began exhibiting about the year 1882 Mr. Lawrence bought Old Buff and Brockenhurst Joe and some nice bitches including Jeopardy Deacon Rosie from Mr. JC-10 for three or four years these terriers and their offspring adorned our bitches but unfortunately Mr. Lawrence's kennels being far away from the principal breeders of the time the old dogs received comparatively few outside bitches when they died four years ago Mr. Lawrence to the great regret of our fanciers gave up active breeding Messers Rutherford made some very useful importations beginning in 1881 including Old Boestring by Turk Swansden by Saracen Old Champion Royal and a number of crosses of Buff among them Nailer by Buff, import in Utero and later Old Viola the grandam son of their famous bitch Diana the blood of their earlier importations has given away to the modern strains with which they have liberally sprinkled their kennels Diana, Splogger, Raffle and Cornwall Duchess being the most prominent of their own while they have availed themselves unsteadily of every stead dog accessible to them in Swansden by Saracen a strain came to us which I have not mentioned and which possesses some local interest for us that is to say the Turk this dog at one time quite popular in England a son of Old Grip with probably a predominance of grove blood in him got two sons, litter brothers who were used considerably Muslim and Saracen the strain was noted for gameness Muslim produced a coarse branch while Saracen's get showed quality a son of Muslim, Muslim II was brought to this country and received much unmerited puffy he was a fair dog of rather common mold fortunately for American breeders his moderate career on our benches was short and our breeders escaped his undesirable blood at stud Swansden by Saracen on the other hand, bred to Brockenhurst Joe produced Warren Lady the dam of General Grant a very credible terrier in his early maturity she was also the dam of a lively bitch Lady Warren mixture by mixture which Mrs. Rutherford lost through Distemper barring a delicate constitution she was quite the prettiest quality bitch bred on this side Mr. James Mortimer of the Westminster Kennel Club, Babylon Long Island one of our best judges and a very successful breeder from Swansden's blood got his excellent puppy Suffolk Risk by Raffle Shortly after the importation of Brockenhurst Joe and Buff by Mr. Lawrence Mr. John E. Thayer of Lancaster, Massachusetts brought out the then famous Richmond Olive and Rabbi Tyrant at the highest prices at that time paid by American breeders Founding with these two terriers his celebrated hillside kennels of fox terriers they can hardly be said to represent a strain they represent rather a combination of blood with which Mr. George Raber a very clever breeder in England had much success but both Olive and Rabbi Tyrant seem to have failed to reduce themselves or any very remarkable terriers on this side of the water Mr. Thayer later added Mixtur Belgrave Primrose Reckoner and Richmond Dazzle to his kennels amid a large draft from Mr. Fred Hoy's kennels with this additional blood Mr. Thayer is bringing out very creditable youngsters Mr. Fred Hoy whose kennels are at Hollywood Long Branch, New Jersey one of our good judges and a keen and intelligent breeder has been very successful with a smaller kennel than those named above from Lorette a sister of Spice in Olive II the dam of New Forest he bred a lovely bitch mace the second to Brockenhurst Joe which unfortunately died of distemper after the Boston show of 1886 most of his terriers have come from Mr. Vickery's kennels including his famous valet his sire Venetian and some recent importations of the strains closely related to the Suvian's blood Mr. Edward Kelly of New York the founder of our Fox Terrier Club and a liberal importer of many good terriers of the Belvoir strains has done much for our American Fox Terrier family of recent years he has not been as active owing to business cares absorbing his leisure the debt American breeders owe him must nevertheless not be forgotten Mr. Clarence Rathbone of Albany must be counted as one of the faithful of the faithful his Beverwick kennels of Albany, New York contain representatives of every known strain and in the hands of so enthusiastic and tireless a breeder a vast amount of good work is being done which should surely one of these days be crowned with the breeding of some clinkers with my own the Blimpton kennels ends the list of our kennels of importance up to within two years since then enthusiastic breeders have started kennels of which much will be heard in the near future Mr. RS Ryan of Baltimore has drawn both from our best home kennels and also somewhat from abroad to found his Linden kennels Messers Granger and Van der Poel's recent kennels in Baltimore also give great promise active and keen their kennels are destined to be a creditable support to our leading shows a strong and enthusiastic combination has been formed by two young breeders of means Mr. Moses Taylor and Mr. James T. Burton Jr of New York their kennels are known as the Wooddale kennels at Wooddale near Troy on the Hudson they spare neither time nor expense and will soon appear on our benches with good strings to compete with the old kennels who must now look to their laurels for all these newly organized kennels are on the right track as far as the blood they possess is concerned Mr. John A. Logan Jr of Youngstown, Ohio is another of our very best new breeders with his already wide experience with dogs and horses being an excellent sportsman and fond of the best of everything in quadrupeds his Oriole kennels will certainly become familiar to every fox terrier lover in the country a very important importation has been made this year by Mr. H. E. Aster Carey of New York a new acquisition to the fancy he brought out First Flight New Forest Best Son a dog combining the splinter and spice cross with the carc strain also a full sister of champion Rachel and one or two other excellent brood bitches Mr. Carey's kennels cannot fail to meet with success with such blood to begin with on the Pacific coast the fancy is represented by such breeders as Mr. J. B. Martin San Francisco, California Mr. C. A. Sumner Los Angeles, California while throughout the country are scattered lovers of the breed a list of some of which I subjoin and all of which are doing their good work Mr. W. T. McAleese Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mr. John Wren Springfield, Ohio Mr. Lloyd Banks New York City Mr. W. H. Jockel Jr New York City Mr. Louis A. Biddle Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Mr. G. S. Kissel Morristown, New Jersey Mr. Warren Whitney Rochester, New York Bridge, Long Island, New York Our Canadian cousins have for years had an excellent list of active and intelligent fanciers and in their kennels can be found the blood of their own valuable importations of prominent strains from England and from our best kennels in the United States such well-known breeders and exhibitors as Mr. Richard Gibson of Delaware, Ontario Messers Wheeler and Davey of London, Ontario DS Booth of Brockville, Ontario and Mr. J. K. McDonnell of Toronto need no praise from me. It has frequently been claimed that show terriers are wanting in courage as compared with terriers of former days. This is a common can among sportsmen not interested in bench shows. It is true that a terrier not trained for his work will frequently disappoint an owner just as a setter or pointer of the very best strain would disappoint a sportsman in the field if his natural instincts had not been cultivated by training. In proof of the claim that there has been no deterioration in fox terriers, if properly bred I received permission from Mr. Royal P. Carroll of New York, one of our well-known sportsmen, who has just returned from the West to relate a little incident told him Mr. Beck, son of Senator Beck of Kentucky showing what fox terriers are capable of if put to the test. Mr. Beck, who has a ranch near Cheyenne, Wyoming some years ago purchased some of the Blimpton Kennels terriers from which he has since bred quite a pack. Mr. Beck was out with his terriers one day and ran across a good-sized cinnamon bear which the terriers promptly attacked. Of course it was out of the question that they should come out better than second best. They made a very creditable fight, however, and retreated to a violent repulse which they sub-come to as reluctantly as the most exacting critic could wish. End of Section 22 Recording by William Jones Section 23 of the American Book of the Dog This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Tom Mack Tucson, Arizona The American Book of the Dog G. O. Shields Editor Section 23 The Bedlington Terrier by W. H. Russell This dog first emerged from prehistoric obscurity in the county of Northumberland in the extreme north of England. A distinct breed of terrier native and peculiar to this district he was known and appreciated there long before the era of dog shows and since he has become more widely known and carefully bred he has with all his improvements retained the typical characteristics which we find noted in the earliest descriptions of the best specimens and which mark him off from other breeds of terriers. The earliest records and traditions we have treat of him as the associate of gypsies, rat catchers, traveling tinkers and such people to whom he was a friend and guard or an ally and companion in sport. However, humble his patrons at that time may have been they were of a class who thoroughly understood terrier sport hunting with these dogs every animal in the country that he would prefer. Mr. W. E. Alcock the present able secretary of the Bedlington Terrier Club in an article on this breed states that a famous Northumbrian Piper, James Allen by name who was born about 1720 in a gypsy camp in Rothbury Forest near the center of the county has left testimony which has been published in his biography to the effect that his father and himself kept the father William Allen was much flamed for his skill as an otter hunter and was much in request among the gentry as a man who could always show them good sport. The dogs that Allen used were called Rodbury Rothbury Terriers and were the ancestors of the present day Bedlington's some old fanciers claim that Rothbury is the proper name and that ought to have been retained two of the elder Allen's favorite dogs were Peacham and Pinscher names appearing among later dogs and we find the name of Piper derived from Piper Allen born by the first Bedlington Terrier so called pedigrees of known dogs of this breed are traced back to 1792 and 1782 but we have no good description of such dogs until those written in the early part of this century we must remember that 100 years ago Terriers were known only as either rough or smooth and generally speaking we may say that the rough sorts were found where the climate and work were the most trying they therefore come rightly by a reputation for being a tough, plucky, hard-bitten race their hard weather-resisting coats enabling them to withstand the greatest amount of wear and tear whether on land or in water but we do not know as much as we would like to about these early Rodberry Terriers we do know the strain and its geographical situation we know the character and physique of the Northumbrian man he is stalwart and robust seldom corpulent is clean, thrifty, and plodding honest and sincere shrewd and independent we find similar characteristics in his dogs and we may depend upon his appreciation of such animals from the fact that the first of all dog shows was held in the Northumbrian city of Newcastle upon Tyne this was in 1859 subsequently more important shows were held in the larger centers of Great Britain but anyone looking about Newcastle and its neighborhood cannot fail to notice the keen interest taken in sport on every hand in 1825 one Thomas Ainsley a mason bred a remarkably good terrier called Young Piper and from whom many of the best dogs are descended first gave the breed its present name after a town some 13 miles north of Newcastle its present population is about 14,000 mostly outlying from the original village which seems to retain its old time simplicity we have brief descriptions given in several articles on this terrier of the parents of Young Piper the sire Anderson's Piper was a slender built dog 15 inches high and weighing only 15 pounds he was liver colored the hair being of a hard linty texture ears large hanging close to the cheek and slightly feathered at the tips the dam which was brought from the town of Bedlington in 1820 was black with brindled legs and light colored hair on the top of her head she was 13 inches high and weighed 14 pounds thus we can see that 70 years ago at least some of the important characteristics of the modern Bedlington's were met with in their progenitors to be a little fanciful we may imagine that this breed evolved itself or was developed in adaptation to its circumstances the coat is less long and heavy than those of the rough terriers farther north and the build is lighter with more pace for perhaps mountainous regions and longer bursts of speed in fact we find the miners of the great coal beds in this district using these terriers to run rabbits and seeking pace and therefore long legs in their dogs when the Bedlington's were first brought before the public they were in the most part in the hands of these same miners the demand for speed and coursing caused the Bedlington's to be given up in a measure for the Whippet and Greyhound but he will always be remembered as having been the companion and pride and joy of the Gordy however our subject has other fans here as well who are more able and ready to show and carefully breed their dogs 10 years ago to be sure the Bedlington's had been seen and heard out of their home county but were not much spread elsewhere the English kennels of them all over England from Devonshire far north into Scotland the Bedlington Terrier Club has a good list of members well distributed over Great Britain and with two members on this continent the English Kennel Club's studbook records prizes given to Bedlington's at Manchester in 1869 and prize winners are named at the succeeding large shows on January 1, 1890 a dog show was held at Newcastle upon Tyne in the same building as the first of all dog shows in 1859 the number of Bedlington entries was 83 the largest known what crosses helped to produce the Bedlington as we now have him whether the Otterhound contributed to his pendant ear and peak skull and the Greyhound his elegant shape is not known exactly when and how one type became inherent in the breed we can only surmise the underlying quality of the dog which has in no wise been affected by any possible crossing in the remote past is Terrier everything that can be said in favour of the aboriginal rough Terrier from which he has descended may be said of the Bedlington the two names Ainsley and Pickett mark eras overlapping each other in history of our subject there were known previous 1825 and subsequently many other fanciers only less prominent as such following are the points of the Bedlington Terrier as defined and adopted by the Bedlington Terrier club skull narrow but deep and rounded high at occupant and covered with a nice silky tuft or topknot jaw long tapering sharp and muscular as little stop as possible between the eyes so as to form nearly a line from the nose end along the joint of the skull to the occupant the lips close fitting and no flu eyes should be small and well sunk in head the blues should have a dark eye the blue and tan ditto with amber shade livers, sandies etc a light brown eye nose large well angled blues and blue and tans should have black noses livers and sandies have flesh colored teeth level or pincer jawed ears moderately large well forward flat to the cheek thinly covered and tipped with fine silky hair they should be filbert shaped legs of moderate length not wide apart straight and square set and with good sized feet which are rather long neck at root tapering to point slightly feathered on the lower side 9 inches to 11 inches long and scimitar shaped neck and shoulders neck long, deep at base rising well from shoulders which should be flat body long and well proportioned flat ribbed and deep not wide in chest slightly arched back well ribbed up with light quarters hard with close bottom and not lying flat to sides color dark blue, blue and tan liver, liver and tan sandy, sandy and tan height about 15 to 16 inches weight dogs about 24 pounds bitches about 22 pounds general appearance he is a light made up, lathy dog but not shelly pickett preferred the silky top knot to be darker than the rest of the coat but later fanciers prefer the reverse the muzzle should be rather narrow but very deep there should be no cheekiness but the strong jaw muscles should be there all the same the ears should hang low leaving a clear outline of the head the position and size of the eyes minimize the chance of damage to these organs in the show there is no deficiency on the neck of the protected hair needed by a real working terrier of the various genuine bedlington colors the blue black has been of late years preferred the livered colored dogs being but rarely seen at the shows and the other colors hardly at all but there is at present a movement in England to bring in the livers again and they in fact were in the old days of the fancy the favorites beauty is not usually claimed for bedlings but if we know how to look for it I think we may see it on them for if there is beauty in a scotch deerhound why not in what is nearly like it in miniature the obstacle to beauty I should say is the coat this has been greatly improved of late and now it ought not to be either woolly or long although hard the hairs should not be straight but should stand almost on end each one separate and distinct with a twist of its own as if inclined to curl scattered over the body are hairs harder than the rest of the coat which as a whole should be crisp to the touch and neither hard nor silky the coat should be about one and one fourth inches long although it is frequently seen as long as two inches which however is too long as it more readily carries dirt and also conceals the animal's elegant contour to avoid the latter the old and long hairs are often removed for show purposes by hard combing and even plucking how far this has justified will be discussed below the coat from one and one fourth to one and three fourth inches long hard with close bottom and not lying flat to the sides is certainly an outdoor rural workman's jacket flat coats over two inches long on other breeds may be made ornamental but the ideal coat of the Bedlington is to my mind faultless all things considered hard it resists sweat and yet it is so short that coming from the water shaking himself and rolling on the bank the dog is quickly dry my own dogs with the run of a farm and a neighboring stream never need washing and never have to be forbidden any part of the house because of the coat carrying dirt the feet of any dog on a muddy day will mark a white bedspread and the tidy American housewife if there are any dogs about usually shuts the door to the best parlor good specimens of this breed I speak from personal experience resemble one another even more mentally than they do physically there is always the same alert interest in outdoor matters with the ever present pension for hunting and excavating these energies can of course be misdirected and one's chickens or cats may become the unwilling object of the dog's pursuit and if not watchful one may even find the house walls undermined young dogs may however be easily taught to conduct themselves so as to meet with general approbation even respecting their owner's flower beds these dogs are happiest when taken for an outing with their master searching about at a gallop for anything that runs wild I have seen a Bedlington stop a large snake and prevent its escape until having had his attention attracted the owner came up and relieved the dog of further responsibility they readily learn to take to water with delight and do not heat cold or heat or length of road in repose and indoors they usually seem dull not being carpet knights naturally and their coats may seem awry not being shaken out as when at liberty seen in the snow of which they are very fond the coat often looks like a beautiful suit of velvet they have in good specimens something of the appearance of a thoroughbred racehorse and when animated show a fiery energy that illuminates them it is this overflowing vitality and sporting instinct in the field that has such a charm for a man who loves what is all about him in nature as she is found in the field, wood, and stream and who appreciates a sympathetic canine friend if the Bedlington is ugly at least he is not so ugly that after his coat has been cared for is considered by his admirers necessary for him to be mutilated before putting on the show bench the following well-written article taken from the English Saint James Gazette is interesting as being an apparently unbiased witness and as showing that some of the best blood has come to this country the father alluded to is sentinel one of the best-headed dogs of his kind he is described by that unerring judge of the breed Mr. Charles H. Mason in his Our Prize Dogs Volume 1 sentinel's pluck is testified to in the quotation too tall and burly men were shown into my study some time ago their names brought to me memories of wild moorland of rough sport over bleak salt marshes and I could not guess their errand the taller of the pair placed a basket on my table and said with gravity we wanted a trip to London so we thought we'd fetch him with us we never traced one of the breed to no railway man I then knew that one of the precious strain of terriers was to be mine and I received the information with sober joy then spoke the broader of my visitors in America we thought you would like a puppy of the old dogs he was as game as they make them and we brought you the best for a little present the tall man unrolled a sheet that seemed to be dotted with characters that took the shape of a big triangular blotch there's the pedigree and nothing better in England the pedigree was indeed imposing I found myself the proud possessor of a blue bedlington date of birth July 18th marks none in the blood of this aristocrat mingled strains of old topsy, Heron's Bess Piper, Tip Shields Meg and the records of these and other breedings wound from the base of the triangle to the apex where was written the name of that heir of the ages who was in the basket as the big man reverently laid his hands on the lid he looked like a bishop about to perform a confirmation ceremony and then the prize came to view I am bound to say that a more sorry object never went on four legs he staggered absurdly and hung his head as if he were under a sense of crime his coat so far from showing a shade of azure was a mere rugged pelt of dark slate color and a comic mustache of stiff bristles gave him somewhat the appearance of a barbell the two giants gazed on the creature and their look was one of pure rapture over 200 miles the brute had been conveyed and I knew that no higher honor could be offered to me by my good friends so I resolved to bestow the utmost care on the scion of topsy he looked up at me for a moment and then came to fawn on me in a reserved sort of way then I saw the gleam of his deep-set fiery eye and somehow the impressions given by the whole carcass changed the ladies of the house came to see my new friend and their marked restraint increased my misgivings the poor blue dog crept after them one after the other and seemed to crave forgiveness for his own ill-favored guys but the feminine mind did not relent and the polite words of commendation were uttered I fear as a matter of form then a rollicking bull terrier puppy entered and proceeded to play he rolled the blue over and enjoyed the fun very much until he took the liberty of bestowing a nip in an instant the ragged youngster was transformed without making a sound he fixed his grip and held on the white puppy showed all the gallantry but he was soon in sore straits and the tall man said just like the old dog they're all the same better part them the warriors were lifted up and separated my vanity was sorely tried during my first public appearance with the blue puppy but the ugliness wore off week by week his limbs grew wiry and strong his tail became so muscular that a tap from it was like the blow of a riding whip it acquired a strange attractiveness his early youth went pleasantly by and as his character developed I found he was quiet and teachable like all of his breed his gravity deepened as his beauty became apparent and even in his gallop over the fields he pounded along as if he were merely running for the good of his constitution and not out of lightheartedness it is odd to see the dogs pride in his streets with vermin and I fear that when we go into the country with its swarms of rats his vanity will become excessive end quote there is a consensus among writers on the bedlington that he is of the highest courage and instances are adduced to show his desperate gameness it is said when he first became generally known that he was quarrelsome this has been repeatedly heard authorities the idea may have arisen from the fact that he was kept by a certain class of men as a fighting dog and because of his undoubted pluck however when not trained by this species of cannibalism he has been found peaceable when abroad he has spirit and energy which are most desirable but they must be properly educated and directed a brave man a hero or a desperado being a dog capable of the strongest attachment to his master he is likely to be blindly jealous and will bear no rival near the throne at home he will usually not tolerate the intrusion of strange dogs this can hardly be called a peculiarity of the bedlington dogs not being inclined as a rule to show hospitality to visitors of their own species sometimes in America the proud possessor of a well-bred bedlington may be asked by some earnest inquirer or perhaps curious and utilitarian scoffer what is he good for to a true dog lover his four-footed friend is something like a child in his affections whether his usefulness is great or not but the bedlington can be a necessary part of an establishment in the first place he is eminently a man's dog and although accept in the house from youth as a pet he loses his fire and restlessness if he has had a chance to learn the taste of a sport he will always be begging his master for a run he is able to discharge the duties of a larger dog about a country place except in such instances as require bulk if his size will not permit him to seize and hold an intruder he can at least give the alarm which enables his master to look into the matter for himself and either supplement or restrain his guard as he may see fit he has pace enough to keep up with the ordinary speed of a horse and is small enough to be taken into a vehicle and even given a place on the seat if desired no rodent mephlitus america mink raccoon or fox finds the neighborhood of his home a pleasant visiting place he searches diligently above and below ground for these pests and when he finds them shows no quarter this usefulness in the writer's experience living on a forest farm by an adirondack trout stream this terrier will also act as an ordinary farm dog helping with the cattle I do not hear of terriers being used in shooting in this country but Bethlehens are seen advertised in English papers as broken to the gun anyone breeding these dogs should of course be careful to have the parents of pure blood such are not difficult to procure now in America and fair specimens may be obtained at modest prices selection and mating should be on the general principle of a sum of excellences in the two parents a defect in one counter balanced by a corresponding excellence in the other that is two animals both of which are bad in head body or legs or coat should not be bred together the tendency in such a case is to an exaggeration of the fault whereby symmetry is destroyed and failure becomes sure the more good qualities each parent possesses the better and the descent of being from equally good ancestors the greater the chance of successful results this principle being so well known it will be necessary to speak of but one point more which is especially to be noticed about this breed the coat should be bred hard it may be fine but not soft or silky except the top knot and ear fringes neither should it be coarse or stiff which indicates other than pure quality when there is too great a tendency to softness of coat a liver cross is recommended and this is one reason why that colored dog should not be neglected the first bedlington I ever owned was bought by me in London of a man who kept this breed for hunting rabbits and who cared only for the working qualities making no note of colors or pedigrees the dog had been taken care of by a gamekeeper and when I took him to Regent's Park he ran to right and to left ahead of me frequently looking back would be guided by the direction which I waved my hand when so commanded he came in to heal which showed me that he could have been useful with a gun he afterward in New York learned to retrieve and if a lady dropped her handkerchief would at a sign from me pick it up and offer it to her once I remember a little girl was so surprised by this apparent attention on his part that she said thank you sir which made the dog appear very human however dogs that are sharp at vermin generally do not retrieve well and need careful treatment to be taught they will pick up an article but nip and drop it and look for something else all terriers should be trained to run ahead and hunt and to come in to heal when required if they do not know at least this much they are likely to be a nuisance by not punishing a dog when he comes to you he will learn at a crossword to come heal where he can be well controlled and directed when it is necessary to correct a small dog run at him suddenly and fiercely he will usually lie down stand over him and scold but not loudly perhaps pretending to beat him with a switch he will then if he understands be glad to do as you wish him to do never give a command you cannot enforce firmness and consistency will train a dog better than to impressive by cruelty besides developing his intelligence and affection this is merely the common sense of dog training which has been ably set forth by well-known writers these dogs are most hearty they may be kept where any livestock is kept provided they have a dry bed as in a barn in winter or out of doors in summer in fact they are much better if not coddled they should not be fed much meat unless they have a great deal of exercise they are usually spare eaters and ought never to look fat if a dog is active and his nose is moist and cold he is doing well they will be better if allowed great freedom much chaining is of course bad males if shut up together are prone to quarrel as a rule Bedlington's will have few diseases have given plenty of air and exercise with the sufficiency of good food and clean water it is only when kept confined in numbers that they fall into the hands of the physicians they may then be treated according to the rules of dogs for their size to show a Bedlington to advantage some care is necessary for he does not display in the ring such animation as he does out of doors at liberty therefore he should be accustomed to the chain and to pleasant associations with it if made a preliminary to an outing in the fields he will learn not to consider it an unpleasant bondage and will not droop as if the chain were used merely for purposes of confinement and punishment after the first requisites health and well developed and hard muscles comes the coat the attention which it is customary to give to this before showing is one detriment to the dog's popularity there are times when the natural coat is such that the dog needs no trimming to look his best at other times as the old hairs do not drop simultaneously and as some remain irregularly here and there over the dog light in color and long they should be removed to give him a neat look this may be done without objection with a fine tooth comb but many people think it is fair to remove some hair by plucking if any mark of such treatment is shown on the skin disqualification is liable to follow honorable handlers will not of course cut or alter the color or texture of so much as a single hair whatever there is on the dog must be perfectly natural some fanciers on the other hand consider the least plucking dishonest and hold that if extensively resorted to it enables a dog with an excessively long coat to compete advantageously with a naturally good and short coated dog this is no doubt true and presents the problem commented on as follows in the English stockkeeper October 18, 1889 quote the disqualifications and severe penalties for trimming that have fallen upon certain kennels again set us thinking of the necessity that exists for laying down clearly the limits of legitimate hair dressing in the rough coated terriers it is fair to remove old hairs and nothing more is the reply received when old exhibitors are asked for an opinion but between you and me and let us substitute our conscience for the lamp post who is to decide upon the age of the hairs that abound in places which are in the opinion of the judge not eligible sites for ground game of course general reader the tiny voice of conscience will be heard in your sensitive ears ringing like a town crier's bell and when it softly tinkles in the presence of the deaf and somewhat deafed as well who will discern the moral slip of the finger in the thumb we are open to conviction in any direction but our opinion just now is that the present vague condemnation of the art puts a premium on skilled barbarity masters of the art will practice undetected and parade the ring with pride while the wretched but no more guilty initiate with the clumsy marks on his breast will walk round in the fear of the judge in the present stage of the matter we are inclined to describe the kennel club committee's penalties as being rather harsh but we should be misunderstood if this opinion were construed into an expression of sympathy with the professional trimmers our sympathy is with the honorable and eminent members of the kennel world who have boldly entered the lists to unseat the knaves of the tonsure while our inexpressible contempt is reserved for the champions of trimming and for those who sneered at the motives of the opponents of trimming and quote and also January 3, 1890 quote one of the most trying questions during the year that has just begun will be the great trimming puzzle for it is a puzzle to know how much the kennel club or the judges will stand the kennel club ought to solve the puzzle of course there is no doubt about that but the committee fold their hands and shrug their shoulders and say non-postumous we have tried we did issue a circular asking exhibitors for information the novices and the numskulls replied most copiously and by return of post but the rest who from having been more than five minutes in the fancy knew something proved very bad correspondence the committee think they have done their best they are unable to define trimming interiors sufficiently just and comprehensive for the purposes of disqualification so they say we will ask men to judge these hairy breeds who are acquainted with the peculiar customs of the fancy and then we will ask them to tip us the wink if they see how it has been done this is a very comfortable temporary arrangement some of the judges have taken it to account most seriously and we expect to give our readers accounts of several causes celebre of this description in 1890 end quote the honesty of motive shown here is beyond cavill still as certain modifications of the natural animal are allowed in the case of some other breeds of dogs there may be another point of view that is not dishonest either to win with beddingtons under the general run of judges the coat must be made to look neat and not disguise the dog's good points of shape if any trace of his improvement is found scrutineers disregarding the customs of fanciers and judges of this breed think they have the grounds for disgracing both animal and owner which does not encourage the taking up of this otherwise unexceptionable dog if the judges would favor what have been called honest coated dogs and not be much influenced by the neatness that comes from excessively careful and skillful manipulation it would tend to stimulate the breeding and showing of dogs with better natural coats the latest dictum on this subject by the English Bedlington Terrier Club at a meeting of the above club held in Newcastle on January 7, 1880 it was voted unanimously quote that trimming Bedlington Terriers that is removing superfluous hair be allowable and acknowledged as it is not done to deceive but to smarten the dog and show his shape and general contour and that the honorable secretary be instructed to send a copy of the minutes of the meeting to the Kennel Club Committee and request them to seriously consider the matter end quote by this energetic defense of trimming the specialty club openly challenged the highest English Tribunal and the result is that we have the Kennel Club's definition of a limit to the practice for a meeting held February 4, 1890 it was after some discussion voted unanimously quote that the committee of the Kennel Club agree with the Bedlington Terrier Club that the removal of superfluous hair is allowable understanding by the words superfluous hair the old or dead coat any removal of the new coat or trimming of the head or ears they consider improper tampering end quote with this decision it is believed that Bedlington men in general will be satisfied but few Bedlington's have been shown in the United States as yet and they have been mostly imported specimens if they were shown in larger numbers so that the type could be more readily seen and appreciated it would greatly help them in popularity now in the poorly filled classes they look like survivors of a nearly extinct race they are not understood however there are opportunities for them to be presented each year of showing under excellent judges new faces appear from time to time on the show benches and testify to an appreciation among some few if these dogs ever get a favorable start I do not see why they may not become favorites in certain parts of the United States they are especially adapted to our rigorous northern climate they care so little for the luxuries of life that they thrive for they would not so far they have found the most favor in Canada one of their best known advocates in that country is Mr. W. S. Jackson of Toronto and the blue dogs may be proud of their friend as people who have had the pleasure of meeting him will understand there is good Bedlington blood in British America as far west as Victoria Vancouver's Island and as far east as Halifax and Russia in the United States it is scattered about north of the Mason and Dixon's line end of chapter 23 recording by Tom Mack section 24 of the American Book of the Dog this is a LibriVox recording all LibriVox recordings are in the public domain for more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org recording by Colleen McMahon the American Book of the Dog Geo Shields Editor section 24 the Irish Terrier by Dr. J. S. Niven like all things hibernian the history of this dog is somewhat mixed in fact very little is known about it from very old men with whom I talked 20 years ago some of whom could recollect back 60 years or more I have learned that terriers of a red or badger color were numerous in the days of their boyhood and were largely used for all kinds of field sports both on land and water from what I could learn these dogs were at that time of a much larger type than those bred nowadays it is only within the last few years that any prominence has been given to the Irish Terrier by fanciers formerly they were kept for sport alone and very little attention was paid to breeding for any special type the object being simply to get good hard workers which were able to endure a great amount of fatigue and exposure to severe weather the principal uses to which these dogs were put in olden days were hunting the water rat in rivers drawing badgers in the mountains and killing rabbits as they were bolted by ferrets from the warrens they were also used as watchdogs about the Cotter houses of Ireland about 15 years ago the breed had become very much degenerated by the admixture of scotch terriers which were being largely imported into Ireland as ratters the gentlemen who were chiefly interested in bringing the same breed of terriers up again to an established type were Messiers Morton Erwin Ridgway Montgomery Jameson Crosby Smith and Marks and later Messiers Krell Despard Graham Pym Kerry Waterhouse and others In rescuing the breed from utter destruction these gentlemen used every means within their reach and have been well rewarded yet their work has not been done without the national characteristic of contrariness being strongly exhibited a most bitter and still undecided controversy has been the consequence the principal cause of all the trouble has been the anomalous decisions of the judges at the various bench shows the question of size has been the bitterest one between the different factions there can be no doubt that many of the finest and purest specimens of the breed were of large size weighing 30 to 40 pounds and even more but the desire of the most genuine fanciers of this breed has been to reduce the weight to 25 pounds and under another vexed question is that of cropping and this subject had been coming up from time to time until in 1888 when the Irish Terrier Club passed a resolution emphatically condemning the custom consequently the croppers are in high dudgeon and it will take years yet of careful breeding to get the ears of the Irish Terrier to conform to the uniform drop of those of its contemporary the fox terrier at present the anti-croppers have the best of the argument as far as usefulness and cruelty are concerned but the advocates of cropping have some strong arguments on their side as only a small percentage of Irish Terriers as now bred are born with perfect ears and nothing is such an eyesore to a terrier man as a badly carried ear which judicious cropping does away with in a great measure the English Kennel Club has also taken this question up and its latest decree is to the effect that all Irish Terriers born after December 31st 1889 must be shown uncropped at all shows held under their auspices to show that there are still some of the large specimens I copy the following from the whispers of the stockkeeper which may be attributed to the editor Mr. Crow it is one of our pet theories that the Irish Terrier as he existed in the Emerald Isle before the cunning hand of the exhibitor had been run over him was the descendant of the Irish Wolfhound we still consider a miniature Irish Wolfhound a good description of what we should like the Irish Terrier to be look at the picture of that grand old bitch Spuds in Stonehenge there you have the Wolfhound head and outline Spuds was a rare type she had her faults and we all know them but her memory is more pleasant to our mind than the sight of the modern prize winners to call the Irish Terriers of today miniature Wolfhounds would be sarcastic the majority of them are sour faced yellow-eyed black muzzled chumpy headed and thickly built and with bone enough for a Clydesdale horse in fact these overbred creatures are utterly unlike anything else so ugly as themselves of course this is only our own simple and inexperienced opinion which judges and connoisseurs of the breed are at liberty to dismiss with contempt they may prefer the thick-legged cladhoppers we still linger on the memory of the graceful and symmetrical Terriers rather light in build and with only proportionate bone to carry their weight Spuds and her kind though were already cultivated descendants of the big rough and shaggy dogs that the peasants kept for work these Irish Terriers were brimful of the splendid character that is attributed to the breed there was a world of love in their expressive brown eyes their natures were gentle with children and women in fact so timid even did they appear that strangers led into thinking them without courage but what a mistake the caress inviting and quiet creature in a moment if a blow were aimed at its master was transformed into a fury we could tell some wonderful tales of the tractability and the prowess too of the old sort but we fear to grow garrulous on a favorite and much loved theme our thoughts were led back to the old sort by the sight of a dog that Mr. Frank Aspinall the brother of the kennel club secretary lately brought to show us this was one of them and a find wolfhound he would have made if he continued to grow he stood as high as a collie and looked to weigh fifty pounds or more his coat was rough and hard each hair was wheaten from the body to the tip which was red the undercoat was woolly and dense the head looked all of ten inches long rather narrow across the skull and the muzzle powerful and when his graveyard well we felt relieved that we were not an Irish landlord Mr. Aspinall told us his jaw power was enormous and that he could pull up solid planks and bite through half inch boards more joy that we are not a half inch board but to return to our Irishman and by the way we should say that this dog looked Irish and we like to see character in a national dog Mr. Aspinall told us that he purchased him from a country he said he came from Connemara on the west coast Mr. Aspinall told us several instances of his staunchness he has seen him swim a mile in a fast and swollen stream which was thick with floating logs and as he swam turning from one bank to the other after the rats that shot in and out the history of the present Irish terrier may be said to date from 1875 several dogs having that year been exhibited at Belfast Mr. G. Jamison the first Irish terriers that were ever exhibited in England were at the Brighton Show in October 1876 Banshee and Spuds owned by Mr. Jamison winning first and second since then the class of Irish terriers has increased so much that they almost equal in numbers the Fox Terrier and surpassed the Scotch Terrier classes showing how popular the breed has become in a few years the Irish Terrier Club was formed in Ireland about the beginning of 1879 and since that date the Irish have been well represented both on the bench and in the public press Vero Shaw has devoted more attention to this breed than any other modern writer and little more can be said of it than is found in his works the information he gives was obtained principally from Mr. G. H. Crow one of the most enthusiastic admirers of the breed the Irish Terrier is a true and distinct breed indigenous to Ireland and no man can trace its origin which is lost in antiquity Mr. Ridgway of Waterford whose name is familiar in Irish Terriers circles from having drawn up the first code of points states that they have been known in Ireland as long as that country has been an island and I ground my faith in their age and purity on the fact that there exist old manuscripts in Irish of the breed at a very remote period in old pictures representing scenes of Irish life and Irish Terrier or two are often to be described Balimena and County Wicklow may almost claim to be the birthplaces of the breed most of the best specimens hail from Balimena and the neighborhood where Mr. Thomas Irwin of Irish Sutter fame boasts an extensive experience of this breed and has always kept a few of the right old working sort for learning purposes and in County Wicklow Mr. Mary says it is well known that the pure breed of Irish Terriers has been carefully kept distinct and highly prized for more than a century Mr. E. F. Despard whose name is well known in Irish Terrier circles as a very successful breeder and exhibitor claims an acquaintance of over 40 years with the breed Mr. George Jamison too has known and kept them many years and a little while ago had won more prizes than all the rest of the breeders put together I mention these proofs of the age of the breed to show those who have lately come to admire them that it is not a made up composite or mushroom breed they are part of Ireland's national economy and are worthily embodied in the Sportsman's Toast Irish women, Irish horses and Irish dogs which means Irish Terriers, Setters and Spaniels once first acquaintance with this prehistoric Terrier is apt to be disappointing except to a really doggy Terrier man that is because there is no meretricious flash about them but there is that about them which you learn to like, they grow upon you they supply the want so often expressed for a smart looking dog with something in him there is that about their rough and ready appearance which can only be described as genuine Terrier or more emphatically Terrier character they are Facile Princeps the Sportsman's Terrier and having never yet been made fashion's darlings still retain in all its purity their instinctive love of hard work their characters do not suit them for ladies pets but render them the best dogs out for the man that loves his gun and quiet sport amongst the wise old fellows that one comes across in the country who like a dog with something in him and a Terrier of course the Sportsman is prime favorite and they know what they are about those old fellows and are Sportsman too in their own sort of way when the sun has gone down this reminds me of a discreditable fact in the history of Irish Terriers that they were not always only the poor man's sentinel but often times something more when by the aid of their marvelous noses and long legs they when the shades of night had fallen provided the pot with that and imparted a flavor to the spuds this however if it injured their moral principles certainly sustained their love and capability for rabbiting in olden times too the larger sizes were bred and used for fighting and there is still a dash of the old fighting blood in their descendants they dearly love a mill and though it would be calumny to say that they are quarrelsome yet it must be admitted that the male portion of the breed are perhaps a little too ready to attempt at interfering with their coats but are they not Irish and when did an Irishman shirk a shindy my dog Sporter is very true to character in this respect small dogs or even those of his own size he never deigns to notice but if some large specimen of the genus Canis approaches him putting on side and airs Sporter immediately stiffens up visibly his tail assumes a defiant angle above the horizontal his ears are cocked forward alertly and there is an ominous twitching of his upper lips which says as plain as looks can speak leave me alone you spalpeen should his warning not be accepted a scrimmage ensues which I speedily terminate by whipping him up under my arm by his tail and marching him off and Passant I recommend this as a very effectual and safe manner of putting a stop to a canine melee hitting off Irish terriers when fighting I have found useless they think the pain comes from their opponent and this only serves to rouse them to fresh efforts this description although written several years ago is still held to be correct and nothing need be added to it all that the Irish terrier breeders now have to bewail and the Irish always have a grievance of some kind is the want of judges who will adhere to some one type I was told not long since by one of the most prominent exhibitors in England that all he needed to know before exhibiting at a show in order to take a prize was the name of the judge and that he could then choose from his kennel the dog that would be sure to win this must be very nearly correct as I see his name often and always among the first flight this is not right and as the Irish terrier club has adopted a standard which is accepted by all the most prominent breeders it ought to be adhered to the standard being established all that is necessary to provide by it and disqualify all dogs that go over the recognized weight of 24 pounds if this were done and the cropping question permanently disposed of there would then be a bright future for the Irish terrier and his breeder the Irish terrier now stands third or fourth in numbers at all shows in England and Ireland being outnumbered only by Fox terriers Collies and St. Bernard's this is a good showing considering how short a time the Irish terrier has been before the public the illustrations which accompany this article are for the information of breeders and the public Nora represents the old type she is built on the lines of the Irish wolf hound and her weight was 22 pounds when in condition the same model could have carried very well 30 to 40 pounds but her day is past and the Irish terrier of today is modeled after the second illustration which represents a dog that weighed about 20 pounds from his shape and build it is clearly impossible that a dog of his type would be of any use at much over that weight being lower on legs and shorter ribbed if he were heavy he could not get over the ground as easily as a lighter built dog perhaps the best all round dog that has been before the public lately is play day whose death we have lately seen recorded he was the first uncropped dog that was ever awarded a prize and was successful under almost all the judges at the English shows he is proving himself a typical dog although as an immediate sire he is not made a good record but his grandsons and granddaughters are coming well to the front there's one point that cannot be passed over in favor of the Irish terrier and that is his ability to adapt himself to any climate or any surroundings in this respect he is a long way ahead of either the fox terrier or the scotch terrier he is daily in request for India, China and the antipodes where the other breeds fail to acclimatize he is just as happy in the closed up den of the peasant as he is in the kennel of the millionaire he is par excellence the dog of the people in this connection the notes of Mr. Ridgway and Mr. Jamison both prominent Irish fanciers of the breeding question are well worthy of study and are given below as well as the scale of points which has been adopted by the Irish terrier club and is now accepted by all breeders Mr. Ridgway says that the Irish terrier is and has been a pure breed of dogs indigenous to Ireland is a fact undoubted and undisputed by the oldest fanciers and breeders still living who can well remember the dog 50 or 60 years ago and at a time before the introduction to this country of the sky Yorkshire or English bull terrier now so fashionable in many parts no doubt this breed has of late years been allowed to degenerate sadly from once of proper interest having been taken in it but not withstanding this we can still bring forward specimens of our Irish terriers such as have been seen at several of our leading Irish shows which for usefulness intelligence and gameness as well as general appearance are second to no breed of terriers in the kingdom as a breed they are peculiarly adopted to the country being particularly hardy and able to bear any amount of wet cold and hardship without showing the slightest symptoms of fatigue their coat also being a hard and wiry one they can hunt the thickest gorse or furs cover without the slightest inconvenience as for the capabilities of these dogs for taking the water and hunting in it as well as on land I may mention as one instance that a gentleman in the adjoining county of Tipperary keeps a pack of these terriers and is done so for years with which he will hunt otters as successfully as anyone can with any pack of pure otterhounds within the last few years and since the introduction of dog shows into Ireland a far greater interest than heretofore has been taken in this breed and consequently a greater amount of care is evinced now and selecting the proper specimens to breed from so that in a short time we may look forward to see the Irish terrier just as fashionable and as much sought for in England as the English fox terrier is at present Mr Jamison says the Irish terrier as his name denotes is the representative of the emerald isle and especially suitable for his native damp country being able to stand much more wet cold and fatigue than most other terriers the coat is so hard and flat on the body that water cannot penetrate it and not being too long does not hinder the dog in cover work this breed is more used as vermin destroyers than for any other purpose which principally accounts for breeding for size being neglected however within the last 15 years the breed has been much closer looked after and at the present time there are a number of these dogs that in point of show qualities will vie as near perfection as most breeds there are certain enthusiasts who have been writing this breed up as the only genuine working terrier this of course is nonsense at the same time it is a recognized fact that from their peculiar hearty active habits they at least are deserving of a front rank among working terriers the Irish terrier club has recently been the means of the breed being brought something more prominently before the public but some of the prominent members will require to exercise a little more patience and forbearance or the object of the club will be frustrated the Irish terrier club's scale of points and description of the true Irish terrier are here given positive points head, jaw, teeth and eyes value 15 ears 5 legs and feet 10 neck 5 shoulders and chest 10 back and loin 10 hind quarters and stern 10 coat 15 color 10 size and symmetry 10 total 100 negative points white nails, toes and feet value minus 10 much white on chest minus 10 ears cropped minus 5 mouth undershot or cankered minus 10 coat shaggy, curly or soft minus 10 minus 5, total 50 disqualifying points nose, cherry or red brindle color head, long, skull flat and rather narrow between ears getting slightly narrower toward the eyes, free from wrinkle stop, hardly visible except in profile the jaw must be strong and muscular but not too full in the cheek and of a good punishing lane but not so fine as a white English terriers there should be a slight falling away below the eye so as not to have a greyhound appearance hair on face of the same description as on body but short about a quarter of an inch long in appearance almost smooth and straight a slight beard is the only longish hair and it is only long in comparison with the rest that is permissible and that is characteristic teeth should be strong and level lips not so tight as a full terriers but well fitting showing through the hair their black lining nose must be black eyes a dark hazel color, small not prominent and full of life, fire and intelligence ears when uncut small and V shaped of moderate thickness set well up on head and dropping forward closely to the cheek the ear must be free of fringe and the hair there on shorter and generally darker skin color than the body neck should be of a fair length and gradually widening towards the shoulders well carried and free of throatiness there is generally a slight sort of frill visible at each side of the neck running nearly to the corner of the ear which is looked on as very characteristic shoulders and chest shoulders must be fine long and sloping well into the back the chest deep and muscular should be full nor wide back and loin body moderately long back should be strong and straight with no appearance of slackness behind the shoulders the loin broad and powerful and slightly arched ribs fairly sprung rather deep than round and well ribbed back hindquarters well under the dog should be strong and muscular the thighs powerful hocks near the ground stifles not much bent stern generally docked should be free of fringe or feather set on pretty high carried gaily but not over the back or curled feet and legs feet should be strong tolerably round and moderately small toes arched and neither turned out nor in black toenails are preferable and most desirable legs moderately long well set from the shoulders perfectly straight with plenty of bone and muscle the elbows working free clear of the sides short and straight hardly noticeable both fore and hind legs should be moved straight forward when traveling the stifles not turned outward the legs free of feather and covered like the head with as hard a texture of coat as body but not so long coat hard and wary free of softness or silkiness not so long as to hide the outlines of the body particularly in the hindquarters straight and flat no shaggy and free of lock or curl color should be whole colored the most preferable being bright red next Wheaton yellow and gray Brindle disqualifying white sometimes appears on chest and feet it is more objectionable on the ladder than on the chest as a speck of white on chest is frequently to be seen in all self colored breeds size and symmetry show condition from 16 pounds to 24 pounds say 16 pounds to 22 pounds for bitches and 18 pounds to 24 pounds for dogs the most desirable weight is 22 pounds or under which is a nice stylish and useful size the dog must present an active lively life and wiry appearance lots of substance at the same time free of clumsiness as speed and endurance as well as power are very essential they must be neither cloudy nor copy but should be framed on the lines of speed showing a graceful racing outline temperament dogs that are very game are usually surly or snappish the Irish Terrier as a breed is an exception being remarkably good tempered notably so with mankind it being admitted however that he is perhaps a little too ready to resent interference on the part of other dogs there is a heedless reckless pluck about the Irish Terrier which is characteristic and coupled with the headlong dash blind to all consequences with which he rushes at his adversary has earned for the breed the proud epithet of the daredevil's when off duty they are characterized by a quiet caress inviting appearance and when one sees them endearingly timidly pushing their heads into their master's hands it is difficult to realize that on occasion they can prove they have the courage of a lion and will fight on to the last breath in their bodies they develop an extraordinary devotion to and have been known to track their master's almost incredible distances as a matter of information for those interested I give below the names and addresses of a few of the prominent breeders and owners of Irish Terriers in this country Chestnut Hill Kennels Philadelphia Pennsylvania JF McFadden 121 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Thomas Pulverstaff 47 Sands Street Brooklyn, New York F.P. Kirby 135 South 8th Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania E. Wetmore 343 Lexington Avenue New York City Associated Fanciers 140 South 8th Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Ogden-Gowlett New York City Somerset Kennels Bernardsville, New Jersey W.J. Comstock 220 Canal Street Providence, Rhode Island W.S. Clark Linden, Massachusetts H. Denning 474 Sixth Avenue, New York City P.F. Clancy 442nd Street South Boston, Massachusetts Charles F. Leland 7 Beck Hall and H.A. Harris North Wilmington, Massachusetts Edward Lever 707 Walnut Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania E.P. Saltonstall Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts William A. Dupy Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts Lawrence Timpson Red Hook, New Jersey H.A. Allen, Montreal, Canada Joseph Lindsay, Montreal, Canada End of Section 24 Recording by Colleen McMahon