Pets

The Harrier is a distinct breed of hound used for hunting the hare—or rather it should be said the Association of Masters of Harriers are doing their utmost to perpetuate this breed; the Harrier Stud Book bearing witness thereto: and it is to be deplored that so many Masters of Harriers ignore this fact, and are content to go solely to Foxhound kennels to start their packs of Harriers, choosing, maybe, 20 inch to 22 inch Foxhounds, and thenceforth calling them Harriers.

This breed is near akin to the wire-hair Fox-terrier, the principal differences being merely of colour and type. The Welsh Terrier is a wire-haired black or grizzle and tan. The most taking colouring is a jet black body and back with deep tan head, ears, legs, belly, and tail. Several specimens have, however, black foreheads, skulls, ears, and tail, and the black will frequently be seen also extending for a short way down the legs.

The dogs which take their name from the island of Newfoundland appeal to all lovers of animals, romance, and beauty. A Newfoundland formed the subject of perhaps the most popular picture painted by Sir Edwin Landseer; a monument was erected by Byron over the grave of his Newfoundland in proximity to the place where the poet himself hoped to be buried, at Newstead Abbey, and the inscription on his monument contains the lines so frequently quoted:

It has never been made quite clear in history why the Spaniards had a dog that was very remarkable for pointing all kinds of game. They have always been a pleasure-loving people, certainly, but more inclined to bull-fighting than field-craft, and yet as early as 1600 they must have had a better dog for game-finding than could have been found in any other part of the world.

The Scottish Terrier as a show dog dates from about 1877 to 1879. He seems almost at once to have attained popularity, and he has progressed gradually since then, ever in an upward direction, until he is to-day one of the most popular and extensively owned varieties of the dog.

The origin of the Great Dane, like that of many other varieties of dogs, is so obscure that all researches have only resulted in speculative theories, but the undoubted antiquity of this dog is proved by the fact that representatives of a breed sufficiently similar to be considered his ancestors are found on some of the oldest Egyptian monuments.

I. THE ENGLISH SETTER.—In some form or other Setters are to be found wherever guns are in frequent use and irrespective of the precise class of work they have to perform; but their proper sphere is either on the moors, when the red grouse are in quest, or on the stubbles and amongst the root crops, when September comes in, and the partridge season commences.

Man, being a hunting animal, kills the otter for his skin, and the badger also; the fox he kills because the animal likes lamb and game to eat. Man, being unable to deal in the course of a morning with the rocks under and between which his quarry harbours, makes use of the small dog which will go underground, to which the French name terrier has been attached.

Before the Kennel Club found it necessary to insist upon a precise definition of each breed, the Dalmatian was known as the Coach Dog, a name appropriately derived from his fondness for following a carriage, for living in and about the stable, and for accompanying his master's horses at exercise. As an adjunct to the carriage he is peculiarly suitable, for in fine weather he will follow between the wheels for long distances without showing fatigue, keeping easy pace with the best horses.

It is obviously useless to shoot game unless you can find it after it has been wounded or killed, and from the earliest times it has been the habit of sportsmen to train their dogs to do the work which they could not always successfully do for themselves. The Pointers, Setters, and Spaniels of our forefathers were carefully broken not only to find and stand their game, but also to fetch the fallen birds.