MOST POPULAR LIVING SCOTTISH TERRIER SIRE 



Champion Bapton Norman is considered by Mr. Haynes to be "one of the most 

 phenomenal sires of any breed of dogs that has ever appeared;" when only three 

 years old he had already sired three champions and nine winners of championship 

 points or certificates. "He is owned by J. Deane Willis of Bapton Manor, Codford 

 St. Mary, Wilts., England, and many American owners have imported bitches 

 bred to this famous dog, in order to get as much of his blood as possible in this 

 country. (Fig. 5.) 



animal are light (a terrier bitch can be 

 sent from New York to Chicago and 

 back for $15) and there is little incon- 

 venience and slight risk in sending her 

 on a considerable journey to be bred. 

 For these reasons, dog breeders are but 

 little restricted in selecting whatever 

 sire their judgment dictates as the best 

 mate for their bitches. Popularity has 

 very free play. 



But popularity at stud is, so all 

 breeders have been often warned, a 

 very poor indicator of breeding ability. 

 It is therefore interesting to see whether 

 these dog breeders, who are so notorious 

 for following fads and fancies, have 

 selected really important sires, or are 



merely attracted by show points. In 

 each breed one dog, as the sire of seven 

 litters, stands out markedly as the most 

 poprdar stud dog of the year. 



The Irish terrier is Champion Thorn- 

 croft Sportsman. That capital author- 

 ity — especially strong in this his favorite 

 breed — the late James Watson says of 

 him in a posthumous article on dog 

 breeding published recently,^ "the 

 French bulldog Nellcote Gamin and 

 the Irish terrier Thorncroft Sportsman, 

 .... have no such heritage of special 

 selection^ but control simply by individ- 

 ual dominance . . . and it behooves 

 the Irish terrier fanciers and the 

 French bulldos: breeders to conserve 



1 Field and Fancy, Vol. XXXVII, No. 3, p. 12. 



2 That is, they are not dogs inbred to a special strain. — ^W. H. 



495 



