DOGS. 



679 



essential than formerly. The English mastiff belongs to a race of great antiquity. More 

 than three hundred years ago Conrad Herebatch, a writer of that time, described him as 

 &quot;Neither too gentle, nor too curst; that he neither faune upon a theefe, nor flew upon his 

 friends; very waking; no gadder about, nor lavish of his mouth, barking without cause; 

 neither maketh it any matter though he be not swift, for he is but to fight at home and give 

 warning of the enemie.&quot; He is a fine looking animal, possessing the dignified bearing that 

 reminds one of a lion, while he is docile, companionable, intelligent, and courageous, though 

 not ferocious. 



When crossed with the Newfoundland or Bloodhound, the offspring are apt to be fero 

 cious; and when crossed with the bull-dog, they are often exceedingly savage and dangerous 

 brutes. The points of the mastiff are as follows: Head large in size, in shape between that 

 of the bloodhound and bull-dog, having the volume of muscle of the latter, with the flews 

 and muzzle of the former, though not as deep; ears small in size, drooping like those 

 of the hound. The teeth usually meet, but there is generally a slight projection of the 

 lower jaw; eye rather small or medium in size; the loins are compact and powerful, limbs 

 strong, coat smooth; the most desirable color is red or fawn, with black muzzle; the tail is 

 but slightly rough, and carried high over the back when under excitement; voice very deep 

 and sonorous; height about twenty-eight to thirty-two inches. There are many smooth, 

 haired dogs of large size that are frequently erroneously called mastiffs, but which are only 

 mongrels, possessing, perhaps, some mastiff blood. 



The Newfoundland. There are three classes or varieties of the Newfoundland dog 

 considered pure, all of which were originally natives of Newfoundland, viz. : the true New 

 foundland, the large, long-haired variety, commonly known as the Large Labrador, and the 

 smaller variety, known as the St. John s 

 or Lesser Labrador breed. In intelligence 

 the three breeds are regarded as being 

 about equal, all being celebrated for their 

 faculty of being easily taught to fetch and 

 carry things. This is frequently developed 

 to a surprising degree. A friend of the 

 writer had a dog of this breed that once 

 returned two or three miles on the road to 

 find a whip that had been lost at the com 

 mencement of a journey. Anything that 

 has been handled by the master will be 

 found by these dogs simply by the scent, 

 they having sufficient intelligence to under 

 stand what is required of them when it 

 has once been pointed out. 



Both the large and small varieties are 

 good water dogs, but the larger, having a 

 more woolly coat, can best endure the wet 

 and cold. They are known to have rescued many persons from drowning, their natural in 

 stinct for carrying being exceedingly valuable under such circumstances. They can swim 

 with great speed, their large legs and feet enabling them to paddle with considerable force. 

 One of the characteristic points of the true Newfoundland is great size, dogs of this breed 

 often attaining the height of from twenty-eight to thirty inches, while they have been 

 known to reach even thirty-four inches. An English writer gives a description of this 

 breed as follows: 



&quot; The head of a Newfoundland is remarkably grand and full of character, while its expres- 



NEWFOUNDLAND DOG. 



