THE DOG 23 



appeared in our less cruel modern days. Bred for the bull- 

 ring, these dogs acquired the formidable strength and ferocity 

 under excitement which made their name a terror and their 

 qualities a satirical embodiment of the ruder traits which 

 characterized the British folk. 



The training which instituted the breed of bull-dogs was 

 evidently much less continuous and effective than that which 

 developed the shepherding variety. The use for the creature 

 in the care of herds has passed away. In the older parts of 

 the world cattle are kept only in enclosures ; and where, as on 

 our frontier, they still range over unbounded fields, they are 

 guarded by horsemen who do not need the assistance of dogs 

 to control the movements of the herds. No longer service- 

 able either in economies or sports, the breed of true bull-dogs 

 is rapidly disappearing. As we may often observe in other 

 fields of development, the peculiarities of this breed are now 

 under the control of fancy, and the blood is being led far 

 away from its old characteristics. The bull-terrier and other 

 varieties, which retain something of the form and of the 

 solemn demeanor which characterized their ancestors, but 

 which are too small to assail horned cattle, mark the van- 

 ishing stages of this great stock, which will soon be known 

 only in memory. The history of this peculiar herd-dog 

 shows us how marvellously pliant the body and mind of this 

 species has become under the conditions of civilization. The 

 rude process of unconscious selection, acting without stead- 

 fastness of purpose or rationally developed skill, serves to 

 sway the qualities of the animal this way or that to meet 

 the ever-changing requirements of use or fancy. A similar 

 selection in the case of our horned cattle has within a few 

 -centuries converted the cows into mild-mannered and 



