THE BEDLINGTON TEKRIEE. 401 



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 the 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 is justified will be discussed below. 



This coat, from one and one-fourth to one and three- 

 fourths inches long, c ' hard, with close bottom, and not lying 

 flat to 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 Bedling- 

 ton is, to my mind, faultless, all things considered. Hard, 

 it resists wet, and yet 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 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 bed- 

 spread, 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 penchant for 

 hunting and excavating. These energies can, of course, be 

 misdirected, 2 and one's chickens or cats may become the 



