THE ST. BERNAKD. 561 



rough and smooth Collies. In the long-haired St. Bernard, the coat has a 

 great deal to do with the general appearance of the dog, when comparing him 

 with others in the same class; in the short-haired variety, the coat is more uni- 

 form, and, whether a dog be out of coat or whether the coat be of the correct 

 quality or not, the nature of the coat is more readily overlooked. Place a 

 smooth-coat alongside of a rough-coat of the same height and weight, and you 

 will invariably decide in favor of the latter, as to size, when not seeing them 

 together. The smooth-coat is of a more compact build and shorter than the 

 rough-coat, generally speaking. 



There is no reason to fear that the crossing of the two varieties will be at 

 the expense of type; on the contrary, it is necessary. This fact has been 

 demonstrated in England, and the continuous breeding of rough-coats with 

 rough-coats has taught English breeders that the breed loses in type; and in 

 order to get back to genuine St. Bernard quality they have imported, and still 

 import, smooth-coats, especially bitches, from Switzerland. 



The coat is also liable to grow too long, and the longer it gets the farther it 

 is from the proper form. According to the standard of the Swiss Kynological 

 Society, the rough-coated St. Bernard is supposed to have a coat of medium 

 length, not bushy or shaggy, not curly or too wavy, but flat, only slightly 

 feathered on the fore legs; and yet with many Americans the longer the hair 

 the more the coat is appreciated. This is wrong, but such is the fancy. 



The development of St. Bernard interests in Amer- 

 ica has been remarkably rapid during the past ten years, 

 and is illustrative of that enterprising spirit and that 

 marked liberality with which Americans always engage in 

 any work that enlists their sympathy. As illustrative of 

 the magnitude of this movement, it is only necessary to 

 state that at the New York show of 1890 the St. Bernard 

 entries numbered 151; at the Chicago show of the same 

 year they numbered 58; at Boston, 59; and at all the other 

 shows the entries in this breed more than doubled in num- 

 ber those of any previous year. 



The total investments in St. Bernards in this country 

 would run into millions of dollars, and some of the choicest 

 blood of Europe has within the past few years found its 

 way into American kennels. 



The following may be mentioned as among the many 

 breeders and owners of St. Bernards in America: 



Alta Kennels, Toledo, Ohio; American St. Bernard Ken- 

 nels, Tomah, Wis.; Acme Kennels, 263 Twenty-seventh 

 street, Milwaukee, Wis.; H. R. Anderson, New York City; 

 J. C. Anderson, Chattanooga, Tenn. ; Alpine Kennels, Thir- 



