THE ST. BERN A ED. 567 



occasion knocked down and held a man until the keeper with whom she had 

 gone out on the quest came up; and the prisoner was only too glad to sur- 

 render his arms and accouterments on condition of the dog being called off, 

 though she had not bitten him, but had merely held him down by the moral 

 persuasion of a pair of heavy paws and an ominous growl when he attempted 

 to move. 



PRINCIPLES OF BREEDING. 



A would-be successful breeder frequently inquires, 

 ' ' What shall I do to obtain the best possible results from 

 my stock?" 



There are in reality so many things to be taken into con- 

 sideration, that a short and concise answer would be hard 

 to give. 



1. Both the parents furnish their portion toward the 

 production of the offspring; but since the bitch nourishes 

 it until birth and for a month or more after, it is natural to 

 draw the conclusion that the young will more closely resem- 

 ble the dam than the sire. In a majority of cases, per- 

 haps, they will resemble the sire in size and coat, while 

 their disposition and nervous temperament will follow 

 closely that of the dam. 



2. As "like produces like," in dogs as in other ani- 

 mals, the dispositions of both parents should be as near to 

 what is desired as possible, or bad results will ensue. 

 Hence it can not be expected to produce a good litter of 

 puppies by jthe union of a poor bitch to a celebrated prize- 

 winning stud dog, or by breeding a fine bitch to a second- 

 rate dog. 



3. As every dog is a compound animal that is, com- 

 posed by a sire and dam, also by their sires and dams, etc. 

 there is no certainty as to what one may expect in a lit- 

 ter, unless he is fully acquainted with the dogs which make 

 up the pedigree of his puppies for several generations back. 



4. As it is a well-established fact that the first service 

 has its effects upon several subsequent litters, the breeder 

 can not exercise too much care upon a suitable union for 

 his bitches. We have known instances where a bitch, being 

 bred to a dog with a "butterfiy" nose (part white), pro- 



