The Wire-haired Fox Terrier. 303 



this purpose, as it admits the wet to the skin and keeps it there, whereas 

 the short coat speedily dries." There is no doubt this undercoat is of 

 great importance, but even when it exists in perfection, the divisions 

 among the longer hair must allow a more ready access for rain and wet 

 in the interstices than would be the case with a smooth dog, whose thick, 

 dense coat lies flat and close together. 



But the wire-haired terrier, from the absence of those causes that have 

 so damaged the smooth race, has preserved in obscurity all the true 

 working capacity of the tribe, for a very simple reason, that as a rule he 

 has been bred solely for work. 



There can be no doubt that in point of quality he is considerably 

 behind the smooth hair ; incfeed, what would have happened to the race 

 had not Kendal's Old Tip come to the rescue and got some really good- 

 looking ones, such as Mr. Carrick's Venture, Mr. Shirley's Tip, Mr. 

 Hay ward Field's Tussle, and others, it is impossible to say. Indeed, it 

 is very seldom, even now, that one can find a good-looking dog of the 

 breed without some serious fault. 



The north countrymen have paid much greater attention to the breed 

 than the south, and it was there that Kendal's Tip did good service with 

 the Sinnington for some years. Mr. Carrick, of Carlisle has always a 

 few good ones, which he uses with the otter-hounds, and several of them, 

 such as Vixen and Venture, have been very successful at shows. 



The late Charles Kir by, of Malton, owned some excellent terriers, 

 chiefly from strains possessed by the Eev. C. Legard. Among these was 

 Sam, who afterwards belonged to the writer, as game a dog as ever 

 walked, but short of coat. He won a prize or two and was worried in 

 the kennels. His blood proved very valuable, and may be met with in 

 such dogs as Mr. G. Hogg's Topper, and several others, such as Sting 

 (K.C.S.B. 5629). 



Among others of Kirby's was Vic. (K.C.S.B. 6712), a beautiful bitch by 

 Capt. Skipworth's Tartar out of Venom, by Lord Milton's Sam out of Eev. 

 C. Legard' s Miss, and there was also Tip, now called Tussle, a rare little 

 dog, one of the few wire-haired terrier dogs of the present day that is 

 just the right size for be it remembered that the wire-haired terrier has 

 for a long time been the companion of rabbit and rat catchers, so that 

 his size has been permitted to increase in a way to unfit him for his 

 legitimate purpose. 



