The Skye Terrier. 351 



and free, and, therefore, could not be soft or silky in texture. The coat 

 Professor Low described so many years ago as a feature of the terriers of 

 the Western Islands he does not call them Skyes, as probably they were 

 not generally known by that name then has always been and is still 

 considered the proper coat of the true Skye terrier. He also mentions a 

 terrier peculiar to the Central Highlands, and describes it as rough, 

 shaggy, and not unlike the older deerhounds in general form. Richardson 

 likewise mentions this dog, and says it is commonly called the Highland 

 terrier. A gentleman of high standing in the medical profession in 

 Edinburgh, and whose name is well-known in literature, informs me that 

 he remembers seeing terriers in the island of Skye resembling ' miniature 

 deerhounds.' 



"The fact that terriers, similar to those of the Central Highlands, but 

 probably with a slight admixture of Skye blood in them, were also bred 

 in the island of Mull, seems to have caused confusion in the minds of a 

 few people as to what really is a Skye terrier. The name of Skye 

 terrier is of comparatively recent application, and it was applied to the 

 terriers of the Western Islands of Scotland, which were covered with long 

 lank hair almost trailing to the ground. Eichardson describes the Skye 

 as long in the body, low on the leg, and covered with very long hair ; 

 and he says the name was given ' from its being found in greatest perfec- 

 tion in the Western Isles of Scotland, and the island of Skye in particu- 

 lar.' Any other name might have been given to this breed of terrier, 

 and had it been known by a different one it would be absurd to think of 

 changing it now. The dog for which the name has lately been claimed, 

 if not the Highland terrier itself, appears to be closely related to it, and 

 its being bred in Skye can change it into a Skye terrier in no other sense 

 than it would change a Dandie Dinmont into a Skye terrier if it were bred 

 there. 



' ' The researches of naturalists prove that the covering of animals 

 adapts itself to the climate in which they are placed. Many examples 

 might be given to show' that the coat Nature provides to quadrupeds 

 which have to endure cold and wet resembles that of the Skye terrier in 

 having an outer covering of hair and an inner coat of short wool. The 

 colley may be taken as one. There is no dog in this country so much 

 exposed during all weathers as the Scotch sheepdog, and his coat, like 

 that of the Skye, is a combination of hard and soft hair. However great 



