The Irish Terrier. 371 



"Disqualifying points : Nose white, cherry, or spotted to any con- 

 siderable extent ; mouth much undershot or cankered ; colour brindle or 

 much white ; coat curly or soft." 



First as to ears. Mr. Jamison implies that cropping gives a "terrier 

 character " to a dog ; this seems to need no contradiction, as the opinion 

 is no more than one hastily made. Have the Skye, Bedlington, Dandie 

 Dinmont, and Fox terriers no "terrier character?" and yet their ears 

 are not cropped. 



The only character cropping gives is that of mongrelism, and associa- 

 tion with the lowest in taste and most uneducated of the fancy ; good 

 reasons can be shown for " rounding," although they may not be uncon- 

 trovertible, but who ever heard a reason satisfactory to a sane and humane 

 mind in favour of cropping ? That in dealing with their dogs, gentlemen 

 of education and refined taste in most matters should permit themselves 

 to be ruled by the practices of the ignorant and vulgar, is to me a mystery. 

 It is to be expected that the ignorant and thoughtless should be unaware 

 or overlook in indulging a caprice, or what they wrongly call taste, that 

 they are exposing to constant danger of inflammation, canker, and other 

 evils, one of the most delicate organisms ; but the higher class of fanciers 

 have no excuse for the evil they do in following a fashion which destroys 

 nature's necessary provision against danger and accident to a sensitive 

 organ. I hope the Irish Terrier Club will put their veto on the abomin- 

 able practice. 



The other point I wish to comment on is the ribs. Mr. Jamison says : 

 " ribs well sprung and well ribbed back." 



It has always been held that this terrier should possess speed, that he 

 should be of " a racing build." Spuds was admitted to be the correct 

 type to breed to by those who signed Mr. Bidgway's code, and she is not 

 only a fast bitch but looks it, and is certainly not " well ribbed back," 

 if by that is meant that the back ribs are well let down, which is what I 

 understand by the expression. 



To be well ribbed back is to give strength at the sacrifice of speed, to 

 create not a fast but a cobby dog. The Dandie Dinmont and the pug 

 should be well ribbed back, but they are not built for speed, and any dog 

 to be fast must be more or less up in the flank after the manner of a 

 greyhound, not with deep back ribs like a mastiff. 



The front ribs should be rather deep than round and well sprung, 



B B 2 



