The Japanese Pug. 443 



In "Jesse's Besearches " the following quotation from Sir Rutherford 

 Alcock, long resident in Japan, is given : " And first I am to find a pair 

 of well bred Japanese dogs, with eyes like saucers, no nose, the tongue 

 hanging out at the side, too large for the mouth, and white and tan, if 

 possible. My dogs are chosen, a species of King Charles spaniel 

 intensified ; and, by-the-bye, there is so much genuine likeness that I 

 think it probable the Merry Monarch was indebted to his marriage with 

 a Portuguese princess for the original race of spaniels." 



The Japanese, it is said, give their tey dogs, when puppies, a spirit called 

 saki to keep them small. It is a singular coincidence that a similar habit 

 obtains among the lower order of dog fanciers in this country, where gin 

 is given to stop the growth of puppies. 



The following remarks on the breed are from the pen of Mr. 

 Marples : 



" This variety of dog, specimens of which I have heard Mr. Lort remark 

 he had seen some twenty years ago, and which have since been occasionally 

 imported into this country, but not to any great extent, owing, no doubt, 

 to the great distance, has not been propagated much hitherto, as 

 the breed is almost a rarity, and up to the present has not even been 

 introduced into any work upon dogs that I am aware of. 



" Since coming into possession of the Japanese pug Ming Seng, I 

 have been led to make some little inquiries respecting the breed, and 

 the information I have gathered places the matter beyond dispute that 

 such a breed does exist in Japan, and is as distinct as the pug of our 

 own country and quite as common. It has been inferred by some that 

 it may have been obtained by a cross with our King Charles and English 

 pug or some other dog, but this I consider quite fallacious. The dog 

 resembles a King Charles but little, excepting that it is short in face, 

 while in build and general contour it is totally different, and the coat 

 is perfectly straight, and being more profuse than the Charlie is scarcely 

 a likely result from a cross with a smooth-haired dog. 



" Mr. G. W. Allen won the silver medal at the Kennel Club's Alexandra 

 Palace Summer Show in 1878, in the class for small sized foreign dogs, 

 with Shantung (so named after a province, in which is the Palace of 

 Pekin, where the dog was born). This is a black and white specimen, 

 possessing the same characteristics as Ming Seng, but a little larger, 

 being about 141b. weight. The Eev. G. F. Hodson won at Birmingham, 



G G2 



