454 British Dogs. 



beauty, by the breeding out or modifying certain points he exhibits 

 strongly, and the development of others of which he is deficient ; and 

 who with this as his primary object sets about the work on certain intelli- 

 gible and accepted lines, which, however, does not necessarily preclude 

 experiment which reason, stimulated by observation, may suggest and 

 approve. 



Sooner or later, in defiance of ill-luck, accidents, and all adverse cir- 

 cumstances, that man will make a name for himself as a breeder, for he 

 will have attained an object in itself worthy, and which, by its inherent 

 excellence, compels recognition and praise. Such a breeder was the late 

 Mr, Laverack, and, following a similar course with like success, I point 

 with equal force to Mr. E. LI. Purcell Llewellyn, whose kennel of setters 

 is among the largest and is the highest and most equal in quality I have 



Men who are guided by these high and worthy motives are not so few 

 as many suppose, for they are often the least heard of, as they value 

 much more highly the improvement of their kennels than the taking of 

 prizes. Dogs these breeders must, as a matter of course, have to dispose 

 of ; but they do not breed to sell ; that is rather an accident of their 

 pursuit. 



I have not a word to say against breeding for sale ; it is a perfectly 

 legitimate business and an interesting pursuit, and intelligently followed 

 may be made profitable ; but to improve the various breeds of dogs and 

 still make things pay is by no means easy, because such breeders have 

 to compete with another and altogether less worthy, and sometimes even 

 unscrupulous, class. 



Profits on the sale of goods of almost every kind depend very much on 

 the publicity the goods and their owners receive. Most of us have to 

 trust to our tailor for the quality of cloth he supplies us with ; and in 

 dogs there is not one buyer in a hundred capable of making a selection 

 for himself farther than pleasing his own fancy. 



Taking advantage of this, there are a very large number of breeders 

 who, possessed of prize dogs, breed them with no reference to their fit- 

 ness to mate, and with no other object than to sell their produce at the 

 highest possible price. To select the good and put down the useless is 

 never dreamt of. The weedy and the ricketty, if they can boast of prize 

 winning relatives, will bring so many pounds from some foolish person or 



