THE COLLIES 151 



arbitrarily established, for the reasons adduced elsewhere. Breeders, 

 therefore, working with such different aims, and selecting- animals 

 for the stud on such widely different grounds as our shepherds and 

 exhibitors do, must get wider and wider apart the farther they travel 

 on their several courses. It is, however, quite possible to improve 

 the outward dog without destroying the inward or intellectual 

 Collie. There are some famous breeders of Collies as there are of 

 Fox and other Terriers who send their dogs to be trained to the 

 work for which by Nature they were intended to accomplish. 



Competitive trials in gathering, driving, and penning sheep of 

 which there are a few held annually in Wales and the North of 

 England are most interesting from a spectator's point of view, and 

 have a powerful tendency to maintain the practically useful char- 

 acter of this dog ; but the greatest influence in that direction must 

 always be our working shepherds, who with their trusty helps are 

 scattered over our lonely hillsides. The placing of dogs that have 

 been externally beautified in the hands of such men, and the 

 drafting of good-looking and clever dogs from the shepherds to 

 recruit the stock of exhibitors, prove mutually beneficial. 



For the benefit of those who have not seen one of the Sheepdog 

 trials, the following description, furnished by a correspondent to 

 The Bazaar, may be interesting : 



"At many of the smaller agricultural shows in the moorland 

 districts Sheepdog trials are held, and prizes given to the owners of 

 those Collies that pen their sheep in the shortest time. Even at 

 some of the ' sports ' or ' feasts ' held in the dales these trials form 

 an important and interesting feature of the day's proceedings, and the 

 movements of the animals are keenly watched and commented 

 upon by the many shepherds and sheep-farmers assembled. At some 

 of the more important agricultural shows in Wales, Westmorland, 

 and Cumberland dogs are sent from places far distant to compete. 

 Although at each show the details of the trial may vary, still the 

 general conditions under which the trials take place are similar. 



At a small show in the Yorkshire dales, once visited by the 

 writer, the greater part of the afternoon was devoted to these Sheep- 

 dog trials. The diagram (Fig. 43) will aid the description. The 

 rules here were that each dog be allowed fifteen minutes in which 

 to pen the three sheep, which were driven through the gate (c), 

 having first to take them a circuitous route between various flags, 

 and then, with the assistance of the shepherd, to drive the three 

 sheep into a triangular pen, composed of three hurdles, another 

 hurdle acting as a gate to the pen (D) 



The three sheep were let loose, the shepherd or owner of the 

 dog took his place beside the pen, from which he was not allowed 

 to move, although permitted by hand, voice, and whistle to guide 



