158 BRITISH DOGS 



chest white, with a large, broad, white collar, and the tip of the 

 tail white. Such a dog, with a white muzzle and blaze up the face, 

 is a picture to worship. Washed and kept perfectly clean, there 

 is nothing in dog-flesh so pretty." The much-admired sable-and- 

 white colour, so often found in the best specimens on the show- 

 bench, is rarely met with in working Collies, which are mostly 

 black and white in colour. So-called white Collies sometimes occur, 

 but they do not command much favour. Of those preferring the 

 sables and sable-and-whites the late Mr. Panmure Gordon was one, 

 and he was one of the foremost supporters of the colours. 



To show a Rough Collie in first-rate condition is by no means 

 an easy matter : it requires plenty of good grooming, for which a 

 dandy-brush is excellent, and periodical washing, say a couple of 

 days before the show. The brushing should be a daily operation, 

 and always in the direction of the head, or upwards. A comb is not 

 used, except in the case of a matted coat. The Collie that is required 

 for show should have good bedding material, straw being the best, 

 constantly renewed. Like many another variety, the Collie in the 

 past has not been free from the faker's attentions ; but nowadays 

 ears and tails cause the exhibitors the greatest anxiety. Lozenges 

 are frequently employed some time beforehand in order to induce 

 a better ear-carriage; or an extra gaily-carried tail not infrequently 

 receives a hard knock prior to an exhibit entering the ring ; while 

 a Rough that is bad in coat has ere now been shown as a Smooth. 

 It may be stated that the use of lozenges is forbidden by the 

 Kennel Club, and if any tell-tale marks exist, a dog so exhibited 

 stands a good chance of being disqualified. 



Smooth-coated Collies are treated as a distinct variety. It is, 

 however, needless to give a separate chapter to them, for, as previously 

 stated, in all points except coat this variety is a facsimile of the more 

 fashionable Rough-coated dog ; indeed, both are often found in the 

 same litter. A good instance of this is Mr. W. W. Thomson's Guelt, 

 who was of the most noted strain in the West of Scotland, being a 

 lineal descendant of the dog of a noted sheep-stealer, who tradition 

 says as he drove his flock to the southern markets along the old 

 Roman road that runs along the crest of the hills on the north bank 

 of the river Nith, used to send his dog along the hillsides or the 

 south side of the river to select a few sheep from several flocks, and, 

 fording the river, add them to his master's drove. Mr. Thomson 

 had his dog Guelt and another from the same litter direct from their 

 breeder, Mr. Craig, of Glen, in the parish of New Cumnock, 

 Ayrshire, and one of them was a very rough-coated one. Shepherds 

 prefer these to the long-coated, as they do not get matted with snow, 

 and their coat is so dense as to prove a sufficient protection against 

 the cold weather, and it is considered they suffer less during very 

 hot weather. 



