220 BRITISH DOGS 



inspired with the peculiar afflatus of ''the fancy" to appreciate 

 every microscopic difference dealt with. 



It has frequently been urged that the points of a dog, of what- 

 ever breed, must, if worthy of appreciation, be capable of demonstra- 

 tion in terms comprehensible to every one. Mr. Millais was certainly 

 not one of those who cannot express in language the differences 

 they distinguish in the animals they judge; and it will be acknow- 

 ledged that he did good service in plainly stating the distinguishing 

 features of the four varieties of Basset-hounds as they were types 

 fixed in his mind. It is a decided advantage to have the points, 

 or, as the old school of breeders called them, " the properties," of 

 each breed defined. If the definition proves to be wrong, or 

 capable of amendment in any way, it can be done; but without 

 a written definition we are left to the incompetence of egotists, 

 who claim to be inspired, and able to see a something they call 

 " character," indefinable by them, and invisible to all but themselves 

 and the privileged few initiated in the mystery. 



Though it is not difficult to accept Mr. Millais' distinction 

 between the Fino de Paris and the Termino Hounds, the same 

 can hardly be said of his theory of breeding, which appears to 

 rest on an insufficiently solid basis, leaving out of account influences 

 which sometimes assert themselves in a way to all of us inexplicable. 



Fino de Paris was bred from brother and sister farther than 

 his grandparents his pedigree is unknown. Termino is said, as 

 a sire, to show more prepotency, stamping the character of his 

 family against odds in favour of Fino de Paris ; yet the pedigree 

 of Termino is unknown. To square results, in this case, with 

 the accumulated experiences of breeders, Termino's pedigree, 

 although unwritten, must be the longest, and most free from 

 foreign admixture. 



The facts of the case appear to be that Comte Couteulx and 

 MM. Masson and Lane have each bred his own strain from the 

 same common stock. It is, therefore, going too far to base a system 

 on present results in England of any combinations of these strains, 

 until several more generations of breeding from existing results 

 are seen. 



Most of the above has already appeared in earlier editions of 

 this work, but it is of so much interest to present-day breeders that 

 it has been deemed worthy of repetition. Since the above remarks 

 were penned, the Basset has increased enormously in popularity, 

 both in the field and on the show-bench. Among the successful 

 breeders have been, in addition to those already mentioned, 

 Mrs. C. C. Ellis, who produced a remarkable succession of 

 champions from her kennels, Mrs. Walsh, Mrs. Tottie, Mr. Harry 

 Jones, Mr. F. B. Craven, Mr. G. T. G. Musson, Dr. S. Isaacke, 

 Mr. W. W. White, Major Owen Swaffield, Mr. McNeill, Captain 



