474 BRITISH DOGS 



a very level lot, but the breeder had quite made up his mind 

 to find them when only a few days old as perfect in colour as 

 the parents. Some like an Irish Terrier that is deep red in colour, 

 but the majority prefer a nice bright yellow-red, which is the 

 correct one. Good results may be obtained in breeding by occasion- 

 ally using a dark red, short-coated bitch, providing, of course, the 

 bitch is pure bred, and it is by no means uncommon to get such 

 in a litter. 



It is a pleasure to notice at recent shows a big falling off of 

 the red Fox-terrier type, which was so plentiful a few years ago. 

 Nothing has done this variety more harm than the few persistent 

 faddists in breeding these dwarf specimens, and those who have 

 the welfare of the breed at heart will act wisely in giving them 

 a wide berth, as they are uncharacteristic and useless for the 

 purposes for which a good Irish Terrier is justly noted. 



It will be observed that the Irish Terrier Club's standard is 

 24lb. for dogs and 22lb. for bitches ; but it is a well-known fact in 

 Irish Terrier circles that many of the best specimens are consider- 

 ably in excess of this weight. At the Dublin Show in April, 1900, 

 the Irish members of the Irish Terrier Club unanimously passed 

 a resolution, that no club special should be awarded to any dog 

 exceeding 261b. or bitch exceeding 24lb., leaving the onus of proving 

 the weight on the objector, the resolution to be subject to the 

 approval and confirmation of the next General Meeting. When the 

 General Meeting subsequently took place at Bristol, the resolution 

 was very wisely rejected by a large majority. It is easy to perceive 

 the bad feeling that might have been caused had this resolution been 

 finally passed. At shows when club specials were given some jealous 

 exhibitors would most certainly have objected to other exhibitors' 

 dogs, and perhaps the grandest living specimen might have been 

 objected to and been compelled to take second place to a very inferior 

 one, simply because he happened to be an ounce or two in excess 

 of 261b. Besides, weight is not a criterion of size. There are 

 plenty of Terriers that from general appearance one would think 

 heavier than others, but put them on the scales and you will 

 probably find it the other way about. 



An eminent authority once said of the breed, when writing of 

 Champion Brickbat (who, by the way, won the Sixty Guineas 

 Challenge Cup twelve times in succession), he could always forgive 

 size for quality ; and this good old dog in his prime probably 

 weighed at least 3lb. in excess of that given by the Irish Terrier 

 Club as the standard weight namely, 24lb. There is forgiveness 

 for having an Irish Terrier slightly on the big side, providing he 

 is symmetrically built, but there is none for having him small and 

 toyish. 



Dr, Carey, too, once said (and we need no better authority) : 



