CHAPTER IX. 

 THE IRISH TERRIER. 



" THE Irish terrier is a cheap dog, is it not ? " said 

 a friend to me the other day. " I do not know 

 about its cheapness," I replied; " but if you have a 

 really good one it will bring a hundred pounds any 

 time you want to sell it." And such is the fact. A 

 first-class Irish terrier is worth almost as much as a 

 fox terrier, and as a so-called marketable canine 

 commodity ranks only after the latter, the collie, 

 and the St. Bernard in value. He is a favourite dog, 

 hence his worth. 



His popularity has only come about during the 

 past fifteen years or so ; dog shows have been his 

 fortune, and the Irish Terrier Club has no doubt 

 assisted him to his high position. It was as far back 

 as about 1882 that I was judging dogs at Belfast, 

 and was then very much struck with the 

 extraordinary character possessed by sundry Irish 

 terriers which were brought into the ring ; they 

 included Mr. J. N. R. Pirn's Erin, perhaps the best 



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