362 Modern Dogs. 



Few sporting country districts are or were without 

 their own special strain of terriers, in which appear- 

 ance was of little object so long as gameness 

 predominated. By " gameness " I do not mean 

 partiality to righting and cat-killing, and standing 

 being cut up piece-meal without flinching or 

 whimpering, but killing vermin and going to 

 ground after fox, or badger, or otter wild animals, 

 and not tame, domesticated, and semi-tame 

 creatures. I have seen a dog of great excellence 

 and gameness in a street fight, which would 

 run away and yelp when a big buck rat seized 

 him by the nose. One harm dog shows have done, 

 they have distracted attention from the hardy, 

 intelligent, maybe cross-bred terrier, to what is 

 generally a more effeminate creature, though maybe 

 handsomer in markings and narrower in the chest. 

 As a matter of fact, a really first-class dog for the 

 show bench is far too valuable a creature to run any 

 risk of being killed underground by a badger or by 

 an earth or rock that might fall upon him. 



Fancy a five hundred pound fox terrier running 

 after Tommy Dobson's hounds over the mountains 

 of Eskdale, or doing the rough work that is required 

 of such dogs as the Robsons keep up in Northumber- 

 land ! Every time such dogs as these go out they 

 carry, as it were, u their lives in their hands." They 



