24 The Fox Terrier. 



Our old terriers, before the era of dog shows, were 

 strong and healthy, perhaps even more so than they are 

 nowj at any rate they were not pampered pets, as many 

 are to-day; and they were only kept because they were 

 muscular, hardy, and game. The delicate and puny 

 were consigned to the water barrel, the canal, or to 

 the tan pit ; there was no demand for them because of 

 their long pedigree and aristocratic connections, for they 

 had neither. Nowadays, so long as a terrier is elegant 

 in form, pleasant in face, and well-bred, he is worth 

 keeping; and, however delicate his constitution may be, 

 should he prove good enough to win prizes, he is used 

 at the stud, and so transmits his "blue blood'' and 

 delicacy to further generations. The former is well 

 enough, the latter bad enough, and it is because of this 

 carelessness in mating that so few modern terriers are 

 as hardy in appearance as the two ferocious-looking 

 mongrels in the " tail-piece " below. 



