118 The Fox Terrier. 



certain sign that game was about. This same terrier, 

 though taking water freely, did not care about leaping 

 from a bank. A cock pheasant, to a " neat right " of a 

 friend of mine, had fallen into the river, at that time 

 running in flood and at a great pace. Grip was there on 

 the bank, and leaning down I let him drop some four feet 

 into the stream. He knew where the " longtail " was 

 floating away sea-wards, and, striking out, soon had him in 

 his jaws. It was hard work with such, a mouthful making 

 his way against the current, but, swimming by the side, he 

 came up to me, and, leaning over, I took the bird from him 

 and then lifted the clever little dog on to terra firma. 

 Shaking himself and being caressed for his excellent per- 

 formance, he was not long before he was bustling the 

 rabbits about in a thick and prickly piece of covert. A 

 modern smooth-haired fox terrier will do duty of any kind 

 equally as well as any other terrier, if properly trained and 

 brought up so to do ; but for work in the rain and water, 

 labourers' rough duty in fact, he will not be found so hardy 

 as the cross-bred animal of some of the best strains. 



Time after time has it been stated that the " show dog " 

 is a fraud when he has to earn his living in driving foxes 

 and killing vermin. Possibly he may be so, for an owner 

 with a terrier worth a couple of hundred pounds is scarcely 

 likely to run any risk with him. In an earth he may be 

 smothered by a fall of soil or crushed by some displace- 

 ment of rock ; and in killing the largest descriptions of 

 vermin, foulmarts and the like, his ears may be split and 

 his face torn. If scars on the latter do give an appearance 

 of gameness, they do not enhance his beauty, and, after 

 all, the latter goes a long way on the show bench. A 

 commoner and less valuable dog will do the work equally 



