814 



DOG. 



and when he is properly trained, his nose is very good. 

 In the south of Germany there is a very small breed 

 which is an exact miniature of the English pointer. 

 The Russian pointer is very like the Spanish one in 

 form, except a remarkable peculiarity in the nose, 

 which is so deeply cleft as to appear cut in two, and 

 to procure him the name of the double-nosed pointer. 

 There are various other pointers, and the varieties of 

 the English one in shape, size, and colour, are almost 

 endless. 



We shall now briefly notice a few of those dogs of 

 the second division, which are used for domestic pur- 

 poses, though some of them are ready enough to take 

 game if it comes in their way. 



THE NEWFOUNDLAND DOG. This is a noble ani- 

 mal, and, with the exception of the water spaniel, it 

 takes the water much more readily than almost any 

 other dog. The feet of this species are webbed. 

 Indeed, when of pure blood, the Newfoundland is the 

 prince and honour of the race. His size and strength 

 are great, and his look dignified, so that those who 

 are not accustomed to him are apt to be afraid of his 

 approach ; but he is exceedingly mild, and has at 

 once the most beautiful and expressive eye of all the 

 race. Unless under very extraordinary circumstances 

 of provocation and necessity, he is never the aggres- 

 sor ; and though many large dogs are very prone to 

 tyrannise over the smaller ones, he has no such habit, 

 but will bear considerable indignity rather than fight 

 with any dog of insignificant appearance. A full 

 grown Newfoundland dog of the pure breed, and that 

 has received proper treatment, measures six feet and 

 a half from the nose to the tail, the length of that 

 appendage being two feet, and very handsome both 

 in its form and in the style in which it is carried. 



The Newfoundland Dog, 



From the one fore foot to the other, over the shoul- 

 ders, five feet eight inches ; girth behind the shoulders 

 three feet four inches ; round the head across the ears 

 two feet ; the upper part of the fore leg measures ten 

 inches ; the length of the head fourteen inches ; and 

 from his feet being webbed, he can swim with great 

 ease, and for a very considerable time. His body is 

 covered with long shaggy hair ; his legs are feathered, 

 and he has an extreme villous tail which is curvilinear. 

 The Newfoundland dog is but of recent introduction 

 into this country from the island whose name he bears, 

 and may be considered as a distinct race. He is 

 docile to a very great degree, and nothing can exceed 



his affection. Being naturally athletic and activ*, ne 

 is ever eager to be employed, and seems deligltfed in 

 performing any little office required of him. From 

 the great share of emulation which nature has given 

 him, to be surpassed or overcome would occasion 

 great pain to him. On every emergency he is active, 

 the friend of all, and is naturally without the least 

 disposition to quarrel with other animals ; he seldom 

 or never offers offence, but will not receive an insult 

 or injury with impunity. Such is the capacity of his 

 understanding, that he can be taught almost any 

 thing that man can inculcate, of which his own 

 strength and frame are capable. His sagacity can 

 only be exceeded by his energies, and he perseveres 

 with unabated ardour in whatever manner he is em- 

 ployed, and while he has a hope of success he will 

 never slacken in his efforts to attain it. The amazing 

 pliability of his temper peculiarly fits him for man's 

 use, and he never shrinks from any service which 

 may be required of him, but undertakes it with an 

 ardour proportionally to the difficulty of its execution. 

 He takes a singular pride in being employed, and 

 will carry a bundle, stick, or basket, in his mouth, for 

 miles, and to deprive him of either of these is more 

 than a stranger could with safety accomplish. Saga- 

 city and a peculiarly faithful attachment to the human 

 species are characteristics inseparable from this dog, 

 and hence he is ever on the alert to ward off impend- 

 ing danger from his master, and to free him from every 

 peril to which he may be exposed. From the astonish- 

 ing degree of courage with which he is endowed, 

 he is ever ready to resent an insult or to defend his 

 friends, even at the hazard of his own life. Inclined 

 habitually to industrious employment, such dogs are 

 as useful to the settlers of the coast, from which they 

 are brought, as our galloway and ponies are to us. It 

 is easy to accustom them to daily labour. From three 

 to five of them are harnessed to a sledge, or other 

 vehicle, containing a load of wood or lumber amount- 

 ing to twenty or thirty stones, which they will draw 

 very steadily for miles with ease, and will do this 

 without the aid of a driver, when acquainted with the 

 road ; and having delivered their burden, they return 

 home to their masters, and receive, as a reward for 

 heir labour, their accustomed food, which generally 

 consists of dried fish, of which they are said to be ex- 

 tremely fond. Indeed, the qnalifications of this dog 

 are very extensive. As a keeper or defender of the 

 house, he is far more powerful and intelligent, and 

 more to be depended upon lhan the mastiff, and has 

 been much substituted for him in England of late 

 years ; he may indeed with great^ propriety supersede 

 that breed. For his services upon navigable rivers 

 and as a watch dog, none can come in competition 

 with him , and many sportsmen have introduced him 

 into the field with great success as a pointer, his 

 sagacity and kindness of disposition rendering it an 

 easy task to train him. Although this variety is styled 

 the Newfoundland dog, there is every reason to be- 

 lieve that it was not found in that island when first 

 visited by Europeans ; and in corroboration of this it 

 may be observed that it does not resemble the Arctic 

 dogs properly so called, which are dogs with very 

 shaggy hair, and much more ferocious in their dispo- 

 sitions, although, like this one, they are employed in 

 labour. It has been said that this is a cross between 

 some sort of English dog and a she-wolf of New- 

 foundland ; but what species of English dog would, 

 with a she-wolf, have produced a dog of the size, 

 shape, and disposition of the Newfoundland, and at 



