ST, BERNARD 



added that the modern St. Bernard as bred in England 

 is a vast improvement upon the dogs of the famous 

 hospice. No doubt some forty years ago, when the late 

 Mr. ]. Cumijiing Macdona and Mr. ]. H. Murchison intro- 

 duced their magnificent imported specimens of the breed 

 into this country, the St. Bernard created a huge sensa- 

 tion, but British enterprise has accomplished much in 

 the way of increasing size ; and it is therefore not too 

 much to say that such great heroes of the past as Tell, 

 Thor, and Monarque would have great difficulty in 

 holding their own with the champions of the present 

 day if they revisited the scenes of their early triumphs. 

 The monks of the hospice, however, have, through no 

 fault of their own, been unlucky enough to lose their 

 old blood, as their best animals were all wiped out in 

 the discharge of their duties by a terrible storm on the 

 Alps some years ago, and the breed of the hospice had 

 to be resuscitated by blood from the plains below, which 

 was of a very inferior quality. 



The head of the St. Bernard is large, massive, broad, 

 deep, and slightly rounded on the top ; the muzzle being 

 short, flat, square, of considerable substance, and well 

 filled in under the eyes, which are dark in colour, small, 

 rather sunken, and show the haw ; the ears being rather 

 small, set on high, and carried close to the sides of the 

 head. The neck, which is of a good length, very powerful, 

 and gracefully arched, carries a dewlap ; the shoulders lay 

 back well, and the chest is both wide and deep. The back 

 is rather long, but very wide and muscular ; the ribs being 

 fairly rounded, and the loins deep and powerful. The 

 fore-legs should be well set on under the dog, dead straight, 

 muscular, and heavy in bone, with large compact feet; 

 and the hind-legs very muscular at the thighs, and well 

 bent at the hocks, which ought not to turn in, this being 

 a point upon which modern breeders differ from many of 

 the old ones. The tail is set on high, long, and carried 

 low; the coat in the long-haired dogs being flat, rather 



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