384 The Dog Book 



animal. It must have sufficient substance to prevent its lying flat like 

 a setter's, and yet must not stand out like a collie's mane or frill. The 

 head coat is softer and entirely covers the outline of skull and fore face, 

 giving a bulky appearance to the head. The legs are also well coated all 

 around, adding to their appearance of girth. 



There is a great desire for what bob-tail fanciers call pigeon blue, 

 either as the main colour, with white about the face, legs and neck, or 

 white with this blue in patches on the body. Pigeons vary too much in 

 shades of blue for this name to be an unmistakable guide. All know what 

 a grizzle is, and grizzle is one of the accepted colours. In place of black 

 mixed with gray or white hairs, which makes the grizzle, the mixture is a 

 shade of the blue of the Maltese cat shot with gray or white hairs, brighten- 

 ing up the colour and at the same time preserving the blue tone. Black and 

 white is an accepted colour; in fact the only objection is to brown or collie 

 sable. 



The boom year in bob-tails was 1903, when seven classes were opened 

 at the New York Show and fifty-six entries were received, among them 

 being a number brought over by young Mr. Tilley, of Tilley Brothers. 

 It was a field day for this kennel, every first prize but one, which Mr. 

 Howard Gould won, going to the Tilley dogs. Their best dog was Merry 

 Boy and the best bitch Bouncing Lass. Another good dog in this lot 

 was Stylish Boy, which beat everything but Merry Boy and Mrs. G. S. 

 Thomas's Wilberforce. He was not sold, although Mr. Harding Davis 

 got so far as asking us to go and buy the dog, as Mrs. Davis wanted a good 

 one. The lady heard the conversation, however, and vetoed the commission. 

 The dog went back to England with other unsold ones, but was again 

 imported before the next New York Show by Messrs. Frohman and Dilling- 

 ham at a price very much in advance of what Mr. Davis could have got him 

 for. In 1904 he was again defeated, but this year under Mr. Mayhew won 

 in winners, defeating Bilton Bob, who was placed ahead of him in 1904. 

 Bouncing Lass, the best bitch in the Tilley string of 1903, also returned 

 with Stylish Boy, and she was again the winner in her winners' class last 

 year at the New York Show. The number of entries have not been so 

 large in 1904 and this year as in 1903, but in that respect the falling off 

 has not shown lack of interest so much as in the smaller number of persons 

 interested, the number of exhibitors being somewhat reduced. 



In addition to Messrs. Frohman and Dillingham the principal sup- 



