INTRODUCTORY 9 



This is eminently satisfactory, and may be supple- 

 mented with the note that at Cruft's Show in 1904 

 there were no less than eighty-four entries in the sheep 

 dog classes in point of quality perhaps the strongest 

 collection of bob-tails hitherto benched. 



From a careful study of the sources from which 

 these brief chronological data are culled, I deduce that, 

 whatever his origin, the bob-tail has existed in this 

 country for the last hundred and thirty years in very 

 much the same general appearance as he presents to-day, 

 that his popularity Has steadily increased during the past 

 quarter of a century, and that every authority is unani- 

 mous in ascribing to him exceptional sagacity. 



At one time or another he has been claimed as the 

 special property of various districts, some asserting that 

 he was originally of Welsh extraction, others maintaining 

 that he hails from Suffolk, Hants, and Dorsetshire, and 

 others, again, that he is a descendant of the bearded collie 

 of Scotland. I think there can be little doubt that 

 this latter animal is identical with our own, and that 

 the two varieties trace their ancestry to a common 

 origin. Indeed, the only noticeable difference is in the 

 tail, which the bearded collie possesses and the Old 

 English Sheep Dog does not ; and this is, generally, a 

 mere matter of amputation. 



The custom originated, it is said, with the drovers, 

 who were wont to cut off their dogs' tails in order to 

 evade the tax, and it is frequently affirmed that genera- 



