84 THE AIREDALE 



in early days he was called the " waterside ter- 

 rier," and his official debut at the English dog 

 shows was in classes for " broken-haired working 

 terriers." Both titles were felt to be too indefi- 

 nite, and " Stonehenge," the sporting authority, 

 suggested " Bingley terrier," from the town in 

 the heart of the district where the breed origi- 

 nated. Local jealousies prevented any one town 

 giving its name to the breed, and there was quite 

 a war waged till some unrecorded genius sug- 

 gested that, as the birthplace of the breed had 

 been in the valleys of the Aire River and its little 

 tributaries, Airedale was the best name. So Aire- 

 dale he became, having an official christening at 

 the Otley show in the late seventies. 



Besides adding some ten pounds to his weight 

 and getting a distinctive and pleasing name, the 

 Airedale has changed in other ways since he took 

 his light from under the bushel basket. His 

 head has lengthened, following the tendency of 

 all terrier breeds. His shoulders, legs, and feet 

 are worlds better now than they were years ago, 

 but coats have suffered. The wire jacket has 

 improved, but the woolly undervest has been sac- 

 rificed, though now more and more attention is 

 being paid to this by breeders and judges. 



The honor of having brought the first Airedale 

 to America is generally ascribed to Mr. C. H. 



