38 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



back from joining in the fray, into which they 

 appear to be eager to enter. As a matter 

 of fact, it was not necessary to incite the 

 dogs to fight, as they were only too anxious 

 to be at work, and while being restrained 

 they would scream with rage and lick their 

 lips in anticipation of what was to follow. 

 In order that the ears might not form an 

 easy object to hold they were usually 

 cropped close to the head, and this practice 

 was generally followed well into the 'seven- 

 ties. Dog-fighting gradually declined dur- 

 ing the middle of the last century, and 

 practically ceased thirty years ago. 



Practices of this nature doubtless led 

 to the lack of interest taken in the breed, 

 and to the expression of opinion in British 

 Field Sports that " the Bulldog devoted 

 solely to the most barbarous and infamous 

 purposes, the real blackguard of his species, 

 has no claim upon utility, humanity, or 

 common sense, and the total extinction 

 of the breed is a desirable consummation " ; 

 whilst in Parliament he was described as 

 the incarnation of ferocity, loving blood- 

 shed and combat, and the cause of the 

 perpetuation of the cruelties which it was 

 desired to suppress. 



There is no doubt that the Bulldog knew 

 no fear. His tenacity of purpose was 

 present even in his death struggles. Colonel 

 Smith, writing in 1840, states that he saw 

 a Bulldog pinning an American bison and 

 holding his nose down till the animal 

 gradually brought forward its hind feet, 

 and, crushing the dog to death, tore his 

 muzzle, most dreadfully mangled, out of 

 the dog's fangs. 



The decline of bull-baiting and dog- 

 fighting after the passing of the Bill pro- 

 hibiting these sports was responsible for 

 a lack of interest in perpetuating the breed 

 of Bulldogs. Even in 1824 it was said to 

 be degenerating, and gentlemen who had 

 previously been the chief breeders gradually 

 deserted the fancy. 



At one time it was stated that Wasp, 

 Child, and Billy, who were of the Duke of 

 Hamilton's strain, were the only remaining 

 Bulldogs in existence, and that upon their 

 decease the Bulldog would become extinct — 



a prophecy which all Bulldog lovers happily 

 find incorrect. 



The specimens alive in 1817, as seen in 

 prints of that period, were not so cloddy 

 as those met with on the show bench at 

 the present day. Still, the outline of Rosa 

 in the well-known print of Crib and Rosa, 

 which is reproduced on p. 35, is considered 

 to represent perfection in the shape, make, 

 and size of the ideal type of Bulldog. The 

 only objections which have been taken are 

 that the bitch is deficient in wrinkles about 

 the head and neck, and in substance of 

 bone in the limbs. 



The following description of the Bull- 

 dog contained in Goldsmith's " Animated 

 Nature," 1840 edition, affords interest to 

 present-day readers, inasmuch as modern 

 breeding and environment have eliminated 

 the worst, and improved the best charac- 

 teristics of the dog : " The round, thick head, 

 turned-up nose, and thick, pendulous lips 

 of this formidable dog are familiar to all. 

 The nostrils of this variety are frequently 

 cleft. The want of that degree of discern- 

 ment which is found in so many of the 

 canine varieties, added to the ferocity of 

 the bulldog, make it extremely dangerous 

 when its courage and strength are employed 

 to protect the person or property of its 

 owner, or for any domestic purpose ; since, 

 unlike many of the more sagacious, though 

 less powerful dogs, which seem rather more 

 anxious to give the alarm when danger 

 threatens, by their barking, than to proceed 

 immediately to action, the bulldog, in 

 general, makes a silent but furious attack, 

 and the persisting powers of its teeth and 

 jaws enable it to keep its hold against any 

 but the greatest efforts, so that the utmost 

 mischief is likely to ensue, as well to the 

 innocent visitor of its domicile as to the 

 felonious intruder. The savage barbarity 

 which, in various shapes, is so apt to show 

 itself in the human mind, particularly when 

 unchecked by education and refinement, 

 has encouraged the breed of this variety 

 of the dog, in order that gratification may 

 be derived from the madness and torture 

 of the bull and other animals, when exposed 

 to the attacks of these furious beasts ; and 



