7 o 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



Pliiilimmon was only one of many dogs that 

 Mr. S. W. Smith sent to the United States 

 during the time that the boom for St. 

 Bernards in the Far West was at its height. 

 Princess Florence, a splendid rough-coated 

 bitch by Marvel, with Le Prince, also crossed 

 the water, but the demand soon after ceased 

 when it was found that the climate of 



MRS. A. H PARKER'S ROUGH-COATED CH. CINQ MARS 



BY CH. WOLFRAM CH. VIOLA. 



Photograph by W. H. Stuck. 



America was not suited to the breed. The 

 extremely hot weather in the summer 

 was fatal to them, very few of the high- 

 priced dogs and bitches that were sent out 

 living more than a couple of years. Prin- 

 cess Florence, who was owned in turn by 

 Dr. Inman and Mr. Hedley Chapman, was 

 the largest bitch that had so far been 

 bred, her reputed weight being upwards of 

 200 lbs. She was one of the few that 



each, and the trophy presented by Mr. 

 Halsey of even more value. These special 

 prizes are competed for at the Club's annual 

 shows, one for the best dog in the show 

 (rough or smooth), and the other for the 

 best bitch, these two winners then com- 

 peting together for the Halsev Trophy. 

 Later on Mr. Norris Elye became President 

 of the Club ; he was 

 a prominent breeder 

 of St. Bernards, and 

 owned, amongst 

 others, Alta Bella 

 and Bellegarde, two 

 excellent specimens 

 of the breed, the 

 former one of the 

 finest bitches of her 

 day. 



It was at this peri- 

 od that the great 

 celebrity, Sir Bedi- 

 vere, was whelped. 

 He was bred by Mr. 

 T. D. Green, who 

 selected him from the 

 litter when a pup 

 because he was the 

 most prettily marked, 

 and before he exhi- 

 bited him for the 

 first time, when ten 

 months old, had not 

 the slightest idea that he owned the most 

 typical St. Bernard that had ever been 

 bred in England, where he was never de- 

 feated. Mr. Green refused £1,500 for him 

 at home, but, after taking some five hun- 

 dred pounds in stud fees, sold him to 

 America for £1,300 ; he weighed upwards 

 of 200 lbs., and stood 33 inches at the 

 shoulder. Sir Bedivere was orange and 

 white in colour, and was beautifully pro- 



managed to live, and come back to England, portioned, with perfect action all round 



After passing through some troublous times 

 the St. Bernard Club was reconstituted, 

 and has gone on swimmingly ever since. 

 The Club owns the most valuable chal- 

 lenge cups of all the specialist Clubs. In 

 addition to several minor cups, it has two 

 silver cups of the value of 100 guineas 



In the years that followed many fine dogs 

 were bred, both of the rough and smooth- 

 coated variety, and the type was greatly 

 improved. Mr. Thomas Shilcock, of Bir- 

 mingham, got together a strong kennel : 

 Mr. T. Duerdin Dutton had some high-class 

 specimens at Cobham— Peggotty, a most 



