78 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



seeing the Mastiff in difficulties, he went back 

 and assisted him. Mr. Morris stated that 

 henceforth the dogs were quite good friends. 

 That is easy enough of belief by anyone who 

 has kept and studied dogs as companions 



^^Wi ^II*- 



ANOTHER PORTRAIT OF CH. 

 Photogr.iph by Lafayette, Belfast. 



MILK BOY 



and thereby learned how large an amount 

 of what are regarded as purely human 

 faculties there is in dogs. 



Very recently I was told of an adult 

 Newfoundland, which, curiously enough, 

 was not fond of swimming, and was taken 

 out with another Newfoundland that was 

 quite at home in the water. The former 

 showed no desire to follow the latter, but 

 he did in time realise that the swimmer 

 received praise which he also wanted, and, 

 reasoning clearly from cause to effect, he 

 developed into a remarkably good water- 

 dog. 



I am not sure whether the following story 

 told by Charles Dickens denotes instinct, 

 devotion, or sagacity, but it is amusing. 

 Dickens said that a Newfoundland, which 

 was usually allowed to go out alone, ap- 



peared on his return to smell of beer, and, 

 being watched on one occasion, was seen to 

 go into a public-house. On inquiry being 

 made it was found that the dog was in the 

 habit of calling daily at the public-house and 

 was usually given a pint of beer. 

 A striking instance of the reason- 

 ing power of this breed of dog is 

 given by G. Romanes in the Quar- 

 terly Journal of Science for April, 

 1876. It is there stated that a 

 Newfoundland dog was sent across 

 a stream to fetch a couple of hats, 

 while his master and friend had 

 gone on some distance. The dog 

 went after them, and the gentle- 

 men saw him attempt to carry 

 both hats, and fail, for together 

 they were too much for him. Pre- 

 sently he paused in his endeavour, 

 took a careful survey of the hats, 

 discovered that one was larger than 

 the other, put the small one inside 

 the larger, and took the latter in 

 his teeth by the brim and carried 

 both across ! 



The black variety of the New- 

 foundland is essentially black in 

 colour ; but this does not mean 

 that there may be no other colour, 

 for most black Newfoundlands have 

 some white marks, and these are not 

 considered objectionable, so long as they are 

 limited to white hairs on the chest, toes, 

 or the tip of the tail. In fact, a white 

 marking on the chest is said to be typical 

 of the true breed. Any white on the head 

 or body would place the dog in the other 

 than black variety. The black colour should 

 preferably be of a dull jet appearance, which 

 approximates to brown. In the other than 

 black class, there may be black and tan, 

 bronze, and white and black. The latter 

 predominates, and in this colour, beauty of 

 marking is very important. The head should 

 be black with a white muzzle and blaze, and 

 the body and legs should be white with large 

 patches of black on the saddle and quarters, 

 with possibly other small black spots on 

 the body and legs. 



Apart from colour, the varieties should 



