THE WIRE-HAIR FOX-TERRIER. 



351 



and simply meant that he was always 

 grooming and looking after his terrier, whom 

 he always had with him. 



The wire-hair has never been in better state 

 than he is to-day ; he is, generally speaking 

 far ahead of his predecessors of twenty-five 

 years ago, not only from a show point of 

 view, but also in working qualities. One 

 has only to compare the old portraits of 

 specimens of the variety — apart altogether 

 from one's own recollections — with dogs of 

 the present day to see this. A good many 

 individual specimens of excellent merit, it 

 is true, there were, but they do not seem to 

 have been immortalised in this way. The 

 portraits of those we do see are mostly 

 representations of awful-looking brutes, 

 as bad in shoulders, and light of bone, as 

 they could be ; they appear also to have 

 had very soft coats, somewhat akin to that 

 we see on a Pomeranian nowadays, though 

 it is true this latter fault may have been 

 that of the artist, or probably amplified 

 by him. 



Perhaps the strongest kennel of wire- 

 hairs that has existed was that owned a 

 good many years ago by Messrs. Maxwell 

 and Cassell. Several champions were in 

 the kennel at the same time, and they were 

 a sorty lot of nice size, and won prizes all 

 over the country. Jack Frost, Jacks Again, 

 Liffey, Barton Wonder, Barton Marvel, and 

 several other good ones, were inmates of 

 this kennel, the two latter especially being 

 high-class terriers, which at one time were 

 owned by Sir H. de Trafford. Barton 

 Marvel was a very beautiful bitch, and 

 probably the best of those named above, 

 though Barton Wonder was frequently put 

 above her. Sir H. de Trafford had for years 

 a very good kennel of the variety, and at 

 that time was probably the biggest and best 

 buyer. 



Mr. Carrick, of Carlisle, was also a prom- 

 inent owner years ago, and showed some 

 excellent terriers, the best being Carlisle 

 Tack, Trick and Tyro. The latter was an 

 exceptionally good dog, and the variety 

 lost a staunch supporter when Mr. Carrick 

 retired in consequence of the disqualification 

 of this dog for having a cut ear. Someone 



had apparently been over zealous in the 

 matter, entirely without Mr. Carrick's know- 

 ledge, it being as a fact proved beyond doubt 

 that that gentleman knew nothing whatever 

 about the operation. Tyro, bar this defect, 

 was a very perfect little terrier that would 

 probably do very well on the bench to-day ; 

 there was in all likelihood no necessity to 

 perform the stupid operation, for nearly 

 all ears, if taken in hand, when the dog is a 

 puppy, can be easily worked and trained 

 into the orthodox carriage, and Tyro was 

 a puppy when objected to. 



Mr. Sam Hill, of Sheffield, had also a strong 

 kennel, always well shown by George Porter, 

 who is now, and has been for some years, in 

 America, where he still follows his old love. 

 Mr. Hill's name will ever be associated with 

 that of his great dog Meersbrook Bristles, 

 who has undoubtedly done the breed a 

 great amount of good. Mr. Mayhew is 

 another old fancier, who nearly always 

 showed a good one. Mr. Mayhew has been 

 in America now for many years. One dog 

 of his, who it is believed became a champion, 

 viz. Brittle, did at one time a big business 

 at stud, perhaps not to the advantage of the 

 breed, for he was possessed of a very bad 

 fault, in that he had what was called a top- 

 knot ring, a bunch of soft silky hairs on 

 his forehead, an unfailing sign of a soft coat 

 all over, and a thing which breeders should 

 studiously avoid. This topknot was at one 

 time more prevalent than it is now. 

 Whether it is a coincidence or not one cannot 

 say, but it is a fact that in the writer's 

 experience several terriers possessed of this 

 fault have also blue markings, which again 

 are almost invariably accompanied by a 

 soft coat, and taking these two peculiarities 

 together it would seem that at some time, 

 years ago, a cross with that wonderfully 

 game but exceedingly soft -coated terrier, the 

 Bedlington, may have been resorted to, 

 though if so it would appear that nowadays 

 any effect of it is gradually dying out. 



Mr. George Raper is one of the old fanciers 

 who is still with us. Mr. Raper has for 

 many years owned some of the best specimens 

 of the variety, Ch. Go Bang perhaps being 

 the most notable. Go Bang was a beautiful 



