124 THE MASTIFF FROM ELIZABETH'S REIGN. 



bitch is a short headed, heavy muzzled animal, with over 

 large ears, which seems a fault common to all Berjeau's 

 examples, her limbs are short and stout, and stern short. 

 The five puppies vary much in character, one being a short 

 round headed, short tailed promising little fellow, such a one 

 as any breeder would like to possess, while the larger brother 

 is indifferent in head, showing at that date even, in the same 

 litter puppies varied in size and type, and that unless the 

 breeder is careful to select nearest to the ideal, the type will 

 degenerate, unless the surer rule of the survival of the fittest 

 is put into execution, which in the mastiff of that date meant 

 the selection of the best performers in the bear garden, 

 whereat the shortest headed and most muscular were sure 

 to bear the palm. 



The cut was taken from Jost Ammoirs work on Hunting, 

 published at Frankfort in 1592. 



Berjeau also gives figures of a mastiff dog and bitch with 

 puppies. The latter from George Tubberville's k ' Noble Art 

 of Hunting," plate 28, also a mastiff dog, from the 1611 

 edition of Tubberville. In the former the bitch is extremely 

 short in muzzle, skull large, body long and deep, on short 

 limbs, and long and low generally, the ears are far too large, 

 long, and round (a characteristic fault in Tubberville' s dogs, 

 amounting to conventionality). The mastiff dog no. 2, plate 

 29, is of the same type as the bitch, his skull being large, 

 forehead wrinkled, muzzle very short, but the ears are again 

 much too large. 



Very little is known concerning the art of painting in 

 England previous to the time when Henry viiith encouraged 

 Holbien in portraiture, and invited Titian to come over. 

 Under Elizabeth it was not much patronized. 



