THE MASTIFF IX THE l8TH CENTURY. I3Q 



Bewick gives a capital cut of one of these lighter mongrel 

 mastiffs. Bewick represents the mastiff with and without 

 cropped ears. In his History of Quadrupeds the mastiff is 

 represented with ears uncropped, but in the tail pieces of 1784 

 and 1797 they are figured cropped. These little details 

 furnish a sign of the spirit or fashion of the day. 



The best woodcut of the mastiff by Bewick I have met with 

 is in his Beauties of Natural History, published between 1780 

 and 1790; I have a cop} 7 of this somewhat scarce little work, 

 and in it the mastiff is depicted with a very broad skull, short 

 muzzle, with very pendulous lips, small ears, long low body, 

 being longer and low r er in proportion than in any of Bewick's 

 subsequent woodcuts. This like nearly ever}' specimen of 

 the mastiff depicted by Bewick (which are all very uniform in 

 type) has white on the face, neck, ribs, flank, legs, and stern. 



This amount of white in all the mastiffs of that and preceding 

 date may have been due to the white stirp of Alan blood, but 

 more probably to a great extent to the amount of in breeding 

 then practised. The age of Railways and Railway ideas had 

 not commenced, and all animals were much more localized, 

 thus we see in most of the old English breeds of dogs and 

 cattle a great amount of white. 



The good Railways (owing to the facility they offer to 

 travelling) have done to human life, causing movement from 

 place to place, and in consequence a greater mixture of 

 population, and variety, and change of water, and of food 

 produced in different localities, they have also done for our 

 animals. Forced in and in breeding in consequence of 

 localization has ceased. Railways, Shows, and the intellect 

 of breeders have broken down the barriers of environment, 



