THH GREAT BREEDERS MR. LUKEY. 179 



mastiff Mr. Lukey told me he had never seen." This is 

 standing testimony that the mastiff has not been so much 

 improved as some people have thought. Here we see Mr. 

 Lukey himself stating he never saw ;i finer specimen than 

 the dog he commenced breeding from. Again Mr. Thompson 

 wrote : " Mr. Lukey told me in 1851 the Marquis of Hertford's 

 " Pluto was black, and was the largest and best mastiff in all 

 points he ever saw. I believe I am justified in saying that 

 14 Mr. Lukey was indebted in a great measure to this dog in 

 ' producing his fine breed, Pluto being the sire of Yarrow, 

 the dam of Bruce ist, he was also grandsire of his splendid 

 <; dog Nero.'' 



1 have now given sufficient evidence to show that somehow 

 the account in Stonehenge is not quite accurate. However, 

 we may gather that the Marquis of Hertford's Pluto was a 

 dog of vast size, hardish, or as Mr. Lukey phrased it "strong" 

 coat, and black in colour : nothing is known of his nationality, 

 but from his vast size, colour, and hard coat, with a tendency 

 to throw roughish coated descendants, resembling the New- 

 foundland somewhat in character, I should suspect that he had 

 a large percentage of Asiatic or Thibetian blood in him, and 

 there is little doubt that he was not a pure English mastiff". 

 However, he was crossed with Countess, an Alpine mastiff, 

 selected for her size and height to resuscitate the size of the 

 deerhound ; while Couchez was also foreign blood, and a 

 comparatively small dog. standing hardly 30 inches, and 

 weighing not more than 130 Ibs. 



Thus the foundations of Mr. Lukey 's kennel were principally 

 Alpine or foreign mastiffs, and not the true old English breed 

 either in blood or type, being larger, coarser in bone, and not 

 so muscular as the British variety. 



