THE ANGLER AND HUNTSMAN 201 



moment. The finesse of the intelligent breeder is seen 

 in every limb and muscle of the dog's body; his high breed- 

 ing and faultless outline, combined with his apparent utility, 

 is patent to any man or woman who cares to take in his gen- 

 eral appearance and reason out the whys and the where- 

 fores of his existence. From the old-fashioned rough Scot- 

 tish terrier, or maybe the rough black and tan kennel ter- 

 rier of other days, crossed with the hardbitten bull and ter- 

 rier, we are said to have obtained the first progeny that was 

 the one root of the now deservedly popular Airedale. But 

 our workingmen friends, fond of a bit of hunting on the 

 small river and brook sides of the dale of the Aire, wanted a 

 dog with more nose one that could wind a rat or a moor 

 lien across the stream, or pick up the drag of a chance otter 

 whose presence they might discover through the track of his 

 peculiar hind-toeless "seal" on some silted sand or landing 

 place on the side or middle of a creek. This trail, perhaps 

 already six and thirty hours old, the Scottish fighting-dog 

 cross would fail to recognize, and, naturally, the lone hunt- 

 ing fellow would cast about for some dog possessed of suffi- 

 ciently acute olfactory organs to be able to recognize this 

 scent and carry it on to where the otter was surveying the 

 river from a point of vantage in the fork of an old willow 

 tree, on the bank, safe below in his hole, the opening of 

 which he would dive to reach, or the snug surroundings of an 

 oozier bed, hassocks of moorgrass or the dry and warm bed 

 on top of a hedge or bank. In a jiffy our sportsman knew 

 he must have something else in his already cross-bred dog ; 

 his mind at once went out to the Otter hound or Welsh 

 hound, for well he knew that both of these had a rightful 

 reputation for wonderful noses, handed down to them in 

 turn from the mighty old Talbot hound, the Adam of all, or 

 nearly all, hounds and dogs that depend upon their scenting 

 powers to provide their masters with the sports of the chase 

 and the benefits of the well-filled larder. Again, the Otter 

 and Welsh hounds were rough and wiry in coat; they were 



