Vsejul Companions of Man. 5 3 



well-broken one of good temper may be taken anywhere, 

 and is far more trustworthy than the Newfoundland, and 

 quite equal to the St. Bernard. The sense of smell is 

 acute, and the mastiff has been known to draw up to a 

 covey of partridges like a pointer. 



The mastiff is remarkable for the combination of his 

 general development. The conformation of the head 

 bespeaks an unusual brain power, which is under ad- 

 mirable control. He is a creature of strong and sincere 

 attachment to man, endowed with a wonderful power of 

 discrimination and true nobility of character, all of 

 which he freely exercises in the interests of those for 

 whom alone he seems to live. He is by nature docile 

 and gentle to a fault. He lays aside his giant strength 

 to unite in the gambols of the child with the same spirit 

 of tenderness and grace. If his conduct be otherwise 

 it bespeaks his origin in the mongrel or nondescript races, 

 and his general conformation does not, as a rule, 

 correspond to the portrait we have so feebly outlined. 

 It is possible for apparently well bred animals to inherit 

 the " bad blood of their forefathers ; " but as greater 

 attention is now paid to a careful system of selection and 

 in-breeding, this dangerous element in the character may 

 be kept in abeyance, in common with other serious 

 defects. The well-bred mastiff allies himself to man as 

 his friend, to whom he becomes the closest companion, 

 and serves him with the truest devotion and sincerity. 

 This animal should not be subjected to the restraint of 

 the chain ; if he is, whether young or old, he will be 

 inevitably spoiled in outward form as well as temper. 



The points of this breed are as follows : — The head 

 should be massive, with a broad and flat forehead ; ears 

 small and wholly pendent, lying close to the cheek, 

 though set on farther back than in the hound, pointer, and 

 setter; eyes small, but mild and intelligent in expression; 

 face short, with a square muzzle, not tapering towards the 

 point of the noise ; teeth level, but sometimes there is a 

 slight projection of the lower; flews deep; neck muscular, 

 with the head well set into it, showing a slight prominence 

 at the upper point of junction ; body very large, with 



