The St. Bernard. 57 



coated Thor, who has done so much towards build- 

 ing up the kennels of rough-coated St. Bernards 

 here, and from whom are descended almost all the 

 best of the variety, was very deficient in the most 

 important properties, and on the bench was altogether 

 a failure, even amongst the dogs that existed when 

 he was alive. Furthermore, we have it on the best 

 authority that short-coated St. Bernards are more 

 highly prized than rough-coated at the Hospice of 

 St. Bernard, and, moreover, are thought more of 

 throughout Switzerland, the land of their birth, 

 where there are at least a dozen good smooths to 

 one rough. From these facts the conclusion may 

 be arrived at that the rough-coated St. Bernard of 

 to-day is purely a manufactured animal, whilst the 

 smooth is a reproduction of the original St. Bernard, 

 altered only in a slight degree as regards the texture 

 of the coat. 



11 From the first the rough-coated St. Bernard has 

 been the more popular in England, notwithstanding 

 that it is looked upon more or less as a mongrel 

 in Switzerland ; but it must be remembered that 

 here usefulness has flot been a consideration, 

 and it has been the object of breeders to produce 

 the most ornamental animal. The result is, that 

 in this connection some magnificent specimens of 

 the rough type have been bred, and there is now 



