The Newfoundland. 89 



way be deemed in the first rank, and for no other 

 reason than the mere caprice or whim of the judge. 



A few years ago there was considerable agitation 

 as to the swimming powers of Newfoundlands, and 

 on two or three occasions water competitions were 

 arranged in connection with dog shows. Such, 

 however, proved neither popular nor interesting, and 

 in one noteworthy case a very much-lauded dog 

 refused to enter the water at all. The last com- 

 petition of the kind was at Aston, near Birmingham, 

 in 1882, where the best water dog was undoubtedly 

 the late Mr. Bagnall's Landseer, Prince Charlie, 

 which won a first prize, a Bedlington terrier being 

 his most formidable opponent. 



It may be worth mentioning that the Newfound- 

 land dog as he is now found in the island which 

 gave him his name, is a sad mongrel creature, if he 

 exists at all in any amount of purity. It is likewise 

 noteworthy that in the United States of America no 

 Newfoundlands are kept anything at all equal to the 

 best specimens of the variety as we have produced 

 them in the British Isles. 



Although I have owned a Newfoundland or two, 

 I never had one sufficiently long or made his 

 acquaintance to such an extent as to be able to 

 speak with great authority on the nature and dispo- 

 sition of the animal. My lack of opportunity in this 



