184 Modern Dogs 



The sample of the yarn I saw was of a 

 silky though rather hard texture, and the manu- 

 facturer called it "a very pretty wool;" the spinner 

 said it was difficult to " teaze " because so badly 

 matted, but he thought it likely to card and spin 

 well. When made, the yarn is knitted into socks ; 

 the latter seem rather hard, and their wearer tells 

 me, though they are " somewhat harsh and whiskery, 

 they are calculated to create a healthy friction, 

 and are well suited for a cold climate." 



One variety of poodle, or at any rate a cross 

 bred poodle, is known as "the truffle dog," 

 although all truffle dogs are not poodles. " Stone- 

 henge," in his " Dogs of the British Isles," gives 

 an illustration of a " truffle dog," which appears 

 to be a cross between a small curly-coated poodle 

 and a terrier. These animals are trained for the 

 purpose of finding truffles, an edible fungus that 

 grows underground in some parts of this country. 

 It is, however, commoner on the continent, in France, 

 Italy, and elsewhere, where pigs are trained for the 

 purpose of finding the dainty article. As a fact, 

 almost all the truffles used in Great Britain are 

 procured from the continent, though they are 

 found in some localities of the south of England 

 in considerable numbers, in Hampshire, Wiltshire, 

 Dorsetshire, Oxfordshire (Windsor Forest was once 



