The Dalmatian. 203 



round, tough elastic pads. In the hind legs the 

 muscles should be clean, though well defined, the 

 hocks well let down. 



" Nails, in the black spotted variety, black and 

 white, in the liver spotted variety, brown and white. 



" The Tail should not be too long, strong at the 

 insertion and gradually tapering towards the end, 

 free from coarseness. It should not be inserted 

 too low down, but carried with a slight curve 

 upwards, and never curled. It should be spotted, 

 the more profusely the better. 



" The Coat should be short, hard, dense and fine, 

 sleek and glossy in appearance, but neither woolly 

 nor silky. 



" Colour and Markings. These are most impor- 

 tant points. The ground colour in both varieties 

 should be pure white, very decided, and not inter- 

 mixed. The colour of the spots in the black 

 spotted variety should be black, the deeper and 

 richer the black the better ; in the liver spotted 

 variety they should be brown. The spots should 

 not intermingle, but be as round and well-defined 

 as possible, the more distinct the better ; in size 

 they should be from that of a sixpence to a florin. 

 The spots on head, face, ears, legs, tail, and 

 extremities to be smaller than those on the body. 



"Size. Dogs, 55lb. ; bitches, 5olb." 



