Doubtful Pedigrees. 43 



personal recollections, and the very first of their kind to 

 command a fancy price on account of their appearance 

 alone. Old Jock had been sold for ioo/., and Mr. 

 Wootton himself paid 8/. for Tartar, " because/' as his 

 purchaser said, "he nicks well with light, leggy, delicate 

 bitches, and puts steam into the young ones ; and another 

 thing," Mr. Wootton goes on to say, " he was always 

 second to Old Jock except when he twice beat him. Cer- 

 tain judges gave their awards in this way, so contrary to 

 reason and common sense ; for if Jock was right Tartar 

 must be wrong, for the two dogs differ so much in appear- 

 ance." Old Trap did not command so much money, about 

 25/. being the highest figure he reached, and this was when 

 he had fallen into the sere and yellow, just before coming 

 into the possession of Mr. J. H. Murchison, by whom the 

 old dog was highly esteemed. Their stud fees varied from 

 1/. to 2/. apiece — a miserable sum compared with the 5/. 

 and 10/ obtained for the use of the notable fox terriers in 

 this year of grace 1902. 



I think, with the mystery which surrounds the birth and 

 pedigree of these three late lamented and excellent terriers, 

 any attempt of mine to solve the difficulty would be useless. 

 There is nothing but hearsay upon which to dilate ; they 

 performed their duty well in that particular sphere in which 

 they were called to work, and so I say let them rest in 

 peace. Both Tartar and Old Jock, well nigh invincible on 

 the show bench, had little check in their careers, which 

 extended in the case of the former over eight years, and 

 in that of the latter through four years only, whilst I believe 

 Trap was not shown more than half-a-dozen times, his 

 best performance being when he came second to Jock at 

 Birmingham in 1862. 



