THE SPORTING WORLD. 247 



and disgust and to touch on something that 

 we can contemplate if not with approbation at 

 least with palHative features in its favour. 

 It may not be, in fact is not, what the true 

 sportsman either patronises or sanctions, still 

 it is unattended with any direct cruelty, and 

 moreover tends to encourage a very useful breed 

 of vermin killing dogs. Every dog I know of 

 is useful, in his way, but the bull dog ; he 

 is quite useless for any purpose but one very 

 properly put down, bull baiting; he is a bad 

 watch dog; is not to be trusted loose among 

 cattle, or indeed any animal ; yet with this, 

 though he would fisrht without flinchino; till he 

 died, many other dogs would tear him to pieces, 

 this arises from the formation of his mouth, 

 it is constituted to hold not punish by the 

 infliction of a severe bite ; he is in temper 

 and disposition the most unaccountable of 

 animals, many of them good tempered as a 

 spaniel and affectionate in disposition, but a 



