58 THE BOOK OF THE DOG. 



descended from parents marked with white, and he in his turn showed great resemblance to the 

 old Barry of 1815. It is also clear, if this account is to be received as a correct statement 

 of facts, that the extremely long hair of the English " rough-coated " dogs is foreign to 

 the breed as kept up at the Hospice, being due entirely to the Newfoundland cross, and 

 rigorously excluded by the monks, who cultivate a short, or rather we should call it a 

 medium-cozted dog. This fact is so far corroborated by the excellent engraving, by the 

 celebrated German artist Specht, of the Hospice St. Bernards, where we have a medium, 

 or rather short coat, while the immense development of bone is clearly seen, and white 

 is included in the colour. In all respects, in fact, the noble animal portrayed by Specht 

 is precisely that described by Schumacher. It is plain, in brief, if we follow Schumacher, that 

 the long coat of modern English specimens, while due to the same blood, has been developed 

 apart from all accepted rules of Hospice breeding, and by cultivating that very Newfoundland 

 element in the strain which the monks persistently endeavour to eliminate or keep down. 

 This much, we say, is clear, but at the same time it does not follow that the magnificent 

 " rough coated " St. Bernard, as we have become familiarised with him at English shows, 

 is an undesirable type to keep up. Those who have seen it in perfection will probably 

 think the contrary ; and having endeavoured to establish the facts, as far as they can be 

 ascertained, we can see no reason to run counter to the public judgment, though it seems 

 desirable to make clear that the extremely long-haired dogs are not the type cultivated at 

 the Hospice, and will probably, after a few more generations of selection, be no longer 

 procurable from that source. 



Mr. Fred. Gresham has kindly supplied the following as his opinion concerning some 

 controverted points : 



" The question as to whether the white markings should be considered as a sine qua non 

 with the St. Bernard or not having been largely canvassed lately by the admirers of the breed, 

 I am happy to give my views on the subject, and my reasons for arriving at them. That the 

 monks place considerably more value on those dogs that have the white muzzle and line 

 through pole and collar, there is not a shadow of a doubt, the fact having been handed down 

 to us by our greatest authorities on the dog. In addition to which, gentlemen who have 

 visited the Hospice for the express purpose of acquiring information on the St. Bernard, have 

 been given to understand that the monks do not consider one perfect without them. 



" In a conversation lately held with Mr. Neville Wyatt, a gentleman greatly interested in 

 the breed, and who had then only just returned from Mount St. Bernard, where he had been 

 for the purpose of consulting with the monks about the marking and also dew-claws, Mr. Wyatt 

 said that he was given distinctly to understand that the dogs possessing the white markings 

 were greatly preferred, but that if the markings could not be obtained, a dog would not be 

 discarded from their kennels. He also said that he particularly noticed that almost every one, 

 if not all the dogs he saw there, had a considerable amount of white, thus proving that the 

 correct markings were being aimed at, and carrying out my opinion that too much white is 

 preferable to too little. 



"As regards dew-claws on the hind legs, the Rev. C. Bowling, of Houghton Rectory, 

 Bedfordshire, when visiting the Hospice, was informed by one of the monks that they were 

 considered of the utmost importance. Mr. Wyatt also said they were greatly esteemed if they 

 could be got, and double if possible. The most successful breeders in England have obtained 

 dew-claws fully developed, the exception being to find one puppy in a litter without them ; 



