130 THE BOOK of- THE DOG. 



play love of the water, nose, pluck, and stamina. I quote an authority on this subject, 

 Mr. Robert Dunscombe of Mount Desert, who says : ' I have had the pleasure of hunting 

 two different packs of Otter-hounds, the former belonging to Mr. Johnson of Hermitage, 

 and the latter to the Earl of Bandon of Castle Bernard, with both of which packs pure-bred 

 Irish Terriers were used. I owned one, called Dandy, who would go to ground, challenge 

 and bolt the largest otter out of any sewer, no matter how long or how wet. He, poor 

 fellow, was poisoned by accident. This dog ran with Mr. Johnson's hounds, which were 

 sold some years since. My present Terrier "Jessie," a pure Irish-bred one, of a light 

 yellow colour, was given to me by a poor countryman, and her equal I never saw any- 

 where. She has bolted otters innumerable, and has always shown extraordinary gameness. I 

 may mention as a proof of her pluck that during a capital hunt with Lord Bandon's hounds 

 some weeks since, while the otter was being pressed from place to place by the hounds, 

 Jessie, winding him under a bush, dived under water and laid hold of him ; after a severe 

 struggle she came to the surface half drowned, being badly bitten across the loins. The 

 otter when killed weighed 20 Ibs.' 



" Water. I had Sporter and Moya Doolan hunting the creeks in the marsh-land in 

 Essex for water-rats ; and it was a pretty sight to see them, one each side, working the 

 banks, uttering no sound, only showing their excitement by their agitated sterns. As the 

 rats dropped into the water, the dogs dived in after them. The Irish Terrier is as fond 

 of the water and takes it as readily as a Newfoundland, and one enthusiastic owner claims 

 a forty-five minutes' swim for a dog of this breed belonging to him. 



"Rats. Irish Terriers deserve no praise for their ratting qualities; it is pure instinct with 

 them, they cannot help it, they rat as naturally as a bird flies. My Banshee II. killed her 

 first rat with her milk teeth when she was only 12 weeks old. The following extract of a 

 letter from Mr. Ridgway speaks for their ratting capabilities and intelligence: 'An incident 

 which I think speaks volumes for the sagacity and wisdom of the old Irish Terrier breed, 

 was written to me lately by a gentleman residing in the County Antrim (north of Ireland, 

 where, I may add, I believe some very fine specimens exist, from all I hear), and it was 

 regarding the performance of a bitch of this breed, named Jess, in his possession. On one 

 occasion we were boring a bank for the purpose of bolting rats, and at one place a rat 

 bolted. Jess, as usual, had him almost before he cleared his hole. Then came another and 

 another, so fast that the work was getting too hot for Jess, when a happy thought seemed 

 to strike her ; and while in the act of killing a very big one, she leaned down her shoulder 

 against the hole, and let them out one by one, until she had killed eighteen rats. That 

 Irish Terriers kill neatly I cannot say ; they kill not wisely, but too well. Your little 

 Black-and-tan shakes the life out of the rat ; but the Irish Terrier's jaw is so powerful, 

 he doesn't need to shake, but crunches them into purgatory. They always impress me 

 with the idea that the game is not big enough for them, and they put too much energy 

 in it.' 



" I consulted with Mr. Geo. Jamison, and the following scale of points on the whole 

 fairly represents the opinions of us both : 



"Head. Long; skull flat, and rather narrow between ears, getting slightly narrower towards 

 the eye ; free from wrinkle. Stop hardly visible, except in the profile. The jaw must be strong 

 and muscular, but not too full in the cheek, and of a good punishing length, but not so fine 

 as a white English Terrier's. There should be a slight falling away below the eye, so as not 

 to have a Greyhound appearance. 



