144 THE BOOK OF THE DOG. 



reflection upon his dog's appearance or gameness ; and as for illtreating them, a stranger had 

 better injure " Geordie " than hurt his dog. " If thau poonch ma dog, 'arl poonch thee " is 

 proof of the miner's love for his Bedlington, and is no uncommon threat in the neighbourhoods 

 where this breed is mostly found. 



The quality of the Bedlingtons now shown is undoubtedly superior to that of some years 

 back, when at the most six or eight fairish specimens could be got from home to contend at 

 our shows. The earliest supporter of the breed was the late Mr. Thomas J. Pickett, of New- 

 castle-on-Tyne, whose Tyneside and Tynedale were almost invincible in their day at the 

 principal canine exhibitions. Mr. Pickett gained such a name for the excellence of his dogs 

 that he was christened by his acquaintances the Duke of Bedlington. He died, however, in 

 1877, and since then the head of Bedlington affairs has been the Bedlington Terrier Club. 

 It is, we believe, in a great manner due to the energy of the Bedlington Terrier Club that 

 the popularity of the breed has been kept up of late years. For this society did not stick 

 at expense, and boldly sent their dogs to the leading shows, thus keeping them well before 

 the public for the time being. 



As regards the origin of the breed, and its various crosses, considerable discussion has 

 arisen from time to time in the columns of the Live Stock Journal. For instance, Mr. Thos. 

 J. Pickett, writing to that paper in November, 1875, gives some evidence concerning his con- 

 nection with the breed in the following words : 



" Whilst a schoolboy, I recollect one day wandering through the woods of the Brandling 

 estate of Gosforth, in the county of Northumberland, gathering primroses, where I met a 

 woodman named David Edgar, who was accompanied by a northern counties Fox Terrier, 

 and who gave me a whelp got by his celebrated dog Pepper. This whelp was the first of the 

 breed I ever possessed. Being an ardent admirer of this description of dog, I followed 

 up the breed, and have seen as many of them as most people, and also seen them tested. 

 . . . . I have in my possession the original copy of Tyneside's pedigree, dated 1839, 

 signed by the late Mr. Joseph Aynsley, who was one of the first breeders of this class of 

 dog, and who also acted as judge at the first Bedlington show ; and quote the following as 

 a description of what a northern counties Fox Terrier should be, viz. : 



" ' Colour. Liver, sandy, blue black, or tan. 



" ' Shape. The jaw rather long and small, but muscular ; the head high and narrow, with a 

 silky tuft on the top ; the hair rather wiry on the back ; the eyes small and rather sunk ; the 

 ears long and hanging close to the cheek, and slightly feathered at the tip ; the neck long 

 and muscular, rising well from the shoulder ; the chest deep, but narrow ; the body well 

 proportioned, and the ribs flat ; the legs must be long in proportion to the body, the thinner 

 the hips are the better ; the tail small and tapering, and slightly feathered. Altogether they 

 are a lathy-made dog.'" 



In the same number of the Live Stock Journal the following letter from an authority 

 on the breed appears, and must be read with interest as expressing his views : 



" The Bedlington Terrier should be broad in the nostril, with a flesh-coloured nose, hazel 

 eyes, long narrow head ; smooth in the face, much resembling the ferret ; the head surmounted 

 with a silky tuft, large ear, rather narrow at the tips, slightly feathered round the edge, and 

 lying close to the face ; long in the back ; rather coarse in the tail ; cleanish and not too 



