ORIGIN OF THE BEDLINGTON TERKIEK. 145 



high in the leg; wiry in the coat; and weighing from 18 Ibs. to 20 Ibs. They were rather 

 sleepy-looking dogs, but when shown were game and keen as any ferret. 



" I and all old fanciers prefer the Livers, which are the proper species, and were all the 

 vogue in former times ; and in a conversation I had at one of the late exhibitions, with one 

 of the old breeders of this variety of Terrier, relative to the blues, which are more commonly 

 seen, and are all the fancy now, he said, when breeding them many years ago, he generally 

 got one blue to six or seven livers in each litter ; and when asked what was done with the 

 blues, he acknowledged that they all got a watery grave, as they were not the right colour, 

 and were not in the fashion as they now are ; which was perfectly the case, as we would not 

 rear any of them. 



"About thirty or forty years ago I remember well people crossing these Terriers with the 

 Bull-terrier, in order that they might stand more wear and tear for fighting purposes, which 

 were then so extensively sought. A few years after that they again crossed them with our 

 Poodle dogs, so as to get linty-haired Terriers, which are now so often seen, and even winning 

 prizes (for Bedlingtons) at all our leading exhibitions ; and when you look at them you will 

 see they resemble very much the apple head of the Poodle, and upon placing your hand over 

 the skull, you will find their bumps as large as any Bull-terrier. I have frequently seen those 

 dogs when tried ; they might kill from four to half a dozen rats well enough, but when it 

 came to taking hold of the eighth or ninth, they seemed so excited they tossed up in the air 

 and appeared to be almost red hot. When asked to face the badger, they will go very fierce 

 at first, but as soon as they com;: in contact with ' Broc,' they are generally seen to come 

 faster backwards than they went in, which was not the case with our rc.il Bcdlingtons, as the 

 more you gave them of any vermin, the keener and cooler they appeared to turn ; and when 

 taken to the badger, they would never refuse, at least going five or six times, and always staying 

 a considerable length of time, which is very seldom the case with dogs that are now called 

 Bcdlington Terriers. 



" P-S. You will see I am speaking of the livers when mentioning the flesh nose, as all 

 your readers will be aware that a blue has a black nose." 



In August, 1877, Mr. A. N. Dodds, of North Shields, who had been for some time- 

 taking a considerable part in a correspondence which had been going on, published the 

 following table of points and description of the breed, which was certainly the most elaborate 

 published up to that time. Mr. Dodds writes as follows : 



" From the following it will be seen that I have divided the points into three head, 

 body, colour, and tail. I contend that a good body is just as essential as a good head, 

 and just as difficult to breed. I contend also that, under present circumstances, hard blue or 

 liver hair is just as difficult to breed good as either. I am also well aware that as soon as 

 they can be bred true to colour and hardness (then and not till then) the scale of points 

 can be modified. It will also be seen that I have thrown in ' the tail/ thus giving preference 

 to head and body properties. Some of the ' head ' properties are seldom, if ever, seen in 

 such perfection as I give them, but I am laying down general rules, which I hope may be 

 easily understood. 



" Skull. Narrow, parallel, and well rounded ; entirely free from flatness, and not receding, 

 but extra high at occiput, and covered with a nice silky tuft. 



"Jaw. Long, tapering, and sharp; as little dent as possible between the eyes, no 'dLh,' 

 19 



