OLD FOX-TERRIER SIRES. 279 



For his temper and mode of work he was a thorough Terrier, except that he was rather more 

 teachable than is usual. His Bull-terrier descent showed itself chiefly in the extreme fineness of his 

 ears. I have often seen him come out of a gorse covert with his ears raining blood, yet always 

 ready for another go-in. One noticeable feature about these dogs was the almost entire 

 absence of black-and-tan markings. I myself have seen a good many, and never saw one so 

 marked. One I have seen with that sort of dark brindle which we sometimes find in the Belvoir 

 blood, but as a rule if they were marked at all it was with a light lemon-tan. I do not 

 know whether Lille, who for many years reigned supreme at Birmingham, had any Shropshire 

 blood in her, but her appearance certainly suggested it. I well remember a Shropshire friend 

 of mine pointing her out to me at Birmingham as the stamp that he had been brought up 

 to admire. 



The best known, however, of these dogs, and the only one that left his mark definitely among 

 show Terriers, was old Tartar. He was bred by Mr. Stevenson, from Mr. Poole's blood (indeed, 

 he was on his sire's side half brother to my old dog, whom I described). After winning some 

 prizes he passed into the hands of Mr. Wootton for 40, a price which in those days created 

 universal astonishment. Subsequently he was bought by the Hon. T. W. Fitzwilliam, who 

 at that time also owned Jock. Tartar had a brilliant show career, and succeeded one year at 

 Birmingham in beating his hitherto invincible kennel companion, Jock. Tartar was a short, thick-set 

 dog, rather broad in chest, with extraordinary legs and feet, and wonderful muscle everywhere. 

 At the same time he unquestionably showed Bull, not only in his head, but also in his loins and 

 thighs, where the muscle stood out in bosses, a feature never found in the true Terrier. At 

 the stud he was chiefly notable as the sire of Tyke and Trumps, both begotten from daughters 

 of Jock. The former was the offspring of that good bitch, Nectar, and was in point of gameness 

 a worthy son of Tartar. As a show dog he was fairly successful, and his name is to be found 

 in more than one good pedigree. Tartar's chief claim to fame as a sire, however, rests on Tyke. 

 As with his father, disputes ran high over him, and even in the very zenith of his show career 

 he was roundly denounced by some as a Bull-terrier. Unlike his sire, he was a dog of remarkable 

 style and quality, though it could not be denied that his fine coat, the build of his hind- 

 quarters, and a patch on one cheek, which admirers called hound-tan, and enemies brindle, 

 bewrayed his origin. He in his turn begot that sterling good bitch, Natty, and a very neat dog, 

 Little Jim, in whom his sire's good and bad characteristics seemed to be intensified. Another 

 fair son of Tyke was Mr. Procter's Tester. Indeed, it is probable that Tyke had a brilliant 

 career before him as a sire, when he met with an untimely end in a fight, not long after he had 

 become the property of Mr. Gibson of Brokenhurst at the long price of 120. 



To sum up, I should say that looking at the many good qualities of the Shropshire blood, 

 especially of the Tartar family, there is no objection to a slight infusion of it. But it needs to 

 be handled gingerly, and a second cross of it would be almost sure to bring out objectionable 

 peculiarities. 



I now come to an important branch of my subject, the consideration, namely, of what I may 

 for convenience call the Midland Terriers, from whom, as I believe, our best show blood is derived, 

 The three packs with which this sort has been specially connected are the Belvoir, the Grove, 

 and Lord Middleton's. An admirable account of these was given in the Country by the writer 

 to whom I have before referred. Two of these packs, the Grove and Lord Middleton's, had for 

 their huntsmen members of the Morgan family, a race as prolific in huntsmen as the Napiers 

 have been in soldiers. Consequently there have been, I believe, frequent exchanges of Terrier 

 blood between the two kennels. The kennel, however, which has specially made a point of its 



