THE TRAP FAMILY. 283 



wide chest, a defect much less noticeable in Patch. Another good son of Sam was Willie 

 out of (Nottingham Nettle, to whom I have already referred. As a stud dog he has rather 

 disappointed expectation, his stock running too large. 



Harking back to Old Trap, we come to one of his sons, who, I am disposed to think, has 

 done even more permanent good than Tyrant namely, Pickle. Pickle himself was never, 1 

 believe, either shown or advertised at the stud, and consequently had but little opportunity 

 of getting show Terriers, as his services were practically confined to the bitches of that very 

 successful breeder, Mr. Turner of Leicester. Pickle has been described to me as a thick-set 

 dog with extraordinary bone. I have not been able to ascertain his dam's exact pedigree, but 

 there is, I believe, little doubt that she was a pure-bred Belvoir Terrier. His best hit was in 

 getting Artful out of Vcne, a daughter of old Trap. Artful, as might have been expected from 

 this breeding, was a thick-set dog of great substance. He was again crossed with Tricksy, a 

 direct descendant of Trap through Chance and Tyrant, and begot Rambler, who has immortalised 

 himself as the sire of Mr. Burbidge's Nettle. The former bitch was, in the opinion of some 

 good judges, the best that ever stood on a show bench. That her expression and outline were 

 those of a thorough Terrier could not be doubted, but her open feet and wide chest were 

 serious drawbacks. The stud reputation of Rambler seems likely to be sustained by his grandson, 

 Pickle II., got by an own brother to Nettle, from that grand bitch Olive. Pickle's deformed 

 feet would alone have served to debar him from a show career, but such stock as Volo, Daisy, 

 and Deacon Nettle, have already given him a high place at the stud. 



There are yet one or two other sons of Trap who require notice. One of these was 

 Ragman, from a bitch of no note, and, I believe, no pedigree. Ragman himself was a big coarse 

 dog. By far his most creditable performance was getting Fussy from a daughter of Hopcroft's 

 Trap a decided case of in-breeding. Fussy herself, barring her somewhat thick shoulders, was 

 almost faultless, and her Terrier expression was perfect. I well remember seeing her when 

 between seven and eight years old, at Birmingham, showing all the life and fire of a young 

 one, and with scarcely a trace of age in her contour. Ragman was also credited with the 

 parentage of Spot, the sire of Vandal, a good workman-like dog, though somewhat coarse. I 

 imagine, however, that Vandal's antecedents were not such as to make his pedigree a matter 

 of great certainty. 



There is yet another branch of the Trap blood which it would be high treason to omit, 

 though I confess that I approach its merits and failings with fear and trembling, I refer to 

 Bounce and his son Buffer. Over the merits and defects of the latter controversy has waxed 

 as fierce as the Stud Book warfare over the Blacklock blood. Bounce himself I never saw, 

 and except Buffer and a dog of some merit named Bismarck, I am not aware that he has left 

 any noteworthy stock. 



Buffer's dam, too, was not known to fame, but I confess, though I am not one of Buffer's 

 thoroughgoing detractors, I have always suspected an infusion of Beagle blood somewhere. In 

 general character the Buffers have little in common with the rest of the Traps, and seem to 

 have struck out a new and well-defined type for themselves. Strong coats, long heads, good 

 shoulders, and excellent legs and feet, are the main characteristics of the blood, while these 

 merits are too often counterbalanced by heavy dead-looking ears and a sour expression. First, 

 of course, among his sons comes Buffett, of whom I have already expressed my high opinion. 

 Indeed, but for a tendency, and that not very pronounced, to the family type of ear, it is 

 hard to find a fault with him. One drawback to his success has been a delicate constitution. 

 Whence this is inherited it is hard to say. Indeed, altogether, Buffett is rather a violation 



