COLOUR OF DACHSHUNDS. 323 



" 1 3. Hind-quarters, hind legs and feet (5 points). Thighs must be short and muscular, 

 the legs fine and upright below the hock ; /. e., must not be sickle-hocked ; hind feet smaller 

 than fore ones ; and the hind-quarters must not be higher than the shoulder. 



"14. Stern (5 points) should be 9 to 12 inches in length, according to size of dog ; must 

 be thick at base, and also thicker again a couple of inches from the base, and gradually taper 

 to a point ; carried with a curve upward, but not slewed. The under-side of stern should be 

 flat, and the hair should be parted and feather each side thereof sightly. A dog with a broad 

 flat stern as described is a great rarity, and is held in very high estimation in Germany, where 

 it is termed an ' Otter-tail.' 



"15. Bone (5 points) must be large, and angular at points, according to the size of the 

 animal. 



" 1 6. Muscle (5 points) must be large, hard, and particularly well developed and defined 

 throughout. 



" 17. Skin (10 points) must be thick, yet soft to the touch, and remarkably elastic. No 

 other breed of dog possesses the same elasticity of skin ; the animal can nearly turn round 

 in it when seized, or at will he can contract it by muscular action so tightly to the body 

 that it is difficult to get even a pinch of it. 



" 1 8. Coat (5 points) must be short, hard, and bright, but it varies much in hardness 

 according to whether the animal is kept in a kennel or in a warm drawing-room. 



" 19. Colour (5 points). The colours may be (i) self-colours, i. e., any shade of fallow, red, 

 or fawn the former preferred. (2) Bi-colours, i. e., black-and-tan, liver-and-tan, or brown-and- 

 tawny, as commonly seen in the Bloodhound. (3) Parti-colours : tortoiseshell, or blue-and- 

 tan grizzle with black spots (this colour is often accompanied by an odd, broken, or wall-eye). 

 Hound-pied are very rare ; but though they are not difficult to obtain, they are certainly not 

 desirable. The best colours are fallow-red, black-and-tan, and brown or liver-and-tan, which 

 is often the result of crossing the red and black-and-tans. I prefer brightish colour in black- 

 and-tan for show purposes, and of these I like those with red ' stockings,' in preference to 

 those with heavily-pencilled toes, which I consider partake more of the character of the Man- 

 chester Terrier than of the hound proper. Black-and-white I have seen, and have had one 

 very good black one ; but I am not very deeply impressed with the beauty of either. 



" Having given my scale of points in detail, it will be seen that I have allotted them 

 collectively thus : 



... ... ... ... *. 25 



Neck and chest ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 10 



Fore legs and feet ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 15 



Ribs and loin ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 10 



Hind-quarters and stern ... ... ... ... ... ... 10 



Bone and muscle ... ... ... .. ... ... ... 10 



Skin, coat, and colour ... ... ... ... ... ... 20 



loo 



" I prefer the self and bi-colours free from white in chest, throat, and toes, but in the best 

 of all strains these blemishes will often appear; and for a small spot on the chest I would 

 deduct only one point ; but for white toes I would deduct two points for each foot so marked ; 

 and a dog with white feet or legs, or with a spot or blaze on the head or face I would 



