32 THE BOG IN HEALTH. 



hound lie will find in it an almost perfect illustration of 

 the embodiment of those principles that are involved in 

 the most rapid progression. In the setter or pointer we 

 have speed of a lower grade, but their conformation adapts 

 them to more continuous work (p. 10). 



In such a dog as the mastiff or St. Bernard all those 

 points so important in the above-mentioned breeds and 

 their allies are of subordinate importance, and the ques- 

 tion in breeding such animals is simply how to get great 

 size and strength with majesty in expression ; hence a 

 massive frame and due proportion of parts to this end is 

 the aim. Nevertheless, attention must be paid to legs, 

 feet, etc., so that they shall not be unduly weak or dispro- 

 portioned anywhere, and at present the tendency seems 

 to be to neglect this balance of parts which Nature when 

 left to herself always insures, for if it does not exist in 

 any specimen, that animal's days are generally few and it 

 may leave no offspring. But " the survival of the fittest " 

 as it applies to wild animals has been modified somewhat 

 by man. 



Even in toy dogs, bred exclusively to please the eye 

 and form the household pets of their masters, this same 

 balance must be attended to and their supporting parts 

 (leg and feet) not wholly neglected. 



To summarize the views expressed in the preceding 

 pages and put them in language familiar to the breeder, a 

 dog to be typical must have a correct and true form and 

 show both quality and character. 



His head must be neither coarse nor weak; his jaws 

 even and teeth level ; he must be neither overshot nor 

 undershot (overhung, underhung ; the first is also termed 



