THE SCIENCE OF BREEDING. 71 



UNIFORMITY, NOT " SORTINESS." 



In breeding for the uniformity which we have said is so desirable, 

 we must not be led by fashion to seek " sorriness," or that close re- 

 semblance of one to the other which is desirable in dogs which are 

 habitually used in packs, like foxhounds. Certain colors are often 

 made fashionable by bench shows, and breeders are sometimes led 

 to give undue importance to special marking by the favor shown 

 to it. Uniformity should extend to similarity in form and field 

 characteristics, but color or marking, so long as it is true to the 

 breed, should not be regarded. Each breed has its natural colors, 

 and if some are made more popular than others, the effort to get 

 the fashionable ones results in discarding dogs of otherwise high 

 merit, possibly the best in the lot. Such culling must in the end 

 lead to depreciation, as it makes a matter of mere fancy paramount 

 to others of real importance. A careful breeder who seeks to 

 obtain dogs valuable for field work, will therefore never reject a 

 dog simply for color, but will take the best he can find, when 

 considered with regard for the most valuable qualities. 



