PRACTICAL MANAGEMENT 311 



Collies Southport Perfection and Ormskirk Emerald Mr 

 Megson paid a thousand sovereigns each. Size is no criterion 

 of a dog's market value ; Mrs. Ashton Cross is said to have 

 refused two thousand pounds for her celebrated Pekinese 

 Chu Erh, and there are many lap-dogs now living that could 

 not be purchased for that high price. These are sums which 

 only a competent judge with a long purse would dream of 

 paying for an animal whose tenure of active life can hardly be 

 more than eight or ten years, and already the dog's value 

 must have been attested by his success in competition. It 

 requires an expert eye to perceive the potentialities of a 

 puppy, and there is always an element of speculative risk for 

 both buyer and seller. Many a dog that has been sold for a 

 song has grown to be a famous champion. At Cruft's show 

 in 1905 the Bulldog Mahomet was offered for ten pounds. 

 No one was bold enough to buy him, yet eighteen monthi 

 afterwards he was sold and considered cheap at a thousand. 

 Uncertainty adds zest to a hobby that is in itself engaging. 



Thanks to the influence of the Kennel Club and the institu- 

 tion of dog shows, which have encouraged the improvement of 

 distinct breeds, there are fewer nondescript mongrels in our 

 midst than there were a generation or so ago. A fuller 

 knowledge has done much to increase the pride which the 

 British people take in their canine companions, and our 

 present population of dogs has never been equalled for good 

 quality in any other age or any other land. 



The beginner cannot easily go wrong or be seriously cheated, 

 but it is well when making a first purchase to take the advice 

 of an expert and to be very certain of the dog's pedigree, age, 

 temper, and condition. The approved method of buying a 

 dog is to select one advertised for sale in the weekly journals 

 devoted to the dog. A better way still, if a dog of distin- 

 guished pedigree is desired, is to apply direct to a well-known 

 owner of the required breed, or to visit one of the great annual 

 shows, such as Cruft's, Manchester, The Ladies' Kennel 

 Association, The Kennel Club (Crystal Palace, in October), 



