PART III. 



roi^Tznsra- IDOGHS. 



BOOK I. 

 WATCH DOGS. 



CHAPTEE I. 

 THE BULLDOG AND MASTIFF. 



THE BULLDOG-. 



NTIL the early part of tlie nineteenth century the bulldog was bred 

 with great care in this country for the purpose of baiting the bull, 

 which up to that time formed one of the most popular out-of-door 

 amusements of the lower orders, to whom also his cross with the terrier, 

 then known as " half-and-half," afforded indoor entertainment by means 

 of dog-fights and rat-killing. Bear baiting was occasionally added to this list, 

 but never to any great extent, on account of the cost of procuring the bear ; but 

 the three other kinds of sport, as they were then considered, were extensively 

 patronised, and notably in London, Birmingham, and the manufacturing districts 

 of Staffordshire and Yorkshire. Bull-baiting was chiefly confined to the potteries, 

 but London had still its Westminster dog-pit till the passing of the Act for 

 the prevention of cruelty to animals in 1835, which put a stop to all public 

 exhibitions of this kind, with the exception of an occasional sly run at a bull by 

 the Staffordshire miners during their weekly holiday above ground, and to the 

 private cockfights which until very recently were carried on even in circles 

 considerably higher. The bulldog was used for the bull-bait, because he was 

 exactly suited to the purpose ; his nature being to run at the head of the animal 

 he attacks, and after laying hold (" pinning ") to maintain it in spite of any amount 

 of punishment, short of insensibility from injury to his brain. Whether this 

 peculiar attribute is natural or bred artificially, I believe there is no sufficient 

 evidence to prove ; except that if, as I shall presently show, the superior antiquity 

 of the greyhound is satisfactorily established, it may be assumed that the bulldog 

 is a subsequent production. To permit his keeping his wind while thus holding 

 on to the bull, the nostrils must be set back as far as possible behind the level of 



