192 THE DOOS OF THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 



distance. Pointers and setters require a combination of these qualities in about 

 the same proportions as the foxhound ; while the fox terrier demands certain other 

 qualities enabling him to dig his way to his prey underground, and " mark " him 

 there without injuring him to any serious extent. All these dogs are exposed to 

 the weather, but they do not stand about for hours in the cold and wet on a hill 

 side, and the sheepdog is the only one of his kind, except the water spaniel and 

 water retriever, whose 'trade renders it all important that the coat should be of a 

 texture to resist the depressing influence of rain or melting snow when exposed to a 

 strong wind. Hence it follows that, in addition to speed, stamina, and intelligence 

 which he requires in common with all the breeds I have named, the proper texture 

 of his coat for facing bad weather is the first point which requires to be settled 

 before we can estimate a specimen of the colley, and this attribute must be valued 

 accordingly in the scale of points allotted to him. In the Irish water spaniel, whose 

 coat is oily, and of a texture calculated absolutely to resist the entrance of water 

 into it, even when immersed in that fluid, the legs are clothed with short curls down 

 to the toes, and this point is of great importance to his resistance for a length of 

 time of the effects of wet. But he is always actively employed, except when used 

 for wildfowl shooting in a boat or in ambush, and even then he can protect himself 

 from the wind. The colley, on the other hand, is often for hours doing little or 

 nothing on a Scotch, Welsh, or north-country hill side after tramping through 

 melting snow or wet heather, and in him legs covered with short hair are a sine 

 qua non on the principle which is admitted to apply to the horse. If that animal 

 is at grass he must have a long winter coat in order to resist bad weather ; but 

 whenever he is to be worked and then exposed to the wind with his coat wet either 

 from sweat or rain, he is far less likely to take cold if clipped than if his full coat 

 is left on. . Hence it follows that by the general consent of practical men a peculiar 

 coat is required on the body of the colley which I shall presently describe, 

 calculated to keep the whole animal warm, and especially on the neck and breast ; 

 and in addition they have decided that the legs must be clothed with short hair 

 only, showing little or no feather as in the setter and land spaniel, nor even the 

 short curls of the water spaniel. This is the main reason for the objections which 

 are taken to the cross of the Gordon setter, which has been used with the hope of 

 adding to the beauty of the colley ; and from the " toy-dog" point of view no doubt 

 it has that effect, imparting brilliancy and rich colour to the coat, but at the expense 

 of its texture, and also feathering the legs, though this last alteration is of com- 

 paratively little importance. 



The whole variety included under the term " sheepdogs " approaches more 

 nearly than any other to the Dingo of Australia and the Pariah of India, which 

 are the only wild dogs now in existence ; but whether the former are derived from 

 a wild breed and have become tame, or the latter are merely wild sheep dogs, I 

 do not pretend to say. My own opinion is that we know nothing of the history of 

 the dog sufficiently minute and reliable to identify the ancient breeds as compared 

 with the modern, and that our knowledge only extends to the proof afforded by 

 Roman remains that the greyhound and either the mastiff or bulldog, or a dog 



