260 THE DOGS OP THE BEITISH ISLANDS. 



nowadays find their way in shows, especially in the curly-coated classes. And who 

 could say Nay to the judge who should award a prize to a handsome working poodle, 

 entered either with retrievers or with water spaniels (according to the colour of 

 his coat) ? for he is not a retriever, and he is not a water spaniel ; and, moreover, 

 is he not, in the vast majority of cases, pure bred ? Therefore I beg to submit that 

 the exhibition of poodles should be encouraged by all means. There is no more 

 sagacious dog than the poodle, none more persevering in his work, none more 

 affectionate to his master ; and the true lines of his body are simply as perfect as 

 can be. Then, let poodles be rescued from the oblivion into which their breed 

 seems to have fallen of late ; and many a true sportsman will say Amen to that 

 from the bottom of his heart, for, morally and physically, the poodle is the very 

 emblem of what a dog, as man's help and companion, should be ; and it is a great 

 mistake to allow such a valuable breed to become extinct as extinct it certainly will 

 soon be, if no effort be made, and that very speedily too, to rescue it from that 

 neglect and indifference which have allowed him almost to disappear from the face 

 of the earth. 



The group of dogs selected for illustration, which were exhibited in 1876 

 at the Westminster Aquarium by Mr. Walton, consists of two French poodles 

 (white), and a black Russian imported by his present owner; besides which a 

 remarkably clever little rabbit greyhound is introduced, in the act of performing 

 the trick of ascending bar by bar to the top of two ladders, which in the actual 

 exhibition are held for him by assistant dogs. The large poodle described above is 

 so uncommon in this country that no specimen has been within reach, and he 

 is not, therefore, put on paper by Mr. Baker, who has succeeded admirably with Mr. 

 Walton's pupils. 



THE TRUFFLE-DOG. 



BY "IDSTONE." 



We are far behind the Germans, French, and Italians in our knowledge of 

 esculent fungi. Our Continental neighbours are far more skilled, both in their 

 preservation and production. They can dry them or preserve them in oil, vinegar, 

 or brine ; and in neither case do these conserves lose much of their aroma, flavour, 

 or nutritious quality. One Italian species is produced by scattering a shallow 

 layer of soil upon a porous slab of stone, and occasionally moistening it with 

 water; another, by slightly burning, and subsequently watering, blocks of hazel- 

 wood ; and a third (a species of Agaricus) is cultivated by placing the grounds 

 of coffee in places favourable for its growth. The market returns of Rome show 

 that as much as 4000Z. a year are expended on those productions ; and that the 

 peasantry of France, Germany, and Italy in many places subsist to a great extent 

 upon them, is an established fact. 



The truffle an edible underground fungus is classed by Berkeley with the 

 morel, as one of the Ascomycetes, because in these the " spores," or organs of 

 reproduction, are arranged in asci (tubular sacs, or vesicles). The best writers 



