368 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



to win prizes, but rather for his true and 

 trusty heart, that exacts no return and 

 seeks no recompense. He may be but an 

 indifferent specimen of his kind, taken in 

 as a stranger at the gates ; but when at 

 length the inevitable time arrives, as it 

 does all too soon in canine nature, one then 

 discovers how surely one has been har- 

 bouring an angel unawares. 



Statistics would probably show that in 

 numbers the Fox-terrier justifies the re- 

 putation of being a more popular breed, 

 and the Scottish Terrier is no doubt a 

 formidable competitor for public esteem. 

 It is safe, however, to say that the Irish 

 Terrier shares with these the distinction 

 of being one of the three most popular 

 dogs in the British Isles. 



This fact taken into consideration, it is 

 interesting to reflect that thirty years ago 

 the Dare-Devil was virtually unknown in 

 England. Idstone, in his book on dogs, 

 published in 1872, did not give a word of 

 mention to the breed, and dog shows had 

 been instituted sixteen years before a class 

 was opened for the Irish Terrier. The dog 

 existed, of course, in Its native land. It 

 may indeed be almost truthfully said to 

 have existed " as long as that country has 

 been an island." 



About the year 1875, experts were in dis- 

 pute over the Irish Terrier, and many 

 averred that his rough coat and length of 

 hair on forehead and muzzle were in- 

 dubitable proof of Scotch blood. His very 

 expression, they said, was Scotch. But 

 the argument was quelled by more knowing 

 disputants on the other side, who claimed 

 that Ireland had never been without her 

 terrier, and that she owed no manner of 

 indebtedness to Scotland for a dog whose 

 every hair was essentially Irish. 



In the same year at a show held in Belfast 

 a goodly number of the breed were brought 

 together, notable among them being Mr. 

 D. O'Connell's Slasher, a very good-looking 

 wire-coated working terrier, who is said 

 to have excelled as a field and water dog. 

 Slasher was lint white in colour, and re- 

 puted to be descended from a pure white 

 strain. Two other terriers of the time were 



Mr. Morton's Fly (the first Irish Terrier 

 to gain a championship) and Mr. George 

 Jamison's Sport. These three dogs were 

 heard of with curiosity in England, and in 

 The Live Stock Journal of August 20th, 

 1875, an engraved portrait of Sport was 

 published. The illustration was received 

 with great interest, representing as it as- 

 suredly did a genuine and typical Irish 

 Terrier. In the portrait the dog's muzzle is 

 seen to be somewhat snipy ; he is light in 

 the eye, but his ear carriage is good and his 

 shape of head, his limbs, body, stern and 

 coat are admirable. From all that one 

 can gather concerning him, he seems to 

 have been, in reality, a far better example 

 of his intrepid breed than any that were 

 put above him in competition better, for 

 instance, than the same owner's Banshee, 

 who died a champion, and at least equal 

 to Mr. W. Graham's Sporter or Mr. E. F. 

 Despard's Tanner, by whom he was fre- 

 quently beaten. 



The prominent Irish Terriers of the 'seven- 

 ties varied considerably in type. Stinger, 

 who won the first prize at Lisburn in 1875, 

 was long-backed and short-legged, with a 

 " dark blue grizzle coloured back, tan legs, 

 and white turned-out feet." The dam of 

 Mr. Burke's Killeney Boy was a rough black 

 and tan, a combination of colours which 

 was believed to accompany the best class 

 of coats. Brindles were not uncommon. 

 Some were tall on the leg, some short. Some 

 were lanky and others cobby. Many were 

 very small. There were classes given at 

 a Dublin show in 1874 for Irish Terriers 

 under 9 Ib. weight. 



Jamison's Sport is an important dog 

 historically, for various reasons. He was 

 undoubtedly more akin to our present type 

 than any other Irish Terrier of his time of 

 which there is record. His dark ears were 

 uncropped at a period when cropping was 

 general ; his weight approximated to our 

 modern average. He was an all coloured 

 red, and his legs were of a length that would 

 not now be seriously objected to. But in 

 his day he was not accepted as typical, 

 and he was not particularly successful in 

 the show ring. The distinguished terrier of 



