7' 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



Plinlimmon \\-as onl\- one of many dogs that 

 Mr. S. W. Smith sent to the United States 

 during the time that the boom for St. 

 Bernards in the Far West was at its height. 

 Princess Florence, a splendid rough-coated 

 bitch by Marvel, with Le Prince, also crossed 

 the water, but the demand soon after ceased 

 when it was found that the climate of 



MRS. A. H PARKER'S ROUGH-COATED CH. CINQ MAKb 



BY CH. WOLFRAM CH. VIOLA, 



I'holog,ot>h by W. U. itiuk. 



America was not suited to the breed. The 

 extremely hot weather in tlie summer 

 was fatal to them, vcrv few of the lii,L;h- 

 priced dogs and bitches tli.it were sent out 

 living more than a couple of \'ears. Prin- 

 cess Florence, who was owned in turn bv 

 Dr. Inman and ;\Ir. Hedlev Chapman, was 

 the largest bitch that had so far been 

 bred, Iier reputed weight being upwards of 

 200 lbs. She was one of the few that 

 managed to live, and come back to England. 

 After passing through some troublous times 

 the St. Bernard Club was reconstituted, 

 and has gone on swinmiingly e\-er since. 

 Tlie Club owns the most valuable chal- 

 lenge cups of all the specialist Clubs. In 

 addition to several minor cups, it has two 

 silver cups of the value of loo guineas 



each, and tlie trophy presented by Mr. 

 Halsey of even more value. These special 

 prizes are competed for at the Club's an.iual 

 shows, one for the best dog in the show 

 (rough or smooth), and the other for the 

 best bitch, these two winners then com- 

 peting together for tlie Halsey Trophy. 

 Later on Mr. Xorris Elye became President 

 of the Club ; he was 

 a prominent breeder 

 of St. Bernards, and 

 owned, amongst 

 others, Alta Bella 

 and Bellegarde, two 

 excellent specimens 

 of the breed, the 

 former one of the 

 finest bitches of her 

 day. 



It was at this peri- 

 od that the great 

 celebrity. Sir Bedi- 

 \'ere, was whelped. 

 He was bred by IMr. 

 T. I). Green, who 

 selected him from the 

 litter when a ])up 

 because he was the 

 most prettily marked, 

 and before he exhi- 

 bited him for th'' 

 first time, when ten 

 months old, had not 

 the slightest idea that he owned the most 

 typical St. Bernard that had e\'er been 

 bred in Enghind, where he was never de- 

 feated. .Mr. Green refused /i,5oo for him 

 at home, but, after taking some five hun- 

 dred ])oiuuls in stud fees, sold him to 

 America for £1.300 ; he weighed upwards 

 of 200 lbs., and stood ^^ inches at the 

 shoulder. Sir Bedi\-ere was orange and 

 wliitt' in colour, and was beautifully pro- 

 ]iortion''d, witli perfect action all round. 



In the vears that followed many fine dogs 

 were bn-d. both of tlie rougli and smooth- 

 coated \"ariety, and tlie type was greatly 

 improved. Mr. Thomas Shilcock, of Bir- 

 mingham, got together a strong kennel ; 

 ;\Ir. T. Duerdin Dutton had some high-class 

 specimens at Cobham — Peggotty, a most 



