spoilt Forty Years Ago and To-day 1 7 



the otter in the water, and in a short time killed it. In 

 the following year the same man obtained another otter, 

 and again " Nailer " was taken over, but the owner 

 promptly refused to allow the dog to attack it. " T'warnt 

 noa use," said he, " t' dog wur bound t' kill th' otter." 

 Whilst wrangling over the matter, " Nailer " settled it 

 himself, for somehow managing to get in unperceived, he 

 at once engaged the otter, and very quickly killed it 

 also. " Nailer," therefore, was sought as a husband for 

 the tinker's terrier, and on the principle, I suppose, that 

 it is impossible to have too much of a good thing, a 

 daughter of the ensuing litter was in due time consorted 

 with her father, and the foundation was laid of as plucky 

 a race of terriers as ever faced anything with a hairy 

 skin. 



Sir C. Slingsby very kindly gave me a charming dog 

 puppy, " Vespa," which inherited some first-rate blood. 

 The first ancestor of which there is record was " Old 

 Vermin," bred by Ned Bates, the then huntsman to Sir 

 R. Puleston ; other ancestors, famous in their time, were 

 " Malpas," bred by Eev. T. Drake ; " Old Snow," bred 

 by the Earl of Sefton ; and " Old Wasp," bred by James 

 Stephenson, of Chester. This latter little champion won 

 seven prize battles, in the last one of which he gave his 

 opponent 1 lb., and fought for 1 hour and 40 minutes. 



These terriers and their descendants have accompanied 

 me in all my wanderings, and have now arrived at the 

 tenth generation. They have never been entered at any 

 show, so that, untrammelled by any club rules, or 

 hampered by the changing fashion of the day, I have 

 been free to breed them for shape and work, as judgment 

 has dictated. 



