310 Animal Life 
deprived of all his smart and noble appear- 
ance and made to look common and ignoble, 
and taken up this fine breed. Amongst those 
gentlemen who help to keep up the mastiff 
are Mr. Luke Crabtree, of Manchester, the 
past, and Mr. R. Leadbetter, of Hazlemere 
Park, Bucks, the present owner of the noble 
specimen ‘Hollands Black Boy,’ whose 
portrait is given, and who, being one of 
the greatest winners, may be taken as a 
thoroughly typical specimen of this noble 
variety. 
Wa 
“ONE of the most ancient breeds of domestic 
Tibetan 
Mastiff. 
dogs is the Tibetan Mastiff, 
which, centuries ago, attracted 
ba = 
Photograph by Hutchinson d& Co. 
TIBETAN MASTIFF. 
the attention of travellers by its size and 
ferocity. Unhappily, it is but seldom that 
really large specimens of this variety are 
seen outside of their native country, and 
even then, as in most breeds, the inferior 
examples are the most common. Many long 
residents in India have never seen this 
dog at all, others have only seen second 
and third rate specimens, and a really fine 
example has never been seen alive in 
England. The largest individual I ever saw 
alive measured 32 inches at the shoulders, 
and was a most noble-looking animal. 
These dogs, sullen and savage by nature, 
are of inestimable value to the Tibetans. 
who use them to guard their villages when 
the men are away on trading excursions, to 
watch the herds of sheep and yaks, and to 
drive off four-footed and two-footed marauders. 
A couple are frequently reckoned a match 
for a leopard. Important points in the breed 
are the bushy tail, the heavy mane, the 
wrinkled face, deep-set eyes, and the high 
skull, which is “peaked” at the occiput 
somewhat like that of the Bloodhound. Of 
late, an attempt has been made in irrespon- 
sible quarters to alter the name of the breed 
to Tibet Sheepdog; but as the breed has been 
known for years as the mastiff (also in France 
and Germany), and his appearance (bar the 
long coat) more resembles the mastiff type, 
Photograph by C. Reid, Wishaw. 
ENGLISH MASTIFF. 
there seems absolutely no reason to alter 
the name of this ancient breed at the bidding 
of one or two who, as shown by their own 
writings, have never even seen a first-class 
specimen of the variety. 
“The subject of the illustration, ‘Dsamu,’ 
is the property of Mrs. H. C. Brooke, and 
bears a striking resemblance to ‘Siring, the 
excellent specimen brought back by His 
Majesty, when Prince of Wales, on his return 
from India in the seventies. ‘Dsamu’ has 
won many first prizes at shows; he is now 
nearly fourteen years old (these dogs are 
said not to live long as a rule in warm or 
temperate climates after being used to the 
