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THE POODLE. 



A barbarous custom is prevalent of removing the greater portion of the Poodle's coat, 

 leaving him but a ruff round the neck and legs, and a puff on the tip of the tail as the sole 

 relic of his abundant fur. 



Such a deprivation is directly in opposition to the natural state of the Dog, which is fur- 

 nished with a peculiarly luxuriant fur, hanging in long ringlets from every portion of the 

 head, body, and limbs. The Poodle is not the only Dog that suffers a like tonsorial abridg- 

 ment of coat ; for under the dry arches of the many bridges that cross the Seine, in Paris, may 

 be daily seen a mournful spectacle. Numerous Dogs of every imaginable and unimaginable 

 breed, lie helpless in the shade of the arch, their legs tied together, and their eyes contem- 



POODLE. — Canis famUiaris genuinus. 



plating with woeful looks the struggles of their fellows, who are being shorn of their natural 

 covering, and protesting with mournful cries against the operation. 



There is a diminutive variety of the Poodle, which is termed the Barbet. This little 

 Dog is possessed of all the intellectual powers of its larger relative, and on account of its com- 

 paratively small size, was formerly in great request as a lady's Dog. For this enviable post it 

 is well fitted, as it is a cleanly little creature, very affectionate, and full of the oddest tricks 

 and vagaries. 



Some years since, I made acquaintance with a comical little Dog, named "Quiz," which 

 I believe to have been a Barbet, though no one had ventured definitely to refer the strange 

 little creature to any known variety. 



He was very small, not larger than an ordinary rabbit, and was. overwhelmed with such a 

 torrent of corkscrew curls that his entire shape was concealed under their luxuriance ; and, 

 when he was lying asleep on the sofa, he reminded the spectator of a loose armful of mop 

 thrums. While reposing, his head was quite undistinguishable from his tail ; and when 

 walking, his trailing curls collected such an ever-increasing mass of leaves, dry sticks, straws, 

 and other impediments, that he was frequently obliged to halt, in order to be released from 

 his encumbrances. 



