The Irish Terrier 481 



"Have we, as many say, lost the type, character, and expression that 

 distinguished the breed ? That is to say, have we now produced a terrier 

 without the keen, varminty and (in profile) sinister appearance and racy 

 outline that we associate with an Irishman ? No, I don't think we have. 

 Put one of the best terriers we have beside a photo of Brickbat or Ted 

 Malone, and see what is the difference. It is not a difference in type, 

 character, or expression; it is this, and this only — Brickbat lacked ears and 

 face (we would call him bitchy to-day) and Ted Malone lacked face (re- 

 sembling his sire) in comparison with our present best. The varmintyness 

 is still there, but the absence of the 'crop' detracts from it. If any croaking 

 is required, it appears to be that we must keep our eyes on the caats, and 

 beware of insufficiently bent stifles and hocks that are not low enough — a 

 prevalent fault. No doubt fresh faults crop up (unless it be that old faults 

 become more noticeable), but they are quickly observed and wonderfully 

 quickly eradicated. Think how very prevalent the exaggerated and soft 

 whisker was a few years since, and see how comparatively rare it is to-day; 

 likewise the contracted skull. Both are practically dead with the disap- 

 pearance from the ring of the 'pioneers' of these faults, whose other many 

 excellencies caused the faults to be overlooked. The great difficulty now 

 is to find a first-class and well-bred stud terrier who is not inbred to one 

 particular strain. Undoubtedly this strain has done wonders for the breed, 

 but one can have too much inbreeding, and Irish terriers are bound soon 

 to 'progress backwards' unless a good and well-bred outcross to remedy 

 this state of things be quickly found and freely bred to. There is another 

 thing most of us do not give sufficient attention to, and that is regularly 

 using our terriers to some form of sport. Nothing gives a terrier life and 

 character, hardness and self-reliance to such an extent as hunting, whether 

 it be rats, rabbits, or cats." 



To that we reply as follows : The Irish terrier of to-day is not what 

 the old ones were like and what the standard was made for, more particu- 

 larly in outline and in foreface, together with expression. We do not mean 

 to say that there is not a single terrier that shows any one of the character- 

 istics named, but that they are not so typical of the breed. Another thing 

 is that we are getting the Irish terriers too large, and we would like to see 

 our Irish Terrier Club adopt a rule to the effect that no club prize could 

 be won by any terrier over a specified weight; just as the Spaniel Club 

 restricts cockers to eighteen pounds and under twenty-four pounds. The 



