THE WELSH TERRIER. 
In the early part of the last century we 
know there were several strains of Welsh 
Terriers in South Carnarvonshire kept purely 
for sporting purposes, but most carefully 
kept and bred, their different owners being 
very proud of them, and each firmly con- 
vinced that his own were the best in the 
world. In one district, near a place called 
Four Crosses, they were all Lewis Jones, 
Saddler, breed ; in the Lleyn district they 
were the Nauhoron breed; at and about 
the town of Carnarvon, the Rumsey breed ; 
at and about Dolgelly, the Williams breed ; 
at Harlech ‘‘Shon go” breed, and so on. 
At times it seems the Welsh poets have 
thought it right to refer in verse to the 
Welsh Terrier. The Welsh poet writes 
what is called in Wales an ‘“‘ Englyn”’; one 
such, which was composed in or about the 
year 1450, is here given :— 
“Urddasol ffou im eoesoch—a gast dda, 
Daeargast ddu dorgoch, 
T dagu’r ffwlbart dugoch, 
Ac i ewy go’r cachio coch.” 
This, literally translated, reads :—- 
“You gave me a dignified (picked) 
stick—and a good bitch, 
A black red-bellied terrier bitch 
To throttle the brown pole-cat 
And to tear up the red fox.” 
Until about the year 1884 no one seems 
to have considered the question of putting 
specimens of the breed on the show bench. 
About that year, however, several gentlemen 
interested in the variety met together to 
see what could be done in connection with 
the matter, the outcome being that the 
Welsh Terrier Club was shortly afterwards 
founded, the Kennel Club recognised the 
breed, and the terrier himself began his 
career as a show dog. 
The specimens which were first shown 
were, as may be imagined, not a very high- 
class-looking lot. Although the breed had 
been kept pure, no care had been taken in 
the culture of it, except that which was 
necessary to produce a sporting game 
terrier, able to do its work. One can readily 
understand, therefore, that such an entirely 
“fancy? point as a long foreface and 
S70) 
narrow, clean skull had never been thought 
of for a moment, and it was in these par- 
ticulars that the Welsh Terrier at first 
failed, from a show point of view. Natur- 
ally enough, good shoulders, sound hind- 
quarters, more than fair legs and feet, and 
excellent jackets were to be found in abund- 
ance, but as the body was almost invariably 
surmounted by a very short and wedge- 
shaped head and jaw, often accompanied 
with a pair of heavy, round ears, an under- 
shot mouth, and a light, full eye, it will be 
realised that the general appearance of the 
dog was not prepossessing. 
No sooner had the Welsh Terrier been 
started as a show dog than a serious rival 
put in an appearance. He was a similar 
dog, but much better-looking than most of 
the variety he was trying to oust. By 
name he was known as an Old English 
Terrier, a somewhat catchy appellation, and 
some very beautiful specimens were brought 
out, the consequence being that very shortly 
after the Welsh Terrier had been officially 
recognised as a breed by the Kennel Club, 
this competing animal was also afforded 
due recognition by the ruling body and 
put on the list of breeds. 
Then came the struggle for supremacy. 
The beautiful Old English Terrier had, 
naturally perhaps, the general sympathy ; 
the insignificant short-faced Welsh Terrier 
was laughed at, ridiculed, and treated with 
contumely ; and though a small band of 
determined admirers treated all this with 
the scorn it deserved and stuck to their 
dog, it was a hard struggle for them, and 
it took some little time ere the foe was 
successfully done with. That he was effec- 
tually vanquished is a matter of history. 
To. the thinking person, who knew the 
facts of the case, the victory of the Welsh 
Terrier was assured from the first. The 
one a pure breed established for centuries ; 
the other, a child of the moment, a mon- 
grel of the first water. So long as the pure 
breed was kept pure, the Nemesis of the 
other was bound to come. The Old English 
Terrier emanated from the counties in the 
North of England, wherein reside probably 
the cleverest animal breeders in the world. 
