THE SKYE TERRIER. 
for this purpose certain qualities were im- 
perative. First and foremost the terrier 
needed to be small, short of leg, long and 
lithe in body, with ample face fringe to 
protect his eyes from injury, and last, but 
by no means least, possessed of unlimited 
pluck and dash. 
The Skye Terrier of to-day does not 
answer to each and every one of these 
requirements. He is too big—decidedly he 
is too big—especially in regard to the head. 
A noble-looking skull, with large, well- 
feathered ears may be admirable as orna- 
ment, but would assuredly debar its possessor 
from following into a fox’s lair among the 
boulders. Then, again, his long coat would 
militate against the activity necessary for 
his legitimate calling. 
The Skye Terrier, as already hinted, has 
a certain affinity with other breeds of 
terriers, with whom it is not unreasonable 
to suppose that he has frequently been 
crossed. The inexperienced eye often 
mistakes the Yorkshire and the Clydesdale 
Terriers for the Skye, although beyond 
the fact that each breed carries a long 
coat, has its eyes shaded with a fringe, 
and is superficially similar in build, there 
is no resemblance great enough to perplex 
an attentive observer. 
It was not until about 1860 that the 
Skye Terrier attracted much notice among 
dog lovers south of the Border, but Queen 
Victoria’s admiration of the breed, of 
which from 1842 onwards she always owned 
favourite specimens, and Sir Edwin Land- 
seer’s paintings in which the Skye was 
introduced, had already drawn public atten- 
tion to the decorative and useful qualities 
of this terrier. The breed was included in 
the first volume of the Kennel Club Stud 
Book, and the best among the early dogs 
were such as Mr. Pratt’s Gillie and Dunvegan, 
Mr. D. W. Fyfe’s Novelty, Mr. John Bow- 
man’s Dandie, and Mr. Macdona’s Rook. 
These were mostly of the drop-eared variety, 
and were bred small. . 
About the year 1874, fierce and stormy 
disputes arose concerning the distinctions 
of the Scottish breeds of terriers. The 
controversy was continued until 1879, when 
407 
the Kennel Club was approached with the 
view to furnishing classes. In that year 
a dog was shown in Dundee belonging to 
Mr. P. C. Thomson, of Glenisla. This was 
brought from the Isle of Skye, and was 
presented as a genuine specimen of the pure 
and unsullied Skye Terrier. He was a 
prick-eared, dark-coloured dog, having all 
the characteristics of the breed, and his 
pluck was equal to that of a Bull-terrier. 
MRS. HUGHES, WITH CH. WOLVERLEY DUCHESS. 
Photograph by T. Fall, 
He was described, however, merely as a 
“Scotch Terrier,” a designation which was 
claimed for other varieties more numerous 
and more widely distributed. The con- 
troversy was centred upon three types of 
Scottish terriers: those which claimed to 
be pure Skye Terriers, a dog described 
briefly as Scotch, and a third, which for a 
time was miscalled the Aberdeen. To those 
who had studied the varieties, the distinc- 
tions were clear; but the question at issue 
was—to which of the three rightly belonged 
the title of Scottish Terrier? The dog 
which the Scots enthusiasts were trying to 
