British Dogs at Work 



some variety of domestic animal or bird. I 

 say "improving," although the chances are 

 that we are endeavouring to produce some 

 point that has neither beauty nor utility to 

 commend it. The lobes of a bantam may 

 cause its owner sleepless nights, and the 

 colour of a toy dog may entail endless worry 

 upon its fair owner. It is a curious world, 

 my masters, and the philosopher who has 

 none of our little weaknesses may well look 

 on in mild toleration of the foibles of man- 

 kind. Probably the chief allurement in 

 breeding pedigree stock is the glorious un- 

 certainty of the game. You see men start 

 upon it, well equipped with scientific know- 

 ledge and preconceived notions as to how the 

 thing should be done, and behold, all their 

 little plans are set at naught, while the 

 plain man, with his rule-of-thumb methods 

 and no stock-in-trade other than common 

 sense (the rarest of all senses, as some one 

 has well said), steps in and reaches the top 



of the tree without apparent effort, 



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