310 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[May 15, 1884. 



WESTMINSTER KENNEL CLUB SHOW. 



THE eighth annual bench show of the Westminster Kennel 

 Club, which opened on Tuesday the 6th instant, closed 

 last Friday. 



From the point of view of those interested in our dogs, the 

 show was a most successful one, though it was not a money- 

 making affair. The number of dogs actually exhibited was 

 very large, and the quality of the classes was. on the whole, 

 an improvement on anything that has been known in America. 

 The exhibits were by no means confined to animals owned in 

 this country, and a number of the -best known breeders and 

 exhibitors of England sent drafts from their kennels to com- 

 pete for the prizes. While the so-called sporting classes were 

 as usual numerically the largest of the show, yet it is clear 

 that the non-sporting classes are annually growing stronger, 

 and forcing their way into public favor. Thus there were 

 shown this year nearly one hundred St. Bernards, forty mas- 

 tiffs, seventy-eight fox-terriers and seventy-two collies*. This 

 increase in popularity of the non-sporting dogs is a most 

 healthy sign of the time, and promises more and more for 

 future bench shows. There is certainly no reason why point- 

 ers, setters, spaniels and other dogs used in the pursuit of 

 game, should, as they have hitherto, greatly outnumber the 

 dogs which are kept for other purposes, and the fact that the 

 former made up at this show only a little more than one-half 

 of the total number shown will be satisfactory to all lovers of 

 the dog. Mr. Lincoln fairly outdid himself, and at no 

 previous show in this countiy have the arrangements 

 been so satisfactory. The. benches, while not differing materi- 

 ally from those of past years, were more neatly finished and 

 had a better general appearance. Those devoted to the West- 

 minster Kennel Club's dog's were partitioned off by iron rail- 

 ings instead of the ordinary pine lumber, and these railings 

 had a very pleasing effect. The arrangement of the different 

 breeds was much more satisfactory than on some occasions 

 in the past, the classes seeming to follow one another as one 

 went round the building in a natural sequence. The arrange- 

 ment of the judging ring was a vast improvement on any pre- 

 vious show. The whole central space was inclosed by a high 

 wooden railing, thus perfectly keeping off the public from the 

 ring sacred to judges, reporters, and exhibitors or keepers. 

 This ring was strewn with fresh sawdust, and formed not 

 only a most excellent place for judging, but also a capital 

 place for exercising the dogs when it was not in use for other 

 purposes. 



The dogs owned by the Bobins Island Club, thirty-seven in 

 number, were benched together, without any partition be- 

 tween, making a very attractive appearance. A number of 

 the large kennels also made excellent displays of their dogs. 

 Many of the stalls were nicely lifted up and tastefully decor- 

 ated. The performance of the trick dogs was the best'that we 

 have ever seen. The retrieving was also very interesting to 

 the spectators, who warmly applauded the various perform- 

 ances. The running of the greyhounds was not a decided suc- 

 cess except for the winner, whose name and owner we 

 were unfortunately unable to obtain. 



There was considerable dissatisfaction with the judging, and 

 this was especially marked in the mastiff and pointer classes. 

 This dissatisfaction was due in a measure to the fact, that this 

 year Stonebenge was laid aside and everything was left to the 

 discretion of the judge, who selected the type of dog which 

 best fitted his eye, without reference to any of the standards 

 laid down in the books. This being the case, a wide margin 

 was left for individual preferences, and in our comments on 

 the various classes given below, we shall have occasion to dif- 

 fer widely from many of the decisions. 



There was some sickness among the dogs during the show, 

 and a few deaths. We saw many puppies and some old dogs 

 which were quite sick, and no doubt more or less deaths will 

 follow in due course. Those who exhibit puppies, however, 

 take the risk of this. The dogs were fed oh Spratt's biscuits. 

 and the arrangements for their comfort as to clean bedding 

 and fresh water were all that could be asked. Features of the 

 show were the exhibition of the dog collars, chains, and other 

 necessary articles of dog furnishings by the Medford Fancy 

 Goods Company, the exhibit of Mr. H. C. Glover, and the book 

 table of the Orange Judd Company. 



The weather during the four days was anything but pleas- 

 ant, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday being rainy, and 

 Friday more or less overcast, though occasionally the sun 

 showed his face. The attendance, though fair, was by no 

 means what might have been anticipated had the days been 

 fine, and only on the last day was there at all a large crowd. 

 This, while no doubt to be deplored by the managers, was 

 from the visitor's point of view a real advantage, since it 

 gave him abundant opportunity to study the dogs to the best 

 advantage. We understand, however, that there was a small 

 credit balance after all expenses were paid. Next year we 

 hope to see the New York show held for three days only, and 

 that the judging may all be over by the end of the first day. 

 Our bench show managers will have to come to this, and they 

 may as well do it now as later. The reasons for this are so 

 manifest that they do not need repetition here. 



Among those present at the show were most of our well- 

 known Eastern sportsmen and breeders of dogs, as well as 

 many from the West and some from England. 



Leaving now the general features of the show, we pass to 

 the consideration of the classes in detail. 



MASTIFFS. 



The showing of mastiffs was not so good as we had expected 

 to see, although there were several fine animals present. In 

 the champion dog class Nevison was awarded the prize. He 

 was not in good form and had a nasty mange sore on his hind 

 leg. He should have given place to Hero II., a capital big dog, 

 with plenty of bone. He is better in skull, muzzle and hind 

 legs than the winner and as good in body, coat and feet. He 

 was well shown, having filled out since we saw him at New- 

 Haven. We understand that he was claimed at his price by 

 the Ashmont Kennels. Zulu, the only other entry, is rather 

 small for good company. There were but two m the bitch 

 class. Dolly Varden, the winner, is a grand bitch, but her con- 

 dition was very bad and she should not have been shown. 

 Dido, the only other shown, is far from a good one. The open 

 dog ciass was badly placed. Dan, who won first, has a fair 

 skull and body, but is weak behind and lacks mastiff charac- 

 ter. Billo, who was given second, is much worse than Dan, as 

 he has no redeemingqualities. Homer, who won third, should 

 have been second. He is a very good dog with a grand head, 

 good ears, except that they are set on too high, good body 

 and legs. He is small in size and might be a bit better in feet. 

 Jim, who was vhe. , we thought well placed. He has good 

 body and legs, but is poor in head. Ilford Cromwell, who 

 was he, was the best in the class. He is a grand dog with 

 an immense head and is excellent in body, legs and 

 feet. He has but just arrived from England and 

 was not in the best of condition; should he fill out well 

 he will take a lot of beating; his worst fault is a light eye. 

 Bruno, who was c, was the third best in the class; he is a 

 fan dog, although he lacks character. First in the bitch class 

 went to Regina, who was much the best; she is a trifle under 

 size, but has a good head, body, legs and feet, and looks a 

 mastiff ; her ears are a bit large and she might be a little better 

 in bone. Monmouth Meg, who was second, is light in bone 

 and lacks character. Nana, third, is leggy and has a long, 

 thin head, and should not have been noticed. Queen, who 

 was vhe. , should have been second; she is fairly good all 

 round. The puppies, except the three winners, were not 

 much. Sandy, who was third, we thought the best of the.lot. 

 There was an immense-nine months' puppy, measuring full ,88 

 inches at shoulder, but like most large dogs he is long in face 

 and may not mature well. 



ST. BERNARDS, 



The showing of St. Bernards was by far the best that has 



ever been seen, except at the exhibition of the St. Bernard 

 Club in England. Bonivard was alone in the champion rough- 

 coated dog class. He was in grand condition and well de- 

 served his prize. In the bitch class Gertie had an easy win. 

 She was in better form than when at New Haven. 'In the 

 open dog class Duke of Leeds made his first bow to the Ameri- 

 can public. He is a grand young dog, even better than Boni- 

 vard, and with these two Mr. Hearn has a brace that we do 

 not believe can bo beaten. Second went to Caliph, a very 

 good all-round dog. We liked Cardinal Borromo, vhe., full as 

 well for the place, except that he was short of coat and lacked 

 condition. He has the best head and color, and when at his 

 best will, without doubt, find no trouble in getting a better 

 place. Primate, also vhe. , is very pretty and is nicely marked, 

 but altogether too small. In the bitch class Rhona, who won 

 first, has one of the best heads that we ever saw T . Were she a 

 little higher at the shoulder, she would be a very hard bitch to 

 beat. Millicent II., who won second, is a grand big bitch, 

 with good color and markings. She has a capital body, but 

 might be better in bone behind. She has rather a long, sharp 

 face. Baronne, who won third, has a very good body, with 

 capital legs and feet. She will undoubtedly make a 

 good, brood bitch. Beryl, vhe, has a beautiful head, 

 but lacks substance. Sappho, he, also has a good 

 head and, if nothing befalls her, will do better when mature. 

 In the champion smooth-coated dog class Fido had a walk 

 over as did Baroness in the bitch class. The open dog class 

 contained some good ones. We thought them well placed ex- 

 cept that we should have transposed second and third. Royal- 

 ist, who was second, is lanky and long in face. Sultan, who 

 won third, is a good all round dog, although he is rather small. 

 Jolly Friar, who was c, is also small and has too much coat 

 for his class. Leila, who won first in the bitch class, is the 

 best bitch we ever saw, although heavv in whelp she was 

 clearly much the best. The winners In the rough-coated 

 puppy class were a fair lot, we thought them well placed. In 

 the smooth-coated class we liked Snowstorm for first place, 

 and Noblesse for second, instead of the vhe each received, we 

 think them very promising. We know that it is next to im- 

 possible to form a correct idea of what a puppy will turn out, 

 especially when of so large a breed as the St. Bernard. 



BERGHUNDE. 



There were but four present in the berghund class, and we 

 can do no better than to repeat our comments of last year: 

 "The berghund, although a noble looking dog, is a mongrel, 

 and should never be recognized as a distinct breed. He is cer- 

 tainly no better than the St. Bernard or mastiff from which 

 he comes, and consequently is a failure as a distinct breed, and 

 he should be relegated to the miscellaneous class, where he 

 belongs." 



NEWFOUNDLANDS, # 



The Newfoundland class was not a very good one. Jack, 

 who won first, is a big dog with a fair head and a good flat 

 coat which is of a good color. He lacks a little in bone. Tasso, 

 who won second, is also of good coat and color and has more 

 bone, but is not so large as Jack. We liked Bruno, vhe, full as 

 well for second place. Matt, unnoticed, is of good form but 

 much too small. 



GREYHOUNDS. 



Friday Night showed up in the champion dog class in much 

 better form than when at New Haven, although he was not 

 quite at his best. There were no entries in the champion bitch 

 class. The open dog class brought out a rare good one in the 

 winner, Bouncing Boy. He, with School Girl and Begonia, who 

 won first and vhe in the bitch class, have just been imported by 

 their owner, who may well be proud of them. In the bitch 

 class, the second prize was withheld. We. can only account for 

 this in that she was decidedly inferior to School Girl, and did 

 not by comparison please the judge. We thought her more 

 than "an average bitch when compared with the entries of 

 previous years, and should have placed her second. There was 

 nothing very good in the puppy class. 



DEERHOUNDS. 



There was a larger display of deerhounds than we have ever 

 before seen together. Many of them were in very bad condi- 

 tion, and poor coats, flabby muscle and soft flesh was the rule. 

 Roy, who won in the champion class was, however, fairly 

 well shown, which will perhaps account for his defeat of 

 Lance. In the open dog class, both of the Bruces, who won 

 first and second, are very good specimens. The judge failed 

 to find anything in the bitch class that he thought worthy a 

 prize, and all awards were withheld, although to our mind 

 there were two or three of more than average merit. 



POINTERS. 



The exhibition of pointers was much better than last year, 

 both in numbers and quality. There were 149 entries with 13 

 absentees. This number has been exceeded but once. Two 

 years ago there were 151 entries with also 13 absent. There 

 were eight in the large champion class. Meteor, who won the 

 pride of place, is of the type of the small pointer, although he 

 is one or two pounds over the dividing line when in good con- 

 dition. We first saw Meteor at the Chicken Trials a year ago 

 last September, and then wrote of him, ''With the exception of 

 being a little off in head, Meteor is one of the best formed 

 animals that we even- saw. He has a thoroughbred, gamy ap- 

 pearance that is not often found." He was in beautiful con- 

 dition, except that there was an unsightly lump, caused by a 

 bite, upon the side of his head. Beaufort was not at his best, 

 although he has improved since he was at New Haven. He 

 has grown throaty since we. first saw him and appears to have 

 some trouble behind •which we presume is caused by his 

 recent illness. He is, without doubt, the best large pointer 

 we have and should have been placed at the head of his class. 

 The others were looking well. 



Water Lily won in the bitch class. She was very well 

 shown, except that she was a trifle too fat. There was not 

 much to choose between her and Nan, who was also in good 

 condition. The open class for large dogs was the best we have 

 ever seen. There was scarcely a poor one in the lot. They 

 were placed as well, perhaps, as was possible, except that 

 Scout and Jimmie, both unnoticed, were well "worth the two 

 letters at least. We greatly admired Fritz, who won first. 

 He is very good all over, with no striking faults, and does 

 great credit to his she, Beaufort. In the bitch class Miss 

 Merrymack won first. She is quite a nice bitch, with a fair 

 chest, good shoulders, body, loin and legs, and fan- feet; she 

 might be better in head and greatly improved in tail. Fan 

 Fan, who won second, is a big bitch with lots of quaff ty; she 

 is too wide and round in chest. Sal, who was third, has the 

 same fault and lacks quality. In the champion small dog 

 class Bravo was an easy winner; he was well shown. Mr. 

 Sterling declined to judge the bitch class, as he once owned 

 one-half of Vanity, and Mr, George DeForest Grant .was called 

 upon to decide upon the merits of the class. Vanity, who 

 won the prized is an elegant looking animal, of much quality 

 and very well put together; she carries her ears badly and is 

 too wide in front, and might be straighter in fore legs; she has 

 a capital tail, but carries it badly. Duchess shouldhave won, 

 although she was not quite at her best, and age begins to tell 

 on her. With the exception of a faulty head and tail she is a 

 very hard bitch to beat. 



The open dog class was not well handled. Pride, who won 

 first, was in capital condition, which is about all that can be 

 said in his favor. He has not a first-class head, and is leggy 

 and lathv. There was not much to choose between Fritz, 

 second, Match, vhe, and Bob, unnoticed, for first, second and 

 third". The two former 'we have described before. Bob is 

 ■rather an ordinary looking dog at first glance, but a close ex- 

 amination will show him to be of exceptionally good form 

 with plenty of bone. He has not a good head, and his color, 

 black and white, does not improve his appearance. The rest 

 of the class received all that they deserved. 



In the bitch class first went to Jilt, who was perhaps deserv- 

 ing, although we liked Belle and Joy, both he, full as well. 

 Vision, vyho won second, was transferred from the large 

 class, is also a very faff animal. Flash III., who was third, is 

 very well made, with plenty of bone and good less, but her 

 very bad feet shoidd have left, her out of the money The dog 

 puppies over 13 and under 18 months were nothing' extra The 

 Corresponding bitch class was very fine indeed, and had the 

 judge given Nell HI. one more letter, they would have been as 

 well placed, perhaps, as was possible. The puppies under 12 

 months we are not disposed to criticise, as there is no breed of 

 dogs that is so uncertain when young as the pointer. Many of 

 them looked very well, but we noticed nothing that was ma- 

 ture enough to warrant a guess as to its future. 



SETTERS. 



The champion English setter dog class brought out only 

 three. Foreman, who won, has greatly improved in form 

 since last year, having gained in muscle and filled out in loin. 

 He was short in coat and feather, having been worked until 

 late in the season. He has also just recovered from a touch of 

 mange. He is very nearly the correct type for field work. 

 Emperor Fred was shown a bit too heavy. He was not in his 

 usual blooming condition. Dick Laverack we never saw look- 

 ing so well. He is a capital dog. and was. like all of Mr. 

 Davey's dogs, in beautiful condition. Plantagenet and Prince 

 were absent. In the bitch class first went to Belle's Pride, a 

 very good bitch, except that her head is too large, which gives 

 her a coarse appearance. We greatly preferred Queen Alice 

 for the place notwithstanding her bad condition, as she has 

 much the best head of the two, and is fully the equal of Pride 

 in every respect and a little ahead of her in appearance. 



The open dog class was not a good one. First went to Rock, 

 a very fair dog in beautiful condition. He is of good type and 

 very well put together with very good shoulders, chest, body 

 and loin. His ears are too thick and set too high. His fore 

 f eetjstand too close together and his tail is carried too high. Bob 

 White, who won second, was in veiy bad condition and should 

 not have been shown. He was a long way ahead of anything in 

 the class, and had he been'shown in proper form he would 

 have carried off the highest honors. The bitch class was of 

 better average quality than we have ever seen. The large 

 number of excellent animals rendered it very difficult to be- 

 stow the honors, indeed the unnoticed ones made a very f air 

 class of themselves, although more than half of the class re- 

 ceived mention. We thought them well placed. The puppies 

 over 12 and under 18 months were not quite up to those or last 

 year, although there were several very good ones shown. The 

 puppy class, under 12 months, brought out several promising 

 ones. Princess Phoebus, the winner, is very good indeed. She 

 bids fair to turn out as good a Laverack as we have. 



The black and tan setters were much better than we have 

 seen in a long time. In the absence of Mr. Wise the classes 

 were judged by Messrs. Sterling and Higgins. In the cham- 

 pion class one judge was in favor of Argus, while the other 

 thought Turk the best. Mr. J. M. Traoy was finally called 

 upon to decide the question, and succeeded ia convincing them 

 that Flash was better than either, and he was given the prize. 

 There were but two in the bitch class, Lady Gordon and Per- 

 ley. Both are very good indeed, with not much to choose be- 

 tween them. Perley, who finally won, is a shade better in 

 head. The open dog class contained several very fair speci- 

 mens, who were well placed, except that Duke, who was vhe, 

 is better in head and bone than Punch, who was third, and 

 they should have changed places. The bitches and puppies 

 were fairly good and correctly judged. 



The Irish setters were a grand lot ah through. The cham- 

 pion dog class was magnificent. Berkley, who was on exhi- 

 bition only, was looking finely. Dash is a grand dog in coat, 

 color and chest; he has not an Irish head and is faulty behind! 

 Chief was never shown in better coat and feather. Elcho, Jr., 

 the next on the list, furnished the winner; he is a very good 

 all-round dog, with an almost perfect head and of the correct 

 type all through; he was not in first-class condition, ant 

 might be a bit better in back and coat. Glencho was not 

 quite at his best, yet we thought him good enough to win, 

 but Mr. Higgins hikes a small, compact dog, and Elcho, 

 Jr., just filled his eye. Trix was an easy winner in the 

 bitch class, although she was not in good coat or 

 form. Faun is also a rare good one, and may sur- 

 prise some of the best of them next year unless 

 they are at their very best. The open dog class made a splen- 

 did appearance in the ring. Many of them were very good, 

 although we failed to find anything very remarkable. The 

 winner is a little faulty in head, which was the most common 

 fault to be found with the class. We thought them well 

 placed. The bitches were better than the dogs. Noreen H., 

 who won first, is a very sweet bitch, although she is not quite 

 perfect in color. Reeta, unnoticed, should have been second, 

 although she was hot in good form. Nearly all of the 

 others in the class were good, aud the seven vhe s. that 

 were given were no more than were deserved. Irish setter 

 puppies are notoriously uncertain, as they often change in 

 form and color. Roiy O'More II., who was first in the dog 

 class, was rightly placed. He is grand in color, and if he ma- 

 tures well he will be heard from again. In the bitch class we 

 should have transposed first and second.. 



CHESAPEAKE BAY DOGS. 



There were only three entries in this class. The two winners 

 are very good specimens. 



SPA NIELS. 



There were no entries in the champion Irish water spaniel 

 class, and only three in the open class. The winner is a very 

 good specimen. In the champion field spaniel class Benedict 

 added another to his long list of wins. He certainly was not 

 in such bloom as we have seen iiim, but his gcod body, legs 

 and feet carried him through. Black Prince was in magnifi- 

 cent shape and he never looked better. Dash, who is rather 

 heavy in head and a trifle low at the shoulders, is good in coat 

 and body, but is a little out at elbow. In the open field spaniel 

 class the winner is not as straight in front as she might be, 

 and was a little off in coat. Bateman, given second, is a 

 strong, good-headed dog, a little short of ear, but with 

 a very good set of legs and feet. Toronto Jet, vhe, 

 Don he, Jewell he and Punch and Benedict's Boy, e, were 

 tolerably good ones. In champion cockers, any color, Obo II. 

 had a walk over. He well deserved his prize. In liver and 

 black cocker spaniels, Peerless Gloss was given first. He 

 was shown in poor coat, doubtless owing to his recent sea 

 voyage. He is just imported. He has a very good head and 

 body, and excellent legs aud feet, with plenty of bone, Jumbo, 

 second, is another good one. He is rather high on his legs and 

 fight in bone, but has a capital coat and was well shown, 

 Woodstock Flirt, vhe, is too fine in bone. Bessie, he. is a trifle 

 leo-oy but will improve with age. In cocker spaniels other 

 than, 'liver or black, Rattler was awarded first. He was in 

 very poor coat, and we do not like his eyes. He has good 

 length of body and plenty of substance. Fancy II., second, 

 we do not admire. Blossom, vhe is a good little <>log of the 

 old type, but was bad in coat. Powder, he, and Clytie, c , 

 were 'well placed. In spaniel puppies, Black Tourriie was 

 given first, Helen, second, Niven's Darkey, vhe, and Darling, 

 he, This was a very good class and well judged. 

 FOXHOUNDS. 



Vinegar was the only entry in the champion calss. He is a 

 first-class one, good all through. In the open class, the Essex 

 County Hunt with Cardinal. Warrior and Manager wan first, 

 second and third respectively. These are all good oum, Car- 

 dinal heihg.a little the best in back and loin. Brownie, he, 

 and Sport, c, though fairish dogs, were quite outclassed in 

 this company. - ' • 



BEAGLES. 



In placing the beagles, Mr. Mortimer followed the standard 

 of Stonehenge, which 

 and ears the modern beagle has all the points Off The Cqcs.- 



