Sept. 1885.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



171 



—to a pleasant recreation the education of this animal. It 

 makes your dog your cheei-fiil friend instead of your fearful, 

 crouching slave. If a man ynH read and follow the precepts 

 of this httle book he will be a better master to liis dog and, 

 therefore, a better man, and his dog will be a better and hap- 

 pier one. Instead of being willing to pay a breaker SlOO for 

 his services, a man who reads this little book and has the 

 time, will train his own dog and will get ^100 worth of pleas- 

 ure in doing so. 



I will rejoice to see the dav when the evil force system is 

 abolished, and I know of no better or surer way of bringing 

 this speedily about than the general circulation of this little 

 book. Ah-Pe. 



FANCIERS' FALLACIES. 



UNDER the heading of •'Fanciers' Fallacies," the Stock- 

 Keeper, London, Eng., is publishing a very interesting 

 series of ai-ticles. "Hakim," who started the ball, has under- 

 taken the task of pointing out some of the fallacies and old 

 women's whims that to a greater extent, we fear, than an 3^ 

 one would believe, govern the actions of very many fanciers. 

 The subject is jin interesting oue, and well-known writers are 

 adding their mite. Our readers we hope will profit by a 

 perusal of the articles. 



You truly remark in your paragraph of last Week's Stoek ■ 

 Keeper that the subject, namely, "Fanciei-s' Fallacies," which 

 we have often discussed, is of vast dimensions. When one 

 sits down to grapple the matter, one's thoughts are tossed 

 about in a whirlpool, of which there is no beginning and no 

 end. Therefore I have been doubtful in attempting to carry 

 out oiu- proposed scheme; but — 



Our doubts are traitors. 

 And make us lose the good we oft might win 

 By fearing to attempt. 



One of the commonest fallacies I have heard is that the 

 gloss on a dog's coat depends on the presence or absence of oil. 

 Now, frugal nature never meant that a dog should be a nuis- 

 ance to himself or man, nor his coat a receptacle for all the 

 dirt with which it comes into contact. I therefore propose to 

 give a short physiological description of the coat or hair, and 

 some of Its uses. 



The hair is simply a modification of the outer layer of skin 

 or cuticle, as also are the nails. Each individiial hau- is com- 

 posed of an outer layer of scales overlapping one another like 

 tiles on a house, with an inner layer of horny cells; this some- 

 times incloses a small cavity containing fat and pigment gran- 

 ules. The hair itself fits into a tubular depression of the skin, 

 caUecl the hair follicle, which is deep down in the true skin. 

 In close connection with the hairs are smaUglands, containing 

 an oily sebaceous matter, whose outlets ai-e either into the hair 

 follicles themselves, or on the surface of the skin very near the 

 hair. This oily matter keeps the skin moist and supple by pre- 

 venting evaporation, and also protecting the skin (not" hair) 

 from too long coTitinued action of moisture. To jireserve a 

 healthy coat, it is therefore very necessai^y that these glands 

 should be in good working nrder, and it is a useful expedient 

 when dogs are unwell and the skin diy, "not diseased," to rub 

 vasehne into the skin, and thus prevent the hair coming off. 

 The glossiness and fineness or hardness of a coat depends on 

 the thickness and density of the horny scales in each individ- 

 ual hair, as above alluded to. 



The undercoat is generally short, fine, and very close, 

 protecting the skin from wet and keeping the body warm by 

 preventing the cold getting to the body and loss of heat from 

 the body. The long coat is especially useful to those dogs 

 who are"^much exposed in their work, and have to lie down 

 on damp grovmd ; it really acts as a greatcoat, and should be 

 hard and coarse, so as not to be so liable to get entangled and 

 matted by the wet, as otherwise it would be on account of its 

 length. Dogs not much exposed, and especially small dogs 

 kept indoors who have long coats, have fine long hair ; but they 

 obviously only require the coat for warmth, and the careful 

 grooming they get makes the coat perhaps finer than other- 

 wise it would be. Hakim. 



THE EAR. 



I have heard so many theories put forward regarding the 

 ear, and especially as to the reason of the half-prick ear, many 

 of them as absurd as fallacious, that I do not think I can do 

 better than discuss this knotty question. 1 was told that a 

 well known judge even asserted that the flap of a half- prick 

 ear vibrating conveyed the sonorous undulations to the audit- 

 or^- canal. 1 only state this to show what ridiculotis ideas 

 exist. 



The most plausible theory accepted and believed in by most 

 doggie men is that the useful function of the flap is to protect 

 tne ears from wet, dirt, etc., and consequently is an objective 

 point in breeding in certain classes. Now I hold that the 

 flap has no use whatever: by flap I mean that part of the half- 

 prick or pendant ear Avhich hangs down. 



Doubtless the external ear, or pinna, as it is technically 

 called, whether prick, half-prick or pendant, does to a certain 

 extent protect the internal ear or tnie auditory organ from 

 insects, dirt, wet. etc. ; but nature has provided several eflicient 

 means, which are of themselves perfectly capable of affording 

 the necessary safeguards: Fustly, by the distance of the ia- 

 ternal ear from the sui face of the body, and secondly by the 

 external canal, called the external auditory canal, being itself 

 protected by the hairs at the entrance and by the wax poured 

 out by the cells along its extent. A well-known method 

 to prevent cats poaching "from the knowledge that 

 pussy has a strong objection to dew, etc. getting into 

 her ears," is to cut her ears off; but this is by no means suf- 

 ficient to keep her from predatory habits, unless the hairs also 

 at the entrance to the canal are snipped away. Now, this 

 does not alter the opinion stated above, "that the flap is use- 

 less to the dog," and, I expect, if he were again metamorphosed 

 to the wild state, he would find one of his chief supporters of 

 existence taken from him, the prick ear being essential for 

 quick hearing. For instance, take the rabbit in its wild state, 

 or the Dutch earth-hog, both of which burrow in the ground, 

 and Tvhose large ears are much exposed to Avet grass on ac- 

 count of the size oi the animal. Surely, if the above theory is 

 correct, we should expect them to have pendant or half-prick 

 ears ! No ; their life depends on the acuteness of then- hearing, 

 and the ears can be pricked at once and readily turned about 

 by muscles in connection with them. Take, again, the rabbit 

 in its domesticated state. No longer requii ing the use of these 

 muscles, the ears become lopped in every variety, and by care 

 you obtain a breed with both eai-s constantly k pped. i can- 

 not do better here than to quote Professor Darwin, who says: 

 "Not one of our domestic animals can be named which has not 

 in some country di-oopuig ears, and the view which has been 

 suggested that the drooping is due to the disuse of the muscles 

 of the ear from the animals being seldom much alarmed, 

 seems probable," To sum up, then, the half -prick or pendant 

 ear is due to domestication of the dog, and provides no protec- 

 tion to the ear when dogs are swimming, burromng under- 

 ground, etc., and each variety has its own special form per- 

 petuated by caa-eful breeding,' according to the fancy of the 

 fancier. An ear being placed on each side of the head allows 

 animals to detect the direction of the sound by the intensity 

 of its actioa on either. Hakim. " 



Sir— If I may, without trespassing on "Hakim's" ground, I 

 win point to a few fanciers' fallacies, drawing from what is 

 considered, or would like to be considered, the well of canine 

 knowledge undefiled, the sole som-ce of wisdom as of honor. 

 Of course I mean that guide book, the oracle of Cleveland row. 



In a leading article on the, or rather headed the, "Mental 

 Capacity of Dogs," the greatest authority in the world giveg 



expression to the following "fallacies," erroi-s so cmde and 

 stupid that a kennel boy shotild be whipped for whispering 

 them. 



This head of the "fancy" — its Dux Lux Lex — ^wi-ites of "what 

 constitutes a substitute for reasoning powers in dogs." but is 

 careful not to say what he means. There may be leading and 

 la.w in the Kennel Club organ, but there is precious little light. 

 - The fair inference is that the editor quoted thinks that dogs 

 do not reason, but arrive at conclusions by some other process. 

 Manifestly absurd. Put that down. Fanciers' Fallacy No. 1. 



The same authority says: "It is difficult to accoimt for all 

 the characteristics of a breed— why, for instance, a colMe 

 puppy instinctively runs after sheep." Well, as coUie puppies 

 do not instinctively run after sheep, I call that Fanciers' Fal- 

 lacy No, 3. 



Further it is said that "St. Bernard puppies like digging in 

 the snow." Of com-se this is instanced as contra to the hking 

 for digging in snow of puppies of other breeds, for it is added, 

 "these are the qualities that show aptitude for certain uses," 

 and, as the statement evidences gross ignorance, 1 call it 

 Fanciei-s' Fallacy No. 3— a very fair number of fallicies to be 

 crammed into a quarter of a small column of large type in the 

 mouthpiece of a club that assumes to teach the ^yorld all 

 about dog-8. 



I will conclude by pointing out a very common fallacy, 

 namely, that a dog fancier is a dog lover, and necessarily pos- 

 sessed of a profound knowledge of dogs, but the quotations 

 given fi-om the head of the "fancy" disprove this, so I shaU 

 fall back on the rendering of the term given in my dictionary. 

 ' ' 'Dog f anciei- — one who has a taste for dogs, and keeps thehi 

 for sale." May I ask, are you and all of your readers dog 

 fanciers, Mr, Editoi-? Say, do tell Inquisitive. 



Sir — WTien a man hears that which is new to htm, or con- 

 tradictory of some old opinion which he has held, probably 

 without examination, but just because he has found it gener- 

 ally accepted, and is afraid to admit that he may be ignorant 

 on the point, he takes the certain course to remain ignorant. 



As I think that course a foolish one, I shall admit frankly 

 that I for years have enterterrained the "fancier's fallacy" that 

 the softness, flexibihty, and to some extent the glossiness of 

 the hair, was dependent on the presence of an unctuous sub- 

 stance. 



I am not a physiologist as "Hakim'' is, and therefore I trust 

 he wfll understand that anything I ask or say I do as a scholar 

 willing to learn, and I take upon myseff to add, he will also 

 be teaching new ideas to many other old fanciers equally will- 

 ing to adopt them when convinced of their truth. 



The description of the structure of the hair, the outer layer 

 or epidermis" having smaller scales imbricated like the tiles of 

 a house, covering the cortical substance which forms the bulk 

 of the hair, and inclosing the medullary substance occupying 

 the cavity or tube which extends from the root of the hair 

 to its point, and having at its root cells containing fat granu- 

 lations, we must all accept. 



"Hakim" says: "In close connection with the hair are small 

 glands, containing an ody sebaceous matter, whose outlets are 

 either into the hair f olhcles themselves, or on the surface of 

 the skin, very near the hair. This oily matter keeps the skin 

 mois-t and supple by preventing evaporation, and also pro- 

 tectmg the skin (not haii') fi-om too long action of moisture." 



Now, this is the part of "Hakim's" article I cannot under- 

 stand. On what grounds does he a.ssert that the oily matter 

 does not protect the hair as well as the skin^ 



As I vmderstand the matter, the visible part of the hair, the 

 shaft, tits into a foUicle or sac containing the hair bulb or root 

 from which the hair is furnished with the elements of growtn. 

 Annexed to this folhcle are two sebaceous glands, which, says 

 Chauveau, "open into the sheath of the hair by a small excre- 

 tory canal." Now, I ask, does not the excretion of oily or 

 fatty matter from these glands keep the hair soft and pliable, 

 and as a consequence, aid in the appearance called glossiness, 

 which is usually apiJlied to the look of a dog's coat in health? 



It appears to me as if "Hakim" had assumed that fanciers 

 were gm'lty of the fallacy of supposing that oil was deposited 

 outside the hair in order to give it a gloss, as some yoimg men 

 anoint their locks with Rowland's Macasisar, but 1 have not 

 met with a fancier I have had any suspicion of holding such 

 an opinion. 



But the hair being, as "Hakim" says, "simply a modifica- 

 tion [and I suppose I may add extension] of the outer layer of 

 the skin," it is diflicuit to see how the skin can benefit by the 

 excretion from the sebaceous glands, and the hair not partici- 

 pate. 



In some cases of skin disease it is dry, and the hair is then 

 harsh and dry to the touch, and when the skin contracts the 

 hau- is erected more or less, producing what is called "a stand- 

 ing coat. " Is not the harsh feel of the hair due to the absence 

 of the sebaceous matter with which it is xisually supplied? 



I take it that, though m a greater degree, the "yelk" or 

 greasy substance which makes the wool of the sheep so soft 

 con-esponds with the sebaceous substance excreted into the 

 sheath of the dog's hair alluded to. Now flockmasters do not 

 wash their sheep one day and shear them the next, but wait 

 some days until, to use the common phrase, "the yelk rises." 



Here, then, comes the practical question which yom* readers 

 who have had experience in washing dogs can thi-ow light 

 upon, and I hope they wdl. 



Is it not a fact that the coat of a dog that has been washed, 

 and especially if washed with strong soap, is, after thorough 

 drying, harsh to the feel, and wanting for a time both in tiexi- 

 bilitj^ and gloss? If that is so, as I believe it is. then I think 

 we shall be free from the charge included in "Hakim's" "one 

 the commonest" of fanciers' fallacies. Corsincon. 



P. S.— I object to "Hakim" calling Dame Natm-e frugal, be- 

 cause she does not anoint her dogs with hair oil; she is not an 

 old woman who deals exclusively in candle-ends and cheese- 

 parings, but is mostly genei ous, and often prodigal, of her 

 gifts. I equally object to her supposed parsimony in the 

 pomatum supply being attributable to her desire that the dog 

 should not • 'be a nuisance to himself or man, nor his coat a 

 receptacle for all the dirt with which it comes into contact." 



As a matter of fact, the dog left to nature is an intolerable 

 nuisance; and not content with collecting in liis coat all the 

 dirt that comes to it in ordimu-y course, and that will stick, 

 he goes out of his way to seek it, rolls himself with delight in 

 the utterest of abominations, reducing himself to a state to 

 which the term nuisance is immeasurably too mild to apply. 

 If 1 thought the old lady had withheld the macassar of Mr. 

 liowland from our dogs from parsimonious reasons, or the 

 futile vices imparted by "Hakim," I would not euteitain for 

 her the respect — amotmtmg to adoration — which I do. 



Corsincon. 



Sir — My articles to you as to Fanciers' Fallacies are written 

 to invite discussion, so as to get breeders of dogs, as you say, 

 to inqxure intelligently into the reason for the many rules in 

 breeding that have become hallowed by time. I cannot there- 

 fore but feel greatly gratified when so well-known a writer 

 and keen obseiwer of dogs as "Corsincon" takes up the subject, 

 as 1 know then I have not failed in my object. In dealing 

 with his remarks on my article on the coat, I hope he will not 

 think I am doing it in a captious spirit, hat simply in the hope 

 of arriving at the truth. Will he allow me first of all to cor- 

 rect one or two physiological errors in his letter? The medul- 

 lai-y canal to which he i-efers does not ran up the center of the 

 hair in the dog's coat from root to point, but is confined to 

 the bulb of the hau-, the shaft of the hair being solid Again, 

 the sebaceous matter is excreted into the sheath or lining mem- 

 bi-ane of the follicle, not hau-. Now, ttiis oUy matter thence 

 gets on to the surface of the skin and sm-face of the hairs to a 

 certain extent, but not into the hairs, as "Coi-sincon" would 

 imply, for he says, ' 'It appears to me as if 'Hakim' had assumed 

 that oil was deposited uutside the hair in oi'der to give it a 



gloss, some as young men anoint their locks with Rowland's; 

 macassar, but I have not met with a fancier I hg,ve bad any 

 suspicion of holding such an opinion." I certainly gave doggiV 

 men the credit of believing this; but those to whom I iJave* 

 spoken gave me to understa.nd that they thouafht the glossiness 

 of the coat entirely depended on this oily matter; and it is this 

 statement to which Tdemm- in my Hrticle. I am quite at on& 

 with "Corsincon" in believing tha"t this sabaccous matter pro 

 tects the hair, and, in fact, recommend vaseline to be rubbed 

 into the skin for that purpose under certain circumstances, 

 but it is essentially those pai-ts of the hair below the surface 

 of the epidermis, namely, the follicle and bulb. Some of 

 this matter is also on the surface of the hair, but dog,s' and 

 cats' are pecuHary dry, which can be easily demonstrated by 

 rubbing them, when you get the crackling, electrical sounds. 

 I understand the glossiness to be due to reflection of light from 

 the dog's coat, the essentials for this being that the hairs should 

 be cylindrical, and lie more or less in parallel planes; and it 

 was for this reason I stated that the glossiness depends chiefly 

 on the fineness of the hair, as in this case the hair lying closer 

 to one another, you get the necessary conditions best fulfilled. 

 The doggie man shows his appreciation of this, without perhaps 

 always knownog the reason why, by rubbing the coat down 

 before he takes him into the show ling. In the mole, which 

 has a peculiarly glossy coat, each hair is of different thickness 

 throughout its extent, thus allowing the hairs to fit closely- 

 one against the other. If ''Corsincon" will take s ume hair, oil 

 one portion and deprive the other of any oily matter in con- 

 nection -with it, and place both portions in equally good con- 

 ditions for I'eflecting light, I do not think he wdl find much 

 difference in their glossiness. In fact, much oil would be more 

 likely to refract fight, and give a play of colors. No doubt it 

 is partly the loss of this oily matter wliich causes the coat to 

 be har.sh and dry after the use of soap and water, but it is also 

 due to the loss ot elasticity of hair through absorption of water, 

 and the small muscles in connection with the hair causing the 

 hairs to become more or less erect by contraction from cold or 

 irritability. These muscles also cause the staring coat referred 

 to. "Coreincon" objects to nature being called fragal; he 

 certainly cannot claim to be so in his P>S., but 1 conjeotm-e it 

 was writen for "humor." Hakim. 



Sir — The ai-ticles by "Hakim" promise to be of wide and 

 deep interest, and should prove to be of great practical use, 

 and powerfully corrective of fanciers' fallacies, the name of 

 which is Legion. I feel confident "Hakim" will not be oft'endcid 

 with me saying that I fear he scarcely comes down to the level 

 of us poor fanciei-s, and in dealing with the case I cannot but 

 think he has missed a good opportunity of delivering; a severe 

 rebuke to one of the most cruel and vulgar of fanciers' fallacies , 



I confess I never before heard of the ridiculous opinion, held 

 by a well-known judge, that the drooping part of a half-pricked 

 ear by vibration helped the dog to hear better. 



That judge is an instance of matter out of place. His 

 opinion shows he has had little experience, or is unobservant 

 of dogs, or he would know that every dog, whether with the 

 falhng ears of a hound, the half falling of a coUie, or the prick: 

 ears of a sky-terrier, erect the outer ear to the best of then- 

 ability when listening attentively, and even turn round the- 

 ear to some extent, to present the tnimpet Uke opening to the 

 direction fi-om which the sound seems to come. 



I cannot attempt to explain by what set of muscles this is 

 done, but perhaps "Hakim" will be so good as to do so. 



I was not prepared for such a strong opinion as "Hakim" ex- 

 presses when he says, "I hold that the flap [that part which 

 hangs down] is of no use whatever;" and this opinion he 

 strengthens by a quotation fiom our great naturalist, Dar-win. 



The theoi-y that drooping ears are the result of disease, 

 atrophy, or loss of power of the muscles from disease, may be 

 absolutely correct, although it makes a heavy demand on the 

 unlearned to beheve that the immensely long falling ears of the 

 Irish spaniel represent the result of a chsease of the normally 

 prick-ear dog, Stfil, so far I am aware, every one of the 

 Canidce in a state of nature has erect ears; and wo siUl have 

 some of our domesticated breeds— the Skye terrier and Pomer- 

 anian for instance — wherein that form is i-etained, and in many 

 breeds in which the drooping or half-drop ear is usual, well- 

 bred specimens crop np with erect or tuhp eai-s, as in the bull- 

 dog, greyhotmd. fox-terrier, etc. Will "Hakim" explain 

 why the Skye, Pomeranian, and other breeds long domesticated 

 have ears as erect as the domesticated S^irinam aguava dog, 

 or the dhole, dingo, jackal, or the wolf? 



Again, as to the nap being useless to pi'Otect the "ears irom 

 wet, dirt, etc., 1 should be inclined to differ from "Hakim' 

 for, whatever the cause of the alteration in position and form 

 of the external ear, it seems to me absurd to say that the flap 

 covering the orifice does not serve the purpose of keeping out 

 dirt. 



Dogs burrowing after vermin in light dry soil woidd surely 

 be moi e hkely to get fine particles of du't Intruding if the en- 

 trance to the meatus was only protected by the soft hairs that 

 guard it, than if, in addition, they have an outer bulwark of 

 skin folded loosely over it. Then, as to the protecti m afforded 

 against the peneti-ation of wet by the flap, has "Hakim" ever 

 been out with prLck-eared dogs in verj^ -Rret weather, and, if 

 so, has he observed how they depress the pinna as much as 

 they can to protect the ear? 



I find i have not been myself so closely observant of this as 

 I ought to have been, and therefore I appeal to readers to give 

 result of their observations. 



Had "Hakim" thought well to go into detail he would have 

 told us what a wonderful set of muscles the ear is furnished 

 with, and I wish he had, for then he must have referred to^ 

 and that to condemn, a fanciers' fallacy that is a disgrace to 

 the age. I mean the vile fashion that insists on artificially- 

 pricked ears, necessitating the cutting and hacking of skin and 

 muscles by those ignorant of their position. 



I hope ""Hakim" will revert to this, and also to the refined 

 cruelty which is its accompaniment. 



The long soft hairs which nature provides for the protection 

 of the auditory canal against the intrusion of extraneous mat- 

 ter, and also, I presume, against the effects of cold, for natur- 

 ally prick-eared dogs are most hberally provided with them, 

 are removed by fanciers of bull-terriei"s, or some other breeds, 

 therebjr, I contend, exposing a deUcate organ to inflammation 

 and its consequences. These pi-actices represent more serious 

 fanciers' fallacies than the silly opinion of a judge respecting 

 the vibrations of the l^med-down end of a semi-erect ear con- 

 veying the sonorous undulations to the auditory canal, and I 

 hope that ' 'Hakim" as a medical man wifi not spare such viUgai" 

 follies. Corsincon. 



THE STAFFORD SPRINGS DOG SHOW. — We have 

 received the premium list of the second annual dog show of 

 the Stafford Kennel Club, to be held at Stafford Springs, 

 Conn., in connection with the Stafford Agricultural Society's 

 fair Oct. 8 and 9. The entry fee will be fifty c< nts. to which 

 the club will add an equal amoimt, the total in each class to 

 be divided into thi-ee prizes, 50 per cent, to fii"st, 30 per cent, 

 to second, and 30 per cent, to third. Dr. George Walton, Bos- 

 ton, Mass., wfll judge all the classes. There will be special 

 cash jjrizes of $5 each or sdver medal awarded in the cham- 

 pion classes. Entries close Oct. 3. Da-vid Bissett, super- 

 intendent, Stafford Spi-lngs, Coim. 



THE DAYTON (O.) DOG SKOW.— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: The Du'ectoi-s of the Southern Ohio Fair Association 

 inform me that if the classes fill well this fall they expect to 

 make the bench show of dogs a regular fixture as part of 

 their annual fair. This association is incorporated imder the 

 laws of the State, and always pay their premiums in full. The 

 pi-ize list, both regular and special, is hberal and valuable. — 

 S. H, & S. 



