362 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[May 12. 1887. 



THE NEW YORK DOG SHOW. 



THE eleventh annual dog show of the Westminster Ken- 

 nel Club closed on Friday night, having had. good 

 weather and a very fair attendance throughout. It is said 

 that the show more than cleared expenses. 



In many respects this show stands out prominently among 

 others which have been held in New York. On the one 

 hand, the benching and all the interior arrangements were 

 far better thau we have ever seen before at New York. The 

 a ttendants were more civil and obliging, and seemed to take 

 better care, of the dogs; there were none of the unseemly 

 exhibitions of horseplay and skylarking on the part of these 

 men which have taken place, in former years, and which 

 have made it seem that the persons selected to care for the 

 animals had been picked up from the streets. The men 

 wore attentive and active, though they were heavily handi- 

 capped by the absurd system of benching, which permitted 

 an exhibitor who happened to be the owner of a fox-terrier, 

 a pointer and a mastiff to bench all his dogs together, au 

 arrangement which of necessity hid two of the dogs far 

 nwny far f rom the remainder of their class, and made it diffi- 

 cult, if not impossible, to find them when the time came for- 

 judging the classes to which they belonged. Of this system 

 we said a year ago: "This method has to recommend it 

 only the fact that it saves a keeper a few steps in caring for 

 the animals, and that it pleases the owner, who likes to see 

 his dogs together. The men whose duty it is to take the 

 animals into the judging ring suffer, however, and the 

 reporters, who also have to find" the dogs, and above all the 

 intelligent visitor, who desires to compare certain dogs in 

 the class, is greatly inconvenienced by the confusion. This 

 sort of thing should not be tolerated. The dogs should be 

 benched in order, the classes and the numbers following 

 one another in regular rotation." What we said then is 

 just as true now as it was last year. 



The garden was light and we'll veutilated. Some unpleas- 

 ant odor was noticed for a little, while on Thursday after- 

 noon, but it soon passed off. We have never seen better 

 arrangement for cleanliness and for exercising. 



The catalogue called for 976 dogs, and of these over 80 were 

 announced as not for competition in the regular classes. 

 This reduced the number of competitors to less than 900, 

 from which must be taken the absentees. A comparison of 

 the catalogue entries can be made from the following table : 



COMPARATIVE TABLE OF ENTRIES. 



Breeds. 



1877 



i 



1378 1879 



I 



1880 



1881 



1882 



1883 



1883 



1885 



1886 



1887 



Mastiffs 



20 



Is 



20 



36 



24 



36 



61 



40 



43 



44 



36 



St. Bernards 



17 



16 



U 



33 



24 



52 



64 



97 



73 



93 



111.! 



Bergliunde 













8 





5 







Newfoundlands 



13 



13 



20 







20 



8 



15 



17 



11 



'9 





IS 





15 



15 



28 



28 



20 



16 

 18 



19 



24 



18 



Deeriiounds 



It 



~i 







4 



11 





14 



15 



20 



Pointers 



121 



S3 



138 



134 



125 



114 



112 



14!) 



Tim 



96 



113 



English Betters 



203 



123 



157 





too 



172 



159 



150 



77 



102 



101 



Black & tan set ters 



65 



64 



73 



74 



91 



53 



56 



53 



36 



38 



14 



Irish setters 



149 



108 



158 



135 



97 



99 



97 



10B 



84 



67 



63 



Chesapeake Bay, . . 















7 



3 



4 



1 





Irish water spaniels 



ii 



i7 



8 



*7 



io 



i7 



6 



3 



1 



1 



'i 



Field spaniels . 



83 



18 



31 



41 



43 



56 



8 



13 



20 



19 



17 







































45 



31 



39 



59 



49 



Foxhounds 



14 



46 



9 



9 



18 



13 



10 



13 



5 



u 



7 





6 



5 



15 



13 



36 



13 



10 



22 



26 



31 



24 



















2 



1 



4 





Dachshuudo 



lfi 



11 



8 



9 



17 



J2 



6 



11 



19 



10 



11 



Fox-teriiers 



m 



36 



45 



C3 



89 



60 



56 



78 



50 



89 



79 



Collies 



8 



IB 



16 



31 



so 



60 



71 



72 



85 



103 



86 



Bulldogs 



10 



JO 



8 



19 



15 



14 



23 



20 



17 



12 



26 



Bull-terriers 



U 



29 



30 



81 



23 



24 



15 



19 



34 



35 

 8 



30 





23 



17 



15 



10 



19 



12 



13 



14 



7 



7 



Irish terriers 











4 



3 



5 





4 



5 



8 



Rout;h terriers 











5 



10 



4 



ij 



11 



2 



4 



Bl.ick and tans 



13 



20 



13 



9 



6 



14 



8 





9 



6 



5 



Dan die Dinmonts. 



10 



3 



8 



6 



5 



6 



4 



8 



. 6 



3 



2 



Befllrngton terriers 

















3 



6 



7 



3 



Yorkshire terriers. 





39 



36 



26 



30 



18 



23 



35 



30 



19 



25 



Toy terriers. . . — 



si 



13 



9 



18 



5 



10 



10 



U 



18 



8 



17 



Pugs 



27 



30 



33 



33 



22 



32 



40 



47 



31 



23 



23 

 ti 



Toy spaniels 



8 



13 



13 



9 



13 



ir, 



10 



15 



18 



29 

 6 



1 1 ;l] ;an greyhounds 



6 



14 



9 



10 



10 





6 



5 



5 



9 



Poodles 

















11 



20 



15 



20 



Miscellanea us 



23 



8 



27 



38 



23 



is 



26 



11 



28 



19 



12 



English bloodh'nds 



















3 



ii 



6 

 1 



Of the above, 1 mastiff, 14 St Bernards, 32 pointers, 8 English 

 setters and 25 collies were entered as not for competition in the 

 regular classes. 



Just how many absentees there were we do not know, but 

 we understand that out of the 113 pointers entered only 02 

 competed for the prizes. As nearly as we can get at it the 

 number of dogs present and for competition was between 

 725 and 750— nearer the former than the latter. 



After a very brief and superficial examination of the 

 spaniel classes on the opening day of the show, we stated 

 that these were good. A more critical inspection of the 

 dogs obliges us to reverse this statement, spaniels were poor, 

 worse even than at Hartford. 



It seems inevitable that we should have bad judging at 

 New York. Last year it was as bad as bad could be, this 

 year it was scarcely better. Many of the classes were 

 slaughtered. Pointers, setters, St. Bernards, spaniels, deer- 

 houuds and others suffered. Of course we expect mistakes 

 to be made, but it will not do to have all the awards wrong. 

 It is curious, as well as unfortunate, that so many of our 

 judges are unable to stick to any one type of dog. They 

 seem to have in their mind no clear idea of what a perfect 

 dog of any special breed should be, but select for first prize 

 a clog of one type, give second to an animal of another, and 

 distribute their otner prizes in a sort of haphazard way, 

 which cannot fail to be very confusing to exhibitors who de- 

 pend on the judges' decisions for their ideas of the type of 

 dog which they should strive to breed. W r e had striking ex- 

 amples of this at New York in some of the classes, while 

 in others— notably the fox-terrier class— the judge, with some 

 of whose decisions we are obliged to differ— certainly kept to 

 his type throughout. 



At this, the last of the important shows of the year, it 

 seems_ proper to speak of an abuse which is beginning to 

 creep into our shows. At Hartford and Philadelphia the 

 pointer Naso of Kippen was taken away, after he had won 

 hjs prizes, on a veterinarian's certificate. At Hartford a 

 beagle was taken out the same way, and it has been stated 

 that these dogs were taken out in order that they might be 

 conditioned for coming shows. If this is the case a mani- 

 fest injustice is done other exhibitors. If a dog is really 

 sick there is no reason why he should not be permitted to 

 go home, but no certificate should be given unless the 

 owner is really entitled to it. 



MASTIFFS— (ME. MEAD). 



The quality of these classes— thanks to Mr. Moore— was 

 somewhat better than last year. Homer, the home-bred son 

 ot Cato, and II ford Caution, the grand-headed son of Crown 

 Prince, were the entries m the champion, class for dogs. The 

 blue ribbon was given to Homer, and we scarcely need sav 

 that it should have gone to Caution. The Melrose dog out- 

 scores his opponent so very many points in head, size and 

 character, that the Wmlawn Kennels' representative cannot 

 fairly regain the lost points with his better loin, quarters 

 and hocks. Prussian Princess probably scored her last win 

 in the champion class at this show, and must soon make 

 way for The Lady Clare, Lady Dorothy and one or two other 



better ones. A good bitch always, but never quite first-class, 

 she has had a successful career in this country. Prince Wal- 

 demar, who has not been exhibited since he made his debut 

 at Boston two years ago, was correctly placed at the head of 

 the open class for dogs. He shows considerable true mastiff 

 character, but is too small and is rather deficient in muzzle, 

 eyes and bone. He has neat ears and excellent coat and 

 color. Pharaoh, that should have been second last year, 

 equalized things this year by taking the prize from a better 

 dog, and is now even with the New York judges. His place 

 on this occasion should have been occupied by Orion. 

 This gigantic son of Boatswain and Nelly has many 

 points to commend him. His muzzle, while too long, 

 is square in outline; he has plenty of ear, is too 

 flat in rib and would do with more bone. His skull is 

 much above the average, loin and quarters excellent, legs 

 straight as gun barrels, capital feet. Boss, third prize, got 

 more than he deserved. Pie is not of correct type, and was 

 shown very much too fat. We would have placed Waldemar 

 first, Orion second and Pharoah third, with Boss vhc. Hil- 

 debert, vhc, is still very light and shelly: he. would have 

 been plenty for him. Vulcan, he, was vhc. last year. Duke 

 is not a show dog— very poor head. Kaffir, he, 'is leggy and 

 light, has a bad head, and shows very little character, Jag, 

 he, , has a domed skull and heavy ears; in fact, a very houndy 

 head. He was a lucky dog. Argus, c, has a long, houndy 

 head and very poor coat; he should not have been noticed. 

 Minting was entered in this class, but did not compete. He 

 came on to take care of the Mastiff Club's challenge cup for 

 the best mastiff dog, and won it, with many points to spare. 

 This is a magnificent specimen of the modern mastiff, and 

 keeps on improving. Pie outclassed everything in his class. 

 First in the bitch class was fairly won by The Lady Clare. 

 This good-looking bitch was very fully described in our 

 Philadelphia report. Her condition was a cretlit to those 

 who have her in hand. Leaving Lady Dorothy out of the 

 question, she is the best mastiff bitch in America. The 

 judge very properly reversed the Boston decision by placing 

 Southern Belle over Lady Gladys. Her ladyship is now a 

 cripple and should be retired. We are surprised that 

 her owner should have thought that a breeder of 

 mastiffs would indorse the. Boston award in her favor. 

 We were the first in this country to say a good word for 

 this bitch's many sterling qualities, but dogs must be 

 judged as they are and not by what they may have been in 

 the past or may be in the future. Southern Belle is well 

 known to your readers. Lady Dorothy was absent. Ger- 

 man Kmpress, vhc. ; should have been third instead of Lady 

 Gladys. She is fairly good in skull, but lacks volume ot 

 muzzle, and would do with more bone. Gypsey, c, is 

 houndy iu head and her heavy ears are not black." She is 

 also light of bone and leggy. Puppies, as usual, were a 

 poor lot. Who will be the first American to breed a high- 

 class mastiff ? At present the odds are in favor of Boston. 

 Homer, Jr., first prize in the class for dogs, will not develop 

 into a good one. His head is not first-class and his ears are 

 much too large. In body he is fairly good at present. Noble 

 Caution is not good in head and ears, neither is his body 

 first-class. Bruno, he, will not make a show dog. His long 

 houndy head will always put him on a back seat. Duchess, 

 a daughter of Ilford Caution, was the best puppy shown ; 

 she was first at Boston. Topsy, second prize, is sister to the 

 winner in the dog class, and has the same defects. 



ST. BERNARDS— (MR. MORTIMER). 

 The quality of these classes was about the same as last 

 year, when Mr. Tucker judged, but the dogs were not nearly 

 so well handled, and considerable dissatisfaction was mani- 

 fest. It was conceded that the classes should have been 

 better j-idged than on any previous occasion, seeing that the 



i"udge received the entries and had the dogs' records before 

 lim, as well as the opinions of competent authority. We 

 hope the judge's memory failed him or that he got badly 

 mixed, as we would be sorry to think such awards were 

 made after careful consideration. Mastiffs and St. Bernards 

 are very large classes, and a large sum of money is invested 

 in them, and for these reasons, if for no others, only judges of 

 acknowledged experience and ability should be intrusted to 

 handle them. The blunders made iu these classes emphasize 

 the opinions recently expressed on such questions in these 

 columns. Merchant Prince, Otho and Duke of Leeds com- 

 peted in the champion class for rough-coated dogs, and the 

 prize was given to the former. We protest most emphatically 

 against this and the like awards as not being in accordance 

 with the requirements of any standard that has ever been 

 adopted or suggested. That Merchant Prince and Otho are 

 good dogs, and able to hold their own in keen competition, 

 is well Known, but they are not of the same class as Mr. 

 Hearn's magnificent dog, and the latter was shown in superb 

 condition. In loin and quarters Merchant Prince is better 

 thau Duke of Leeds, and in carriage of tail he is decidedly 

 better. We must not be understood as meaning to convey 

 the impression that Duke of Leeds is bad either iu loin or 

 hindquarters, for such is not the case. He is very good be- 

 hind the back ribs for so large a dog, but Merchant Prince 

 is better. In head, eyes, chest, coat, color, markings, forelegs, 

 expression, character and quality the. Duke of Leeds is clearly 

 ahead of Mr. Moore's good looking dog, and should have won 

 hands down. Before, the withers Otho can beat either Duke 

 of Leeds or Merchant Prince, but he fails behind. Rhona, 

 Swiss Beda and Miranda competed in the champion class 

 for bitches, and Rhona was properly given the prize. They 

 are well known. Barry II., a white and brindle dog, shown 

 by Mr. W. J. Ehrich, was the best dog in the open class and 

 was given first. 11 e is deficient in muzzle and stop, carries his 

 tail very badly and is not well marked; he also stands back 

 a bit at the knees, and is not first-class either in eyes or ex- 

 pression. In other respects he is a good dog. Hadjar, second 

 prize, has put on flesh and was rightlv placed second. But 

 whatever the judge could see in the third prize winner is a 

 mystery to us. The dog does not show a particle of St. Ber- 

 nard character. He has wretched head, ears and eyes, and 

 is as bad behind as he is in front; coat and color all wrong. 

 To make matters worse he has not a tooth in his head and 

 was shown as fat as a pig. There were at least twelve better 

 dogs in the class. Third should have gone to Eiger, with 

 Visp II. and Alvier next in order of merit. Rex, unnoticed, 

 while faulty iu head, legs and feet, is a much better dog 

 than the third priae winner, and so is Bronze. Ajax, who 

 was not mentioned, is deficient in head and is not straight in 

 front, but a much better dog than the third prize winner, and 

 Lord Randolph, c. , fairly outclassed him. This dog deserved 

 another letter, He is faulty in head and tail and his coat is 

 not good; still, he beats the third prize winner, and Dare, 

 Mountaineer and St. Triphon. The quality in this class was 

 not good for a large show. In the bitch class St. Bride, in 

 nice form, was the best, but why second was given to 

 Duchess of Leeds we cannot say. She has a very poor head, 

 is light of bone, and her markings and tail are certainly not 

 correct. Leaving points entirely out of the question, her con- 

 dition alone should have kept her back. Norah, he, and 

 well known, was about the best bitch in the class. Sheba, 

 vhc, in same ownership, is not so good a bitch. Recluse, 

 reserve, is not so good as Norah. These hitches are well known 

 to our readers. Puppies were very poor; not a good one in the 

 lot. Apollo, Hector, Montrose and Don II. were the entries 

 in the champion class for smooth-coated dogs and as was ex- 

 pected the former won. Hector has improved on his puppy 

 form, and while not so large as Apollo, he outclasses him in 

 head, is better in loin and quite his equal in other respects; 

 he should have won with several points to spare, Apollo's 

 houndy head does not improve with age, and heavy work in 

 the stud has weakened his loin and quarters. He does not 

 transmit his hound qualities and is still a valuablestud dog, 

 but we fail to understand how a judge of the breed could 



place him first in the company he met on this occasion. Vic- 

 , tor Joseph, a dog of altogether different type, was selected 

 ! for the blue ribbon in the next class and was well placed 

 first. He is in the same owmership as Apollo, and if the 

 latter was the best dog in the champion class Victor Joseph 

 was clearly not entitled to the prize in this class. There is 

 not a particle of consistency in such work and the award of 

 first to Victor Joseph, if just, and we are sure it was, is 

 evidence conclusive that Apollo was not the best dog in his 

 class. Victor Joseph is a young dog of more than ordinary 

 merit. His muzzle would be improved bv depth and 

 squareness; his back is a trifle slack and his ribs 

 might be carried further back; good chest and quarters; 

 forelegs not quite straight, has lots of bone and 

 excellent feet. His body marking is not correct and his 

 coat is too long. With the exception of coat, color and 

 markings, he is a much better dog than Apollo. Lecco, sec- 

 ond prize, is not first-class in head, and is a trifle slack in 

 back; good chest and loin, quarters and hocks straight, fore- 

 legs not quite straight and light of bone. He was closely 

 pressed by Rigi, who is well known. Wotan and Eric have, 

 been fully described in these columns. Belle of Sterling, 

 Flora II., Alma II., winners in the bitch class, are well 

 known. Peter, first in the class for dog puppies, is not good 

 in head, and not likely to develop into a future winner. The 

 unnamed puppy, placed second, is too young to say much 

 about, but we fancy he will make a better dog than the first 

 prize winner. A poor class. The winner in the correspond- 

 ing bitch class was sold the first day of the show and taken 

 out of the building. We wonder when this sort of thing is 

 to be stopped; it should not be tolerated at a well-conducted 

 show. The second prize winner is not good in head and will 

 not be found in the van next season. These were the 

 only entries in the class. A poor showing. Mr. Haines 

 made quite a large entry, but his kennel did not compete for 

 any of the prizes. 



NEWFOUNDLANDS AND GREAT DANES— (MR. BARLOW). 

 These classes were poorly represented. In the one for 

 Newfoundlands first prize was properly withheld and second 

 given to Nicholas, a very ordinary specimen. He is good in 

 coat, back and loin, bxit his snipy muzzle, faulty eyes and 

 straight hocks will always keep him back in fairly good 

 company. Gypsey, faulty in muzzle, eyes, quarters, tail 

 and coat, was second. The others were a wretched lot- 

 black dogs aud nothing more. Don Caesar is many points 

 ahead of Leo and easily won the ten dollars offered for the 

 best Great Dane. There were some very seedy looking 

 specimens in this class. 



DEERHOUNBS— (MR. PIERSON) 



The judge was all at sea with these classes, except when 

 it was impossible for him to get wrong. Chieftain and 

 Wanda, as usual were the champions. In the open class for 

 dogs Robber Chieftain, carefully handled by his owner, 

 took first, and second was given to Garry. He has heavy 

 drop ears, light eyes, is down at shoulders, long cast, rather 

 straight in hocks, very wide in front andheavvin shoulders, 

 with legs badly placed and very crooked— not a show dog. 

 Calck was third. He is an undersized dog with no preten- 

 sions to show form. Highland Laddie, vhc, is worth a 

 hundred such dogs as the second and third prize winners. 

 Bras was absent. Highland Laddie should, of course, 

 have been second. The judge appeared to know the win- 

 ners in the bitch class and the first and second were properly 

 placed. Lady Boswell, given third, is not a show bitch. 

 She has a bad head, short neck, is down at the shoulders 

 and not well sprung in the ribs, flat in loin, travels with her 

 hocks close together and is light of bone and undersized. 

 Her coat is fairly good. Six puppies were shown and the 

 prizes went to Mr. Thayer, who showed Robber Chieftain, 

 King of the Forest, Theodora and Lorna Secunda, We shall 

 hope another year to see these classes handled by a com- 

 petent judge. 



GREYHOUNDS— (MR. P1ERSON). 

 There was only one entry (Mother Demdike) in the cham- 

 pion class, and the open classes were filled wdth the worst 

 lot of weeds we have seen this year, The management is 

 alone to blame for this falling oft in quality. First prize was 

 withheld in the open dog class and second given to Joe 

 Jumper, who is not a show dog. Third prize was given to 

 Beauty, also a bad one. There were three entries|in the class. 

 First in hitches was given to Psyche, probably on account of 

 her color. She is a "prick-eared one" with light quarters. 

 Dora, second prize, while not a show bitch is better than the 

 winner. Her head won't do for the bench. Satchel, third 

 prize, was second at Boston and is also a poor specimen. 

 Queen in Black, second at Hartford (first withheld for want 

 of merit), was first in the puppy class. Maud S.. second 

 prize, is a better bitch, but will not make a good one, 



POINTERS— (MR. DONNER). 

 In champion dogs over 55lbs., Robert le Diable, in the ab- 

 sence of Nick of Naso, had a walk oyer. He was in good 

 condition; better than at Boston. In the heavy weight bitch 

 class there were no entries. In the open dog class Tammany 

 took first. Our opinion of him has often been given. Drake, 

 second, is a strong, coarse dog, and was not in good condi- 

 tion. The same is true of Neversink, who is wide in front 

 and very throaty. Shirley, vhc, Joe and Captain Fred, he, 

 and Glen, e, deserve no special mention. This was a 

 very rough class. We thought the prizes well placed. 

 In bitches over 501bs., first went to Tuck, transferred 

 from Class 39. She was undoubtedly the best in her 

 class, though not a first-rater. Belle, second, has rather 

 a coarse head and neck, but is otherwise a fair bitch, 

 and deserved the reserve card. Jilt, third, deserved her 

 place. Madge, reserve, transferred from Class 39, should 

 have been second. Jewel and Lady each c. In the light 

 weight dog class, first went to Mr. Hitchcock's new dog 

 Duke of Hessen. He is in many respects a good one, but has 

 light eyes, neck not clean, is a little faulty in quarters and 

 has a bad tail. Third ivent, and rightly, to Vanderbilt, 

 weak-headed and with badly carried ears. Puck, a pretty 

 bad one, deserved third. Naso of Devonshire, vhc. reserve, 

 was described at Newark. Bang Grace, vhc, is not so good 

 as Bon Ton, having bad head and bad shoulders. The latter 

 is coarse in head, but a better dog. Penelope, who took e at 

 Boston, was first here. She is weedy and snipy, but has 

 good quarters, legs and feet. Kent Queen, third, snipy, legs 

 badly placed, should have been first. Anna Hutchinson, 

 second— whose name in the puppy class is Williams— seemed 

 to have a deformed chest, but was taken away before we had 

 an opportunity to examine her closely. Pocahontas, vhc. 

 reserve, is very coarse in head. Nell, vhc, is weak in head, 

 wide in front and rather light of bone. She deserved her card 

 in this class. Frank has a poor head. Iu dog puppies, Ned 

 B., fully desci-ibed in our Hartford report, took first. Jersey 

 Bang Bang, second, has a poor head, is bad in shoulders, 

 forelegs and feet, has a fairly good body and straight stifles. 

 He was worth about he Naso of Devonshire, vhc. reserve, 

 well known, should have had second. The others were not 

 worth mention. In bitch puppies, Pansy was first. She 

 should have changed places with Mayflower, who was third, 

 and was described at Newark. Pansy is faulty in head, 

 leggy and light, Wanda, second, has a poor head, light of 

 bone, bad feet, and lacks substan;e generally. She was not 

 worth more than he It is a fitting commentary on the qual- 

 ity of the pointers at this show to allude to' the fact that 

 Tuck, first in her class at New York, took he Boston, and 

 Penelope, first in hers here, took e at Boston. 



ENGLISH SETTERS— (MR. DONNER). 



In champion dogs, Royal Albert, transferred from the 

 open class, met and defeated Rockingham. He has been 

 fully described in our previous reports, but was looking bet 



