Dec. 13, 1888,] 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



417 



(The winners of first and second, though being far ahead 

 of F, cauuot compete for tbe cup. because, though also bred 

 in America, they are owned by non-members.) 



A case like this would be a greater injustice yet than the 

 one of the dog D, and this ought to, and certainly will, be 

 remedied by "those who govern the club." I was present 

 at the rueetiug, and I do confess that a case like the fore- 

 going did uot come up in the minds of any of those present. 

 It is not always easy, especially at a meeting, the time for 

 which is limited, to foresee how far-reachiug a decision may 

 possibly be. K. E. Hope. 



Arlington, N. J., Dec. 11. 



MASTIFF PRIZES. 



Editor Foi'&ti and Stream: 



At the thirteenth annual show of the Westminster Kennel 

 Club, to be held Feb. 19 to 23, 1889, the American Mastiff 

 Club offers the following prizes: 



1. The Westminster challenge cup, value $300, for the best 

 dog or bitch, under three years of age, owned by a member 

 of the American Mastiff Club. 



2. The Taunton gold cbaileuge medal, value $50 (breeders' 

 prize), for the best American-bred mastiff, the contestant to 

 be under two years of age; entries to be made before Feb. 1, 

 1889, with the secretary of the American Mastiff Chib; entry 

 fee, 85: the aggregate of the entry fees to go to the exhibitor 

 and the medal to be held until the next competition by the 

 breeder. 



3. The club's silver challenge cup, value $150, for the best 

 American-bred dog or bitch. 



4. The club's two challenge cups, value $100 each, one for 

 the best mastiff dog, one for the best mastiff bitch, the prop- 

 erty of a member of the American Mastiff Club. 



5. Silver medal to the winner of each of these three cups. 



6. Mastiff puppy sweepstakes, open to all comers, a sweep- 

 stake of $5 each for mastiff puppies born on or after Feb. 1, 

 1888, in the United States or Canada. Entries close Feb. 1, 

 1889. 



For further particulars address Secretary American 

 Mastiff Club, 9 West Thirty-fifth street. New York city. 



BREEDER AND EXHIBITOR. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



It is always a difficult thing to write about other peoples' 

 dogs without giving dire offense to their owners, for it is 

 acknowledged on all sides, and the kennel journals teem 

 with evidence in support of the statement, that a slight or 

 anything which is even imagined as a reflection upon any 

 dog renders its owner more indignant than any thiug written 

 about himself. In what I am about to say I therefore desire 

 most emphatically to assure all concerned that such a wish 

 is furthest from my thoughts, and my sole object is to draw 

 the, attention of breeders in general, and if possible, of the 

 outside public, to what is doing a good deal of harm to the 

 interests of the fancy. 



I will mainly confine my remarks to collies as a breed 

 with which I am more intimately concerned, and, therefore, 

 one ou which I can speak more by the book and with less 

 liability to error than on any other. Of late years, and par- 

 ticularly within the past two or three, the desire of one or 

 two exhibitors has been to obtain a monopoly of the prizes, 

 the result of which is undoubtedly to deter a goodly number 

 of others from taking up the breed and rendering others 

 chary of entering into competition with the big ex- 

 hibitors. 1 do not think any one will dispute the state- 

 ment that Mr. T. H. Terry (now Hempstead Farm Co.) 

 and Mr. Mitchell Harrison, of the Chestnut Hill Ken- 

 nels, have both occupied in the order named the position of 

 leading exhibitor of the day. It is neither necessary nor 

 desirable to describe the merits of their dogs, that not being 

 a factor in the point of view I propose taking of the subject. 

 It is sufficient to say that the Hempstead Farm Go. adver- 

 tises that their dogs have won 150 prizes in England and 

 A merica, and that Mr. Mitchell Harrison can lay claim to 

 his dogs having carried off," with but few exceptions, the 

 prizes at all the leading shows during the past two years. 

 That is all that concerns the prospective dabbler in the breed, 

 and in. many cases the breeder who desires to add to his 

 kennels. Now what I want to draw attention to is that 

 there is a very wide difference between the winnings of these 

 exhibitors and say, for instance, those of Messrs. McEwen 

 and Gibson, of Canada. I willingly admit that we are all 

 much indebted to the first two named for the increased inter- 

 est developed in collies, and to look at it from a commercial 

 point of view, the enhanced value of good specimens. Be- 

 yond that I will not concede that such exhibitors are doing 

 good to the fancy. Very decidedly I am of the opinion that 

 the men who breed the dogs are the ones whose merits and 

 claims are overlooked by this monopoly of prize winning. 



Let us take up the catalogue of the last New York show. 

 The largest exhibitor of collies was the Hempstead Farm 

 Co., with six entries in the champion classes, two open dogs, 

 five bitches, two dog puppies and four bitch puppies, a total 

 of nineteen. Of these Robin Adair was not for competition, 

 Tweed II. was absent, as were also Zulu Princess and La.dy 

 of the Lake, but that does not affect the facts I want to 

 adduce, which are that with all the presumed advantages of 

 possessing a kennel the members of which had won 150 

 prizes, the Hempstead Farm Co. could not produce one of 

 their own breeding which took a prize, except Sable Lassie, 

 second in bitch puppies. In fact, it is only possible to find 

 the great credit mark "breeder, owner," attached to six 

 puppy entries, of which Glenlyon was vhc. in dogs and 

 Sable Lassie, just referred to, caught the eye of the judge. 

 Nor can it be said that any dog was exhibited at New York 

 bred at the Hempstead Farm or got by one of their dogs 

 that won anything. The record for this exhibitor stands as 

 follows: Second in champion bitches with Lady Ellis, bred 

 by John Ellis; first in open dogs with Bendigo, bred by J. 

 and W. H. Charles; he. in open dogs with Gilford, bred by 

 S. T. Mercier; vhc. with Glenlyon, breeder, owner; and 

 second with Sable Lassie, breeder owner, in dog and bitch 

 ptyppies respectively. 



The Chestnut Hill Kennel has a far better record in all 

 respects than this. Mr. Harrison made three champion en- 

 tries, two open dogs, three bitches, one dog puppy and two 

 bitch puppies. Out of this total of eleven, only one was 

 entered "ureeder, owner," and that was Roslyn Vera. 

 Champion dog prize was won by Scotilla, breeder, Mr, S. T. 

 Mercier; champion bitch prize by Flurry II., breeder. W. R. 

 Dockrell; second, dog class, Roslyn Sensation, breeder, 

 Robert Buckle; high com., David, breeder, A. R. Kyle; first, 

 bitch class, Bertha, breeders, J. & W. H. Charles; second, 

 Roslyn Vera, breeder, owner; reserve, Priscilla, breeder, Dr. 

 John P. Gray; second, dog puppies, Roslyn Sensation, 

 breeder, Robert Buckle; first, bitch puppies, Roslyn Vera, 

 breeder, owner; second, Priscilla, breeder, Dr. John P. 

 Gray. A great record for any kennel, but the list of breeders 

 demonstrates the fact that a good bank account was the 

 "open-sesame" to the prize list. On the other hand credit 

 must be given the kennel as being the owner of the sire of 

 Roslyn Sensation, David, Thistle (he. dog puppies) and Jen- 

 nie M. (reserve, bitch puppies) all by Strephon; of Lorna 

 Thorpe (he. bitch class), by Nullaniore, and of Priscilla, 

 Volunteer and Robin Gray, all by Dublin Scot out of Effie 

 Dean II. Volunteer was third and Robin Gray reserve in 

 dog puppy classes. 



I think I have pretty conclusively shown that while ample 

 means is one very safe way to make up a prize winning 

 kennel, it is a widely different thing to breed the winners, 

 and I venture the prediction now that the youne entry of 

 1889 willshow no change whatever from the' record of 1888. 



Hence I can only repeat in public what I have so frequently 

 done in letters to those complaining to me of the uselessness 

 of exhibiting against monopoly kennels, "Do not be dis- 

 couraged; you have only to look at the names of the breed- 

 ers of the winners to see that you are on an equal footing as 

 a breeder with any man in the country." 



A man to be successful as a breeder must look a little 

 deeper than the name of the prize winner. It is what follows 

 that tells the story— the strain that produced the winner. If 

 your own dog cannot produce winners after a fair trial don't 

 waste time over him but go to the dog that is getting win- 

 ners. Above all remember that the Arabs do not sell their 

 choico mares, and if you possess a bitch that has thrown 

 winners you are only slaying the goose that lays the golden 

 egg if you sell her before your end is attained. 



Jas. Watson. 



THE SPANIELS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



"An Onlooker" a short time ago said he would meet my 

 dogs under an v judge, but he backed down when I "called 

 the turn" on him. He now says he has an "extreme" that 

 can beat auy of my dogs for "a hundred or a thousand 

 yards." I accept his challenge. I will meet him half way. 

 To go 1,000yds. is no test of eudurance. Make it 2,000 and' I 

 will allow you 50yds. Make it ten miles and I'll give you 

 one mile and a beating. After the race I'll run the same 

 dog against any other extreme you own; then I'll give you 

 a whirl after ru tied grouse. If I do uot get two birds to your 

 one I lose the marbles. 



My dogs are not whippets, and a race is not a good test of 

 the working qualities of a spauiel; but "An Onlooker" is 

 afraid to meet my dogs ou the bench, so I will give him a 

 chance on the race track. 



I do not think he ever saw the dogs he writes of, or else he 

 would never compare the two extremes in cockerdom — Mike 

 and Baby Obo; and I did uot ''slump over" when I gave Mike 

 firstatl'iiiladelphia. Neither Mr, Watson nor' 'An Onlooker" 

 can alter the records. 



My brain never ferments nor do I ever change my style, 

 as I know the style you must have to do the work that is 

 required of a cocker; but it is my misfortune to be poor, and 

 my dogs must pay for their keep, so I am forced to breed a 

 few "crocodiles" for "fancy" judges and dude sportsmen 

 who only hunt on paper or at their writing desk. These 

 dogs 1 call show spaniels. 



The work of the dog is loo slow, but as sure as bricks, wc know, 



And we must not forget, wkeu the ground is wet, 

 To leave him at home, don't you know? 



When the winds of winter blow his little short legs cannot go, 

 And April showers they tax all his powers 



To crawl through the mud, don't you know? 

 You will find that it ever is so, that he only is fit to show. 



For fine weather you'll wait, or as sure as fate 

 You will carry him home, don't you know? 



When we have the race "Onlooker" will be a long way 

 after J. Otis Fellows. 



llORNKia.sviLnu, X. Y., Dec. 3. 



[Is it not about time to cease vexing the muse, and to con- 

 fine this discussion within the limits of plain prose?] 



SALISBURY'S PEDIGREE. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



Really, in spite of your P. D., I don't believe I am respon- 

 sible for the blunder in my last to you. However, for the 

 correct reading of pedigree* of Peeress, please read "Lion by 

 Mr, Han bury ! s Prince out of his Peeress," not Duchess, as 

 you have it, ' Further, I note that Mr. Mason makes a slight 

 mistake in writing of Bosco II ; the dog he refers to was 

 Bosco without the 11. Bosco II. (E. 12,815) was another dog, 

 by Emperor, and owned by Mr. G. H. Jones of London, 

 and was first at Birmingham iu 1882; Bosco HI. was a litter 

 brother to Hero II., owned by Calder of Aberdeen and im- 

 ported to this country, owned here, I think, by Mr. Laban 

 Pratt. It was the stud card of this Bosco III. on which that 

 "Official Stud Book of the American Kennel Club, Sir!" 

 pedigree of Corsair was built, for in this stud card we had 

 "Massou's Salsbury," which was repeated in "The Official" 

 pedigree. I suppose it was this younger half brother of the 

 original Bosco being III. that led Mr. Mason to call the 

 original II. 



Thei'e is a bit of inside history about the original Bosco. 

 His dam, Venus (dam of Hero II.). visited Mr. Exley's Victor 

 in his extreme old age, and the dog's infirmities promised to 

 defeat all prospects of progeny, but Mr. Exley would not 

 give it up, saying to his kenhelman, "We must get another 

 litter from the old dog before he dies," and at last their 

 efforts were rewarded with success and the sole result of the 

 service was one pup, and that pup was Bosco, by very far 

 the best that Victor ever got. Mr. Exley described Bosco as 

 by far the best dog he had ever seen, and deplored his early 

 death as a great loss to mastiff interests. Under other cir- 

 cumstances I would feel called on to resent the somewhat 

 stinging remarks Mr, Mason makes on me, but as I freely 

 admit that my hasty judgment led me to perpetrate a most 

 cruel wrong toward' Mr. Mason, he is fairly entitled to this, 

 the first sting he has given me on the matter. While I do 

 not feel warranted in going into the question of who the 

 real forger of that pedigree was as fully as Mr. Mason has 

 done, I may say that I ransacked Bradford, Leeds and Eng- 

 land generally when I was digging at this pedigree, and 

 from parties thoroughly posted I received accounts not con- 

 flicting with Mr. Mason's statements. 



Mr. Mason omits the names of several mastiff men who 

 would have tripped him up in a minute if he had perpetrated 

 the bare-faced swindle he is charged with. Capt. Cautley 

 still took interest iu mastiffs at that time, so did John 

 Turner, and what they didn't know of mastiffs and mastiff 

 pedigrees in their neighborhood wasn't worth knowing. 

 Mr. M. B. Wynn knew all about the line of dogs represented 

 in Salisbury's pedigree, and knew every mastiff mau that 

 Mr. Mason or I have mentioned, and I do not think that he 

 and Mr. Mason were very friendly at that time, yet he 

 never said that there was any reason to suppose that Mr. 

 Mason was cognizant of the bogus character of the pedigree. 

 Many thanks to C. W. C, re Waterton. W. WADE. 



Huniox, Pa., Dec. 8. 



THE AMERICAN FIELD TRIALS. 



[Special to Forest and Stream.] 



WEST POINT, Miss., Dec.10.— The American Field Trials 

 began here to-day with the Derby. Of the 50 nominations 

 there were 15 starters drawn to run as follows: Hope against 

 Betty, Zaek against Wee Daisy, Lottie C. against Daisy 

 Fisher, Mary Mead against Orlando, Rod's Gal against 

 Count Piedmont, Cecil against Sonnie, Flossie Noble against 

 Roi D'Or, Tennie a bye. In the first series Betty beat Daisy's 

 Hope, Wee Daisy beat Zaek, Lottie C. beat Daisy Fisher, 

 Orlando beat Mary Mead, Count Piedmont beat Rod's Gal, 

 Cecil beat Sonnie," Roi D'Or beat Flossie Noble. In the sec- 

 ond series the heat between Betty and Tennie was unfin- 

 ished. The judges are J. H, Gilbert, H. B. Duryea and R. 

 L. McCook." There was severe rain last night, making 

 the ground very heavy. The weather to-day is clear. The 

 grounds are good and birds are fairly plentiful. The cover 

 is of rank growth, making it rather difficult to see the work 

 of the dogs. 



THE HEMPSTEAD RABBIT BUSINESS. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



There is something so farcical in the proceedings connected 

 with the prosecution of August Belmont, Jr., his man Wil- 

 liam and others, on the charge of rabbit coursing, that the 

 real merits of the question supposed to beat issue— the legiti- 

 macy of coursing— is apt to be lost sight of in the ridicule 

 with which both, prosecutors and accused have covered them- 

 selves. Coursing is a sport of vast antiquity, dating from 

 as remote a period as the early settlement of the Aryan 

 peoples in Persia. The term is not generally applied to fox 

 hunting, or to pursuing a hare ou scent with harriers, the 

 pursuit by scent, whether of the stag, the fox or the hare, 

 being spoken of as hunting, while the term coursing is eon- 

 fined to running with greyhounds or gaze hounds on sight. 



The pastime of coursing deer and antelope is very popular 

 among the Persian nobles to this day, and very considerable 

 care is taken in maintaining their breed of greyhounds, the 

 best dogs of which are valued at a very high price. The 

 sport is scarcely less popular in England, where it is con- 

 fined to hares. Small dogs are sometimes taken out with 

 the greyhounds to find and start the hare, and sometimes 

 the animals are turned out by men who have located their 

 forms; in either case the greyhounds are held in leash until 

 the hare has secured such a start that the powers of the dogs 

 are taxed to their utmost efforts, and the results undecided 

 until the hare be thrown into tbe air or the dogs be called 

 off. The pleasure of the pursuit is found in the keenness 

 and uncertainty of the contest; its legitimacy rests on the 

 fact that it is an unobjectionable and natural method of 

 securing possession of fetXB natural. 



In the ardor of the chase neither pursuer nor pursued 

 pauses to think of consequences. In the pursued there is 

 perhaps au undercurrent of trepidation when the pursuer is 

 close at hand, but until au animal begins to get exhausted 

 the mind is concentrated on the exercise of the physical 

 powers, or iu contemplating a double to which it trusts its 

 salvation ; and when at length, doubling upon one pursuer, it 

 runs straight into the jaws of another, is flung up, is caught 

 and its back broke with a single shake, the catastrophe is so 

 sudden, and the end achieved with so little suffering to the 

 pursued, that it may bs fairly doubted if any other method, 

 of killing the hare is as merciful. 



But what relation does coursiug properly so called bear to 

 the rabbit baiting of August Belmont, Jr., andhis confreres r 

 Coursing has been introduced into this country and prom- 

 ises to become very popular in California, where there are 

 plenty of jack rabbits that will tax a greyhound's powers 

 to the utmost, and an open country fit for coursing; but 

 catching cotton tails in traps, turning them loose in strange 

 country so benumbed with fright that they sometimes refuse 

 to run, and then setting fox-terriers on them to worry them, 

 is certainly a very reprehensible pursuit and may possibly 

 constitute an offense against the law; but in Heaveu'snaine 

 let Forest And Stream and all true sportsmen repudiate 

 all connection between legitimate coursing and the con- 

 temptible parody of it indulged iu by the members of the 

 so-called nemps'tead Coursing Club, whose assumption of 

 the style of sportsmen is only calculated to reflect discredit 

 upon a pursuit worthy of kings and true men. 



St. Hubert- 



PATSY. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



A few days ago I had the pleasure of giving Patsy, Mr. E. 

 O. Damon's recently imported Irish setter, a careful ex- 

 amination. As this young dog is almost certain to make a 

 mark, especially in the stud, I will give your readers a brief 

 description of him. Skull well formed; muzzle somewhat 

 too light; ears set a trifle high; eyes a shade too light in 

 color, but well set and with fine expression; a head full of 

 quality and character, but rather effeminate; neck better 

 than average and would be improved by less bulk and by a 

 little more length; shoulders beautifully laid on; chest very 

 nearly perfect; back firm as a rock and truly formed; loin 

 symmetrical and strong; hindquarters showing much 

 strength; tail of correct length, beautifully fringed and al- 

 ways well carried; stands on a superb set of legs and feet; 

 coat and color perfect; feather of best quality and sufficiently 

 abundant. A graceful, stylish and easy-moving dog whose 

 most prominent defect is a lack of size. His late owner con- 

 siders him one of the most promising field dogs he has ever 

 owned— fast, stylish, and steady to wing and shot. Mr. 

 Damon says: "He is fast, covers his ground thoroughly, 

 carries a high head, has an exquisite nose and is remarkably 

 steady on his points, also to gun and wing." We want some 

 new Irish blood In this country and as Patsy is well bred 

 (Frisco — Nellie IX.) and possesses those great stud dog es- 

 sentials, bone and substance combined with quality, it is 

 almost certain that he will be heard of in the near future. 

 His record is: First and cup Strabane, 1887; first and cup 

 Strabane, 1888, and challenge cup for best red setter in the 

 open classes both these years at the Strabane shows; also 

 first prize and specials at Kells, 183S. CflAS. H. MASON. 



THE ETHICS OF FOX HUNTING. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In a recent issue of Forest asd Stream may be found am 

 enthusiastic account of New England fox hunting under the 

 auspices of the "Western Massachusetts Fox Club." Your 

 correspondent commends the "enterprise and pluck" of the 

 club managers, describes the shooting of seven poor foxes, 

 which, he remarks, were "honestly killed," and winds up 

 his report by declaring the meet a success and giving a list 

 of club members. 



To my mind the shooting of foxes before hounds is a mur- 

 derous, unsportsmanlike amusement, if amusement it can 

 be called. 



If foxes must be destroyed as enemies of New England 

 poultry yards, then the Massachusetts style of hunting is 

 perhaps defensible; but to take such an unfair advantage 

 can hardly be called sport. The ouly fox hunting worthy of 

 honorable mention is where the hounds kill and where the 

 fox has a clear chance of escape. Anything less than this is 

 not legitimate, because fair play is barred out. The New 

 England fox shooting is not quite so outrageous as coyote 

 coursing on inclosed ground, but it is open to the same ob- 

 jection and justly despised as a wretched burlesque of the 

 glorious sport of fox hunting when carried on in a decent 

 sportsmanlike manner. 



In conclusion, if people cant hunt foxes secundum artem,. 

 let them engage in some other field sport where the use of 

 gun or rifle is admissible. Tallyho. 



Colorado Springs, Nov. 29. 



NED B. — Bridgeport, Conn., Nov. 26.— Editor Forest and 

 Stream: I note F. E. Clark of this city advertises for sale 

 two pointers in this week's issue of your paper, and says of 

 one of them: "Torry won first in puppy and all-age class at 

 Danbury, Conn., over a dog that won first at Boston, Mass., 

 beating such dogs as Ned N." As the owner of NedB. I 

 must state that this is most decidedly a misstatement. Mr. 

 Clark's Torry was shown this faU at Danbury, Conn., only 

 two pointers in the entire show, said Torry and Spot Dash. 

 Spot Dash has never beaten Ned B., as the show records wili 

 substantiate. While all of this is perhaps of small import- 

 ance, I feel a comparison of this kind to be most misleading 

 to the public as well as unjust to my dog, as he has won in 

 strong competition first and special Hartford, 1887, first New 

 York 1887, third New York and first Richmond. 18S8. It is 

 to be hoped the other statements in this advertisement 

 approach more nearly to the truth.— S. S. Banks, 



