414 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



[June 12, 1890. 



C 



FUN AT DOG SHOWS. 



,OME in, Jock, take that big arm chair. It is just the 

 / sort a fellow wants to drop into after he's been to a, dog 

 show and listened to every fellow's "tale of woe.' L.ots or 

 fun I've had in mv dav and generation, but uoue has heen 

 more lasting than that enjoyed at some of our dog shows. 

 If I only live a little longer I certainly shall see and hear a 

 great deal to excite my laughter as well as my sometimes 

 indignation. Everv breed seems to have helped to make me 

 "laugh and grow fat," one of the funniest episodes haviug 

 occurred up in Canada. 



SETTERS. 



"Once upon a time" Mr. Wenzel's Chief went up to Can- 

 ada He was champion, winning in his class, and special 

 for best Irish setter in show. The judge and some four or 

 five exhibitors were out in the open discussing the various 

 "Irishmen," especially the second prize winuer iu the open 

 class. This latter dog the judge said he did not like, and to 

 support his decision by illustration requested one. of the 

 geutlemen to get the dog in question, "The foul fiend 

 must have taken possession of the messenger, for soon he 

 appeared with Chief instead of the dog desired. The judge 

 didn't discover the difference, for as he was approaching he 

 began his criticism with-" Why, the dog walks badly. What 

 else can you expect with such bad legs and feet. His shoul- 

 ders, too, are all wrong set on." In this strain he continued, 

 finishing his discussion with his usual "condition" phrase, 

 contending the while that in charity alone he gave the sec- 

 ond prize, instead of withholding it, as he should have done. 



Those present being satisfied with the criticism, Mr. 



started to return to the stall, when lo! and behold, there 

 was no dog to go back with. All that was left was a chain— 

 and collar. Champion Chief no longer existed. Mournfully 

 Mr. proceeded to the stall, the other gentlemen fol- 

 lowing and forming a sort of funeral procession. The chain 

 was fastened to the ring and the dogless collar was tenderly 

 laid on a little mound of straw. The judge had no sooner 

 departed, however, than first came a smile from all present, 

 then a titter, and finally a perfect roar of laughter went up 

 that drowned the music of the dogs. 



The champion Tim had a pretty hard row to hoe when he 

 was first exhibited. His owner knowing full well his value 

 was not content with the he. and c. cards he was getting at 

 all the prominent shows, but continued exhibiting him 

 till at last he was brought before a critic who raised bim 

 from his obscurity to the very highest notch. It took a deal 

 of conceit out of some of the. judges to note Mr. Mason's 

 elevating the dog to his proper place, and it is very funny 

 to see that not one of them has ever had the temerity to put 

 the dog back to a c. card, therein acknowledging their 

 own utter unfitness to pass upon the merits of the dog. As 

 I stood at the ring guard I often wondered what Mr. Skid- 

 more or poor "Idstone" would have said at such judging, 

 and the price they would have paid for the previous win- 

 ners. Type was entirely forgotten (if ever known); legs, 

 feet and'eontour ignored, and the very worst specimens in 

 many instances carrying of premier honors. This breed 

 has suffered woefully from incompetent judging, but per- 

 haps not as badly as the English setter. 



Never can I forget the "bandy-legged robber," Thunder, 

 with his crooked legs and wretched feet, winning hundreds 

 of dollars all over the country, held up as the type of the 

 true English setter, being bred to by a lot of ninnies, while 

 such fine specimens as Emperor Fred and Plantaganet had 

 to go begging and fall before such cripples as Thunder. 

 Ana one or the would-be educators in the canine world in 

 criticising Emperor Fred stated that "the feet of the Eng- 

 lish dog (Emperor Fred) are the least bit out at the toes 

 behind." Did the brilliant editor want our dogs to walk 

 on their spurs as does the cock? What a queer looking 

 specimen we would have then, and yet not unlike the style 

 of dogs that have won under our "best judges." I often 

 wished Mr. Shirley, Mr. Lort or "Idstone."'could just stand 

 at my side and help me enjoy such sights as I have seen— 

 see Mr. Tracy place that peculiar looking Daisy over Mr. 

 Windholz's Cora of Wetheral — and by the way, what has be- 

 come of that vanquisher of Cora? "is she so elated at her 

 achievements that she is resting on her laurels, or is she too 

 shame-faced to ever again appear in public? The latter ver- 

 sion appears most probable. Those men who know a setter 

 when they see one will never forget Mr. Donner's action in 

 placing Mr. Gardner's rattling good setter Roger way back 

 of fifteen dogs that he had mentioned, not giving him even 

 a wee c. card, this dog that won a good second prize to 

 Monk of Furness, one of the best setters that ever came to 

 America. Isn't such judging enough to make a man pro- 

 fusely use thegreatbig "D" and plead for competent judges? 

 Fancy our English cousins submitting to such injustice sea- 

 son after season, and being satisfied with the old", old chest- 

 nut of "condition" as a loophole of escape! Fancy, also, 

 Major Taylor giving Paul Gladstone premier honors, hold- 

 ing him up as a representative setter, when he is in fact a 

 grand field dog, but built on greyhound lines. This breed 

 has suffered terribly, but not more so than the 



POINTERS. 



It is strange that some of us are so slow to learn even with 

 good specimens as guides. We give the highest nrices and 

 no doubt get the best that is going, yet every year what 

 awful, unpardonable blunders are made. Some judges 

 have become so overbearing, so almost insolent in the ring 

 that some day there will be a jolly outbreak. Is there a 

 pointer man to-day in these United States who does not 

 know of the Meteor-Beaufort business! What a disgraceful 

 affair it was! The American is supposed to be the exponent 

 of fair play, but he dealt out little of it in this case. It is 

 the one bar sinister upon the escutcheon o_f our fair fame. 

 We all well remember that grand pointer Faust, of the St 

 Louis Kennel Club, and how Hon. J. S. Wise made him dip 

 his colors to such pointers as Lady Dufferiu aud Croxteth 

 That beautiful Revel HI., almost peerless, I might say, is 

 bowled out by such a dog as Fritz, and that, too, at New 

 lork. where, the general impression exists abroad, the best 

 judges are secured, while in fact it is too often the contrary 

 Graphic, considered in England one of the best, if not tie 

 best pointer in recent years, is made to take a back seat to 

 Robert the Devil, where he may quietly look on and see 

 Brake knock Duke of Vernon into a cocked hat. It is for- 

 tunate some of our pointers cannot speak our language and 

 express their anger at some of the indignities heaped upon 

 them. Perhaps if they'd accompany their expression with 

 a bite or two it might have a wholesome effect aud rid us of 

 some incompetent people whose excessive cheek keeps them 

 afloat. Fancy Messrs. Price, Whitehouse or Arkwright 

 rendering such decisions. What think you the Londoi 

 Fi,cld would say of it all ? 



GREYHOUNDS. 



Suffered as much by incompetent decisions as other breeds 

 have, none have been so mercilessly handled as the grey- 

 hounds, one ot the most beautiful creations of the dog world 

 1 he judging is no better than it was in 1877, and in some 

 instances it is very much worse. I never shall forget when 

 the judge asked the owner of Clio if her brokeu leg inter- 

 fered with her coursing, and then gave her first prize with 

 a great, flourish of importance, nor how Mr. Mason's DroD- 

 pmg Well received a like ribbon when she was two rib« 

 worse off than the normal supply, nor how a certain West- 

 ern dog named Major, pronounced by one of the to-day 

 judges as being a perfect world-beater; was knocked to no- 

 where by such a dog as Bouncing Boy (a better specimen, 

 however, than the redoubtable Major), a dog that could not 

 get above a c. or a he. card on the other side. It took the 

 judge, Mr, Wise, an hour and twenty minutes to judge Drop- 



ping Well, and neither judge nor critics missed the absent 

 ribs. I never felt so sorry, as well as indignant, as I did at 

 New Haven, not many years ago. That magnificent bitch 

 Mother Demdike, I think, made her debut there. She was 

 knocked all edgewise by a bitch called Begonia, from which 

 the second prize at New York bad but lately been withheld 

 when there were but two bitches in the class; and I shall 

 never forget the. peculiar expression and utter disgust that 

 diffused Mr. Smith's face when he saw his Mother Demdike 

 beaten, nor the surprise of Begonia's owner as he saw the 

 bltte ribbon handed to him. The judge found shelter be- 

 hind his usual "condition" excuse, which he finds a most 

 valuable auxiliary whenever he tries to explain away his 

 blunders. Had Mother Demdike's wonderful English record 

 been known, she might have fared differently. The relative 

 merits of the two bitches will be fully appreciated when 

 I state, that it was publicly announced that Mother 

 Demdike cost in Wales £75 (and a cheap bitch at that 

 •rice, too), while Begonia was sold at auction for £5. 

 _Jbe best judges and" owners are out in full force at these 

 auctions, yet £5 was all they wanted to pay for her, and 

 their valuation is correct beyond question. I wonder what 

 our friends Messrs. Swinburne, Hedley or Charles would 

 think of such decisions! The "condition" racket, however, 

 was not a "howling success" at New York last year, where 

 the same judge placed Meadowthorpe Douglas Fleming, 

 fairlv alive aud bloodred with eczema, first over such dogs 

 as Fleetwood and Highland Chief, and this year, when the 

 same dog is in fine condition, honors him only with a c. 

 card. Can it be possible that Scavenger, Master Rich and 

 Babazoon are such marvelous dogs, such types of the grey- 

 hound true and pure, that Douglas Fleming is only worth 

 a c. card when shown against them in good condition ?^ Can 

 sti 

 in 



prize winner is only — 

 This is a question greyhound owners must decide for them- 

 selves. Under the same judge Lancashire Witch, oue of the 

 nearest perfect greyhounds that ever went before a judge, 

 gets special at Boston over Mother Demdike, and that, too, 

 when she was in wretched condition, yet at New York, 

 under the very same judge and a year later, the decision is 

 reversed, though Witch is shown in rare fine condition. In 

 this instance it was the back that was all wrong, though it 

 is the self same one she had the year previous. Drytime, 

 too, does not even get a c. card at New York this year in a 

 class of some sixteen, yet at Boston soon after and under the 

 same judge she gets second to the very bitch that won first 

 at New York. Not good enough for a c. card at New York, 

 but good enough a month later to win second prize to New 

 York's first winner! 



The Bard, pronounced by his breeder and other competent 

 judges to be the best greyhound puppy ever shown in 

 America, gets nothing at Albany; and when the judge 

 states that Mr. Mason in his New York report says that the 

 dog is "a bad one," and goes to the secretary's office for the 

 Forest and Stream to convince the offended owner of the 

 dog that he is indorsed by Mr. Mason, he finds to his utter 

 dismay that the greyhound there described was a bitch and 

 not a dog ! This is but a sample of some of the " judging" 

 that has been going on with greyhounds for the past ten 

 years, and which will continue if the exhibitors don't rebel. 



I remember well the revolt that took place in England not 

 many years ago. Just such nonsense as above described 

 had out-worn the exhibitors' patience, so quietly they 

 banded together and at the next show there was a grand 

 old time. Messrs. Lloyd Price, Waddington, Mason, Asbury 

 and other prominent owners threatened to withhold their 

 entries if the racket didn't cease, and if there had not been 

 a change the pointer classes especially would have suffered 

 greatly. The result was that the judge got mad, the com- 

 mittees got madder, the show projectors madder still, while 

 the above named gentlemen stood calmly by and smiled 

 serenely. We are fast coming to the same thing here, for 

 Messrs. Thayer, Windholz, Huntington, Oldham, Hopf, 

 Hornell-Hartnony Kennels and other prominent exhibitors 

 have already threatened to withdraw from showing if com- 

 petent men are not put in the judges' riug. Such a whole- 

 some lesson is needed, audi hope the newly formed National 

 Greyhound and Beagle Clubs will be composed of workmen, 

 and not make the name of "specialty" a farce. 



It is about time bench show committees were taught that 

 dog shows cannot be held without dogs. There were thirteen 

 dog shows last spring: there have been only six this spring, 

 and at the last meeting of the A. K. C. five clubs were 

 dropped from the list of approved shows for being in arrears. 

 These clubs have probably learned the lesson. Take warn- 

 ing ye men of Gotham and ye of our sister cities while there 

 is time. Look at the entries at Rochester and Cincinnati ! 

 Not 300 at either show. It is said that the terribly hot 

 weather has melted the dogs away from the latter show, 

 whereas in the case of the former the excuse was "condition- 

 ing for Baltimore." Unfortunately for the originator of 

 these hollow excuses we have had no hot weather and the 

 benches at Baltimore were well nigh empty. 



FOX-TERRIERS. 



If greyhounds have had such queer treatment, what shall 

 I say of the fox-terrier, the gamest member of the terrier 

 family and a perfect little dandy? Through the rivalry of 

 some of our wealthiest citizens we have now among us some 

 of the finest fox-terriers in the world, but unfortunately 

 they were all imported. We have yet to see a real good 

 home-bred one, and the fault lies not in the stock, but in a 

 lack of knowledge on the part of the owners how to mate 

 them properly. The terrier fancy was startled by the advent 

 of a rare good one yclept Blemton Rubicon. The suffix of 

 that name seems to have knocked out a lot of chaps. This 

 Rubicon has gone the rounds of the shows, knocking all 

 comers edgewise, winning hundreds and hundreds of dollars, 

 wiuning valuable puppy stakes and medals without num- 

 ber. He was a meteor of wondrous brilliancy, but unfor- 

 tunately, like the Meteor from St. Louis, his light soon 

 dwindled down to a one-candle power. Mr. Belmont, who 

 has many times officiated as judge of this breed of do«s, 

 selected this specimen to accompany Mr. German Hopkins 

 to England, there to compete for rich prizes and show the 

 "Islanders" the sort of dogs we breed here, and which win 

 great prizes under our most experienced judges. Mr. Mor- 

 timer speaks of Rubicon, in one of our Western periodicals, 

 as ' not going off but just coming on, and will do lots of 

 winning in the best company," and adds that he "made his 

 debut by beating such acknowledged cracks as Dusky Trap 

 Raby Mixer and Reckoner. Rubicon is a grand puppy the 

 exact CO w n terpa rt of hi*, dam Ra chel [the italics mine] , with 

 more bone and better legs and feet." But when the dog 

 went to England, Mr. Rawdon Lee, one of the best, oldest 

 most respected and most trustworthy dog men in that coun- 

 try, and author of the best book on fox-terriers ever written 

 criticises Rubicon in the Loudon Field as follows: ' 



Blemton Rubicon, who came with considerable reputation from 

 Isew \ork, is very moderate indeed, and barely deserved his high 

 com. He is wide in front, has a moderate body and coat, an 

 execrable stern, and his head and ears are by no means what one 

 wishes to see m a first-class fox-terrier; the fact of the matter is 

 iiltmton ttacket is the smarter terrier of the two. 



Now it is worthy of note that in a report on this dog when 

 shown at Chicago last year, Mr. C. H. Mason had expressed 

 substantially the opinion given by Mr Lee Mr Mason's 

 report in the Forest and Stream 'of April 18, 1889* reads: 



rJ^T^ 13 l?^2£*? U8 + to . Blemton Rubicon, that beat all 

 £2?tffli¥ *i he Saratoga fox-terrier show. We did not expect to 

 see afir^t-elass dog. because nearly every fox-terrier fancier with 

 whom, we are acquainted had told us that Rubicon never deserved 

 the prizes he had won; but we certainly did expect to find a much 



better specimen. He is not first-class in head, rather full in 

 cheeks, a trifle weak before the eyes and round in forehead. In 

 middle he is at present decidedly light, and if his stern had notffl 

 been docked very short it would certainly have been over hieM 

 back; but in none of these points do we find his most serious de^fl 

 feet. When given the chain he stands neither better nor worsej 

 than a bulldog. He has good feet,.good legs from the elbows do mil 

 well-carried ears and excellent coat. We are quite prepared torn 

 bear that he has grown the wrong way. The fact is he was neverj 

 right. 



For this decision, or rather criticism, Mr, Mason was afcj 

 once pronounced "incompetent and a know-nothing about J 

 fox-terriers." 



Well, Rubicon went abroad with Mr. Hopkius, thougoB 

 why be could not persuade his employer that the dug 

 was "very much no good" passes my understanding. Ta4] 

 kill two birds with one great stone, so secure, did Mr. BeK-i 

 mont and his brother judges feel in their intimate knowl- J 

 edge of f ox-terri ers, Rubicon was entered both in the open and.* 

 novice class at the Crystal Palace, London, where Mr. Red- 

 mond, a friend of Mr. Belmont's, was to officiate. The cabled 

 advice reached us on a certain Tuesday; and the poor Rubi- 

 con was neither first, second, third nor fourth iu the open * 

 class, nor first, second, third nor fourth in the novice elass.jj 

 Mr. Pirn, another most excellent judge, a few days later at 

 another show dismissed him without a prize. Six thousaud J 

 miles of journeying is a long way to send a dog and then . 

 have him beaten by a cast off that one of the best 

 judges in Englaud sold for $15. What must EngJ 

 lishmen. and Messrs. Redmond and Pirn in particu- 

 lar, think of our judges when such a duffer can i 

 win everything here, and" is called "a grand puppy, th$A 

 exact counterpart of his dam Rachel, with more bone audi 

 better legs and feet." If we are made the laughing stockj 

 on the other side as well as the butt of ridicule, we have no-J 

 one to blame but ourselves. Think of Valet, that grand | 

 dog of Mr. Hoey's, getting an he. card at Hartford, and at j 

 the very next show (Newport) where Mr. Redmond (brought I 

 over at a great expense in order to insure correct judging) 

 gives this very same he. dog first prize and special for the 

 best fox-terrier in the show! Methinks I can see Mr. Geo. 1 

 Raper convulsed with laughter as he sees Valet getting his 

 he. card, and Mr. Redmoud shaking from head to foot as. J 

 Blemton Rubicon is awarded the special over Dusky Trap, I 

 Raby Mixer and Reckoner. What, too, would our clever'! 

 friend Billy Graham have doue when he saw Raffle audi 

 Diana being placed over Raby Mixer and Richmond Dazzle. \ 

 I verily believe he would have said, "Look a-here, mon r *l 

 what a lot of fools ye Yankees are!" and I could have saidl 

 "amen" with all my heart. Mephtsto. I 



[TO BE CONCLUDED.] 



KENNEL FARE. 



BY RIBERNIA. 



ONE of the first problems that confronts a beginner in. 

 breeding dogs when the occupaDts of his kennels' 

 become too numerous to be fed on the scraps off the table, ia, 

 how to feed economically and properly. 



Of course, there are plenty of manufactured foods to choose 

 from, but these, while very useful iu their place, are unsatis-j 

 factory as a steady diet. Dogs, like human beings, to thrive 

 need variety. A man soon gets tired of even beef at every 

 meal, and so does a dog of one kind of diet without change. 

 TABLE SCRAPS. 

 The reason that dogs do so well on table scraps is because 

 of the variety of foods they contain. Tf the fancier lives 

 where he can obtain the scraps from a hotel, then he can get 

 bis dog feed cheaper and of better sort than iu any other! 

 way. In making arrangements for this let me give him a 

 hint. Never go to the landlord, but to the steward. The 

 broken victuals are usually the perquisite of the latter, and 

 if the order is given through the landlord you will get them 

 in a very bad shape, all mixed up with egg shells, fish bones, 

 etc., and often stale and mouldy. Tell the steward you 

 want the meat, poultry, boiled or baked fish (never the 

 small kinds with fine bones), bread and such vegetables as 

 are not "mussy." Have the scraps kept in a covered barrel 

 with which it is well to supply him, and delivered to you 

 daily in summer time and three times a week in cold 

 weather. If the hotel has no wagon the steward can make 

 arrangements for the delivery of the scraps with some of the 

 tradesmen who bring the supplies. I have arranged on this 

 plan with a hotel in my own city J or a barrel of scraps daily,' 

 The cost is S3 per week and §1 for delivering them. This is 

 ample for sixty dogs of the size of a setter. Can any one. 

 feed dogs cheaper than ten cents a head per week? Iain 

 sure there is no food which will keep them in such good 

 health and condition. Their muscle is hard, coat glossy, 

 breath sweet, and I seldom have a case of eczema. If the 

 kennels are situated at a distance from the city or summer 

 resort, of course the feeding of table scraps is out of tht 

 question. Even then the fare can be varied with as little 

 outlay as if one kind of food was constantly used. 



COOKING UTENSILS. 

 In the first place, if you have a number of dogs you want 

 to equip your kennels with a farmer's boiler, which comet! 

 in various sizes and burns either coal or wood. Be sure tfl 

 get one rather too large than too small. Have a tinsmith 

 make a galvanized sheet iron pot to fit inside of the boiler 

 proper, so there will be a space of two Inches all around foi 

 water. This pot should have a wide, double thick rim al 

 around the top to prevent it from resting on the bottom o' 

 the boiler. You can then cook anything without close 

 watching and constant stirring to prevent the food fron 1 

 burning. In addition you want a watertight trough o 

 wood or metal into which the contents of the boiler can bi 

 emptied to cool or to be mixed with bread or other ingredi 

 ents which do not have to be cooked. For this I know oj 

 nothing cheaper than a small iron bath tub. A second* 

 hand one can be had at almost any junk shop. For mixing 

 food in this trough there is nothing more suitable than u 

 broad-tined potato fork. To lift out the meat and bone' 

 from the boiler without disturbing the liquor I recommena 

 a shovel made of strips of metal instead of one solid piece; 

 It can be bought at any hardware store. A large stronj 

 iron ladle for soup and meat liquors will be the ouly othe 

 utensil you will require for your cooking arrangements. 



FEED AND WATER PANS. 



For feed pans I like the ordinary tin wash basius that cat 

 be bought for ten and fifteen cents each; they are light, ea: 

 be placed one inside of the other when not in use, an 

 therefore require very little space. To prevent them fron 

 rusting I dip them into a kettle of hot roofing cemenl 

 which coats them with a black enamel as hard as ston« 

 This applied only to the outside, as from constant use tb 

 inside remains bright and unrusted. Feed dishes of thi 

 kind have been in use at my kennels for several years, an 

 are just as good as new. For water I use stone crocks, sue: 

 as butter is kept in. They keep the contents cool, and bein 

 heavy they are not easily overturned. 



As I can think of no other utensil that is absolutely rt 

 quired in a kennel kitchen I will proceed with the buyin 

 and preparation of food. 



FRESH MEATS. 



In the first place, meat of some sort should be an ingred 

 ent of all food for dogs. Without it grown canines will nc 

 keep in good health, nor puppies after they are a few month 

 old develop into strong healthy specimens. You can arranja 

 with the nearest butcher for his offal and waste meat, sucj 

 as heads, feet, udder, stomach, tails, lungs, etc. The hooft 

 which contain neatsfoot oil, should be taken off, as this oi 



