Jan. 15, 1891.1 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



821 



THE ST. BERNARD CHAMPION" "SIR BEDIVERE." 

 Owned by Mr. E. B. Sears, Melrose, Mass. 



position. Owing to dissensions and the appoiutnient of 

 judges unpopular or incompetent, the Irish setter classes 

 have not been well filled, nor have they shown any advance 

 in quality. Gordon setters are said to be at a standstill and 

 the Gordon Setter Club is only occasionally heard from. It 

 would seem therefore that with the crack English setters we 

 now have that we can gain little from the other side. The 

 same may be said of Irish setters. Mr. Chapman seems to 

 have it all his own way at the English shows in Gordons. In 

 this breed and pointers, no doubt, we could still import 

 something better than we have at present. 



Mr. Mercer wishes us to correct the statement in his last 

 letter on "Cocker Spaniels of 1890." "No kennel in the 

 world can compete" should read "No kennel in America." 



Exhibitors should bear in mind that entries for New 

 Orleans close to-day. and for Greenville, S. C, Jan. 20. At 

 the latter show Spratts Patent will bench and feed. 



Mr. Sears informed us the other day that he bad applied 

 for membership in the English St. Bernard Club, and that 

 if he is admitted he will send a team to England's next St. 

 Bernard club show and compete with Sir Bedivere for the 

 Halsey trophy. If he is only as fortunate as the old 

 America, who knows but that history may repeat itself, 

 and like England's treasured yachting cup, this trophy may 

 remain on this side of the pond. Sir Bedivere has already 

 won it twice, but it must be won three times by a member 

 before becoming bis actual property. 



Thursday last was a busy day at the A. K. C. rooms. The 

 stud book committee was in session and seemed to attract 

 several out-of-town dog men. We peeped into the inner 

 office, where the auditing committee— Messrs. Taylor, who 

 acted in place of Dr. Glover, La Rue and Wilmerding— were 

 up to their ears in columns of figures: and even friend 

 Peshall could not deny that they were evidently doin£r then- 

 duty and seemed to be well supplied with the "items" that 

 go to make up the account of 1890. 



Mr. Capers, secretary of the Greenville, S. C, dog show, 

 writes us that they have arranged with Spratts Patent to 

 bench and feed their coming show. Entries for this show 

 close positively Jan. 20. 



Notwithstanding all this talk about Sir Bedivere. it must 

 be remembered that there is a dog in this country yet unde- 

 feated in the best company, and who has not yet met the 

 champion; this is Alton. We are convinced that this dog 

 will be found no mean competitor in the open rough dog 

 class at New York. We are pleased to receive a letter from 

 Mr. Moore, in which he says that, though he failed to get 

 Sir Bedivere in time, he thinks none the worse of Alton; 

 and that with Lady Livingston, Lady Melrose, Saffron, 

 Altoua, Lady Sneerwell, Ben Lomond, Lord Melrose and 

 Alton he can and will give the best kennels a tussle for the 

 money. 



At the second bench show of the Massachusetts Kennel 

 Club, Lynn, Mass , to be held March 24 to 27, the following 

 medals will be offered by the St. Bernard Club of America: 

 Silver medal for the best American-bred smooth-coated dog, 

 silver medal for the best American-bred smooth-coated 

 bitch, silver medal for the best American-bred rough-coated 

 dog, silver medal for the best American-bred rough-coated 

 bitch. The premium list will provide for 148 classes, and 

 will be ready for distribution Feb. 1. Ten dollars will be 

 offered as a prize for the agent or handler entering the most 

 dogs. Spratts Co. will bench and feed. 



The Automatic Weighing Machine: Mr. Rubicon (after 

 dropping the nickel in the slot) — "Hallo! I weigh 21bs. less 

 than I did yesterday, how d'ye account for that, Brittle?" 

 Brittle — "Getting finer in the skull, deah boy!" 



Dogrnen in London and vicinity have something to be 

 thankful for this new year. The muzzling order has been 

 rescinded and now the" dogs must wear a collar with name 

 and address of the owner engraved on it. The boys are even 

 kicking at this. The only difference is, that it entails a little 

 more trouble to the owner and a good deal less to the dog. 



The Australian dog fanciers, despite the obnoxious quar- 

 antine law, are sending many orders for terriers, especially 

 Irish, to England, the latest is a commission for collies that 

 can beat anything in the Antipodes. 



The premium lists of the Greyhound Club's first specialty 

 show are out and may be had from H. W. Huntington, 

 secretary, 148 South Eighth street, Brooklyn, N. Y. The 

 thow, as we have before stated, will be held Feb. 3 under 

 A. K. C. rules. In the challenge classes for greyhounds and 

 deerhounds the prizes are 810, with sexes divided. In open 

 classes for the above named breeds and Russian greyhounds, 

 $10 and §5 are given for each sex. Puppies in all breeds are 

 provided with 85 and S3. The show will he held in the 

 American Horse Exchange. 1.634 Broadway, New York. 

 Judging will commence promptly at 11 A '.'L and the show 

 will close at 6 P. M. It must be fjorne in mind by iutending 

 exhibitors that no dogs can compete for the handsome 



specials given by the club unless they are registered in the 

 NationarGreyho'und Club Stud Book] blanksl'or which can 

 be obtained from Mr. J. H. Watson, 79 Downing street, 

 Brooklyn, N. Y. The fee is fifty cents. Entries close for 

 this show Jan. 28, the fee being §3. An auction sale of grey- 

 hounds, deerhounds and Russian wolfhounds will be hpid at 

 •3 P. M. of the day of the show. We hear that Mr. Hacke 

 will make a large exhibit of Russian greyhounds, including 

 his Zlooeem and the bitch he showed at Crystal Palace, 

 England. 



We understand that Mr. N. Q. Pope, of Brooklyn, has 

 purchased from Mr. Huntington the greyhound dog cham- 

 pion Highland Chief. This dog is well known on the bench, 

 and like the others in Mr. Huntington's kennel, is a big 

 winner. 



Mr. Harry Malcolm has applied for an injunction in Cir- 

 cuit Court No. % of Baltimore. Md., against Messrs. G. W. 

 Massamore, Charles and W. Stewart Diffenderffer, James 

 Thompson. N. O. Karber and the Maryland Kennel Club, as 

 a corporation, and to declare the action of the board of gov- 

 erners null and void iu expelling him from the position of 

 president of the club and as a member, and that all action 

 shall be deferred till the case of Mallou and others vs. Mas- 

 samore and others, now pending in the courts, shall be de 

 cided, and also that they be restrained from electing any 

 i'erson in his place as such president until the hearing and 

 ' determination of this case. He alleges in his complaint that 

 the meeting of Jam 1, 1891, was held on a legal holiday, and 

 that no notice was given him of such meeting or of any 

 charges against him. He says further that whether right- 

 fully or wrongfully suspended by the A. K. C, there is no 

 justification or reason for his removal from the office of 

 president of the Md. K. C. or suspenshion from its member- 

 ship. We have not space for the whole communication to 

 the court, but this is about the sum total of it. 



We regret to learn that Mr. John A. Logan has lost his 

 pointer dog Royal Gift. He died Jan. 5, from complicated 

 liver trouble. Mr. Logan speaks of him as the best dog he 

 ever shot over. 



To show that the advertising columns of Forest Am> 

 Steeam are read by the right kind of people, one advertiser 

 writes: "Blue Nellie was sold to the first man that I received 

 a letter from, and since that letters, telegrams and orders 

 have been pouring in by the hundred." 



We learn from the Toronto G-lohc that a meeting of the 

 executive committee of the Canadian Kennel Club was held 

 in the Rossin House, Jan. 6. President J. Lome Campbell, 

 of Simcoe, occupied the chair, and there were present also 

 Messrs. Geo. C. Taylor, Chas. A. Stone and H. B. Donovan, 

 of Toronto, and Mr. S. F. Glass, of London, the secretary- 

 treasurer. Aid. A. D. Stewart, of Hamilton, represented the 

 Hamilton Kennel Club in several matters which that club 

 desired to bring before the committee. One was the desira- 

 bility of uniformity in the color of prize cards or ribbons, as 

 confusion has been caused by the fact that at some shows 

 the red card indicates a first-prize winner, while elsewhere 

 that houor is indicated by the blue ticket. It was decided 

 that at all shows held under C. K. C. rules the colors of the 

 cards or ribbons should be blue for first prize, red for second 

 and yellow for third. No action was taken on the sugges- 

 tion to prohibit puppy classes at bench shows further than 

 that it was the sense of the meeting that they be continued. 

 The avoidance of clashi ng dates for shows was discussed, 

 and it seemed to be the feeling that there was not much 

 likelihood of a clash this year, but that a regular circuit 

 would be fixed. The secretaries of clubs will be written to 

 and urged to avoid conflicting dates. Messrs. Stone, Taylor 

 and Donovan were appointed a committee to draft a petition 

 to Parliament asking for the removal of duty on dogs. The 

 petition will be circulated throughout the Province for sig- 

 natures. Hitherto clubs holding shows have had the C. K. 

 C. patronage gratis, but in future, by resolution passed at 

 this meeting, clubs giving bench shows under C. K. C. rules 

 and patronage must pay an affiliation fee of §10. It was de- 

 cided to ask the American Keunel Club to require C tnadian 

 exhibitors to have their dogs registered with the C. K. C., 

 and this request will be laid before the A. K. C. at New 

 York next month. A grant of §50 was made to Mr. Stone, 

 the former secretary, in consideration of his valuable ser- 

 vices in organizing aud assisting the club. Secretary Glass 

 announced the receipt of a letter from Qu'Appelle stating 

 that the Assiniboine Gun and Kennel Club had been formed 

 there and asking for information as to affiliation. The 

 Assiniboine club will hold a bench show or field trials next 

 fall. 



Those of our readers who took part in the late field trials, 

 will no doubt be interested in Mr. Brailsford's letter this 

 week. The voice of such a past master in field trials as this 

 gentleman is, ought to carry weight, and, coming as it does 

 at the same time that the suggestion is made by the Phila- 

 delphia Kennel Club, that the field trial mips should be made 

 uniform and that the same style of trial work should be ex- 

 pat t-d at all field trials, it would seem that it is now time 

 for something to be done toward this uniformity, especially 

 as this was the complaint of several handlers at Lexington. 



Such difference in the running rules and their interpretation 

 must lead to the breaking up of the dogs. Take Daisy Hope, 

 for instance, who was trained in the Eastern trials, but com- 

 ing to the Central she was punished for that which placed 

 her to the front two weeks previously. What is the dog to 

 understand by that? It resolves itself into one of two things, 

 either the rules must be uniform and judges selected who 

 can be depended upon to interpret them in the same way, or 

 owners aud handlers must keep and train one lot of dogs for 

 one trial and another for the other. It would be a benefit to 

 all to get the opinion of our owners and handlers of field 

 dogs on this subject, and from a full discussion the difficulty 

 may be overcome in time for this fall's trials. Iu conversa- 

 tion with Mr. Tracy, he told us thft steps would be taken 

 during the year toward shortening the time of running of 

 the Central trials. The four-hour race will not be done 

 away with by any means, but the rules will be so alteredthat 

 a fortnight only, at the outside, will be required to decide 

 all the stakes. Thus it would seem this is a good time for 

 the "uniformity rules" to be discussed and when the opinion 

 of those most interested can be gained. 



WITH THE BEAGLES. 



r pHE dawn of Thanksgiving Day ushered in an ideal hunt- 

 1 ing morning. The hoar frost lay thick upon the ground 

 and the air would have been perfectly still had not a light 

 southerly breeze played through the pines. 



The hunting party were astir at daybreak and after abearty 

 breakfast drove into the woods just as the sun rose. There 

 was little room to spare iu the double-seated wagon. On the 

 seats were the huuters J., J., Jr., L. and B. : under the seats, 

 but peering eagerly out at the sides, were the beagles Belle 

 Ross, June Rose, Clyde, Grace and Baby Bunting. They 

 are a part of the National Beagle Club, pack and the two 

 first named made records at the beagle trials; four of them 

 are by that king of beagles, Frank Forrest, and he has no 

 cause to be ashamed of them. 



J.'s black horse carries the party quickly over the sandy 

 road to the shore of Long Pond. Leaving the team the eager 

 dogs are unchained and at once disappear in the thicket. 

 The hunters walk down the road and in a few minutes hear 

 Clyde and June working a cold track. The trail grows 

 warmer and suddenly a burst of music tells that the first 

 rabbit is started. At the same instant Belle starts a rabbit 

 further down the pond. The pack is divided. The air is 

 full of melody as both the rabbits make for the swamp. 

 They enter it at the. same time and the trails are lost in the 

 water. The dogs are heard splashing about and for some 

 minutes are at fault. Then Clyde drives one of them from 

 the swamp. As bunny crosses the road B. attempts to shoot 

 without pushing up the safety check of his ha7nmerless and 

 Mr. Cottontail keeps right on with the whole pack close 

 behind him. He was a wise rabbit and made a bee-line, for a 

 large wet cedar swamp; there he is safe, the dogs are called 

 off and the party follow the shore of the pond through the 

 oaks. 



Here no rabbits are found, but Belle digs out a flying 

 squirrel's nest; three of the little fellows run to the top of 

 an oak and sail gracefully off to a neighboring tree. J., 

 separated a little from the rest of the party, has the good, 

 fortune to shoot a magnificent horned owl; handsomely 

 mounted, it now looks down from a lofty perch in B.'s 

 library. A swamp is soon found" and all the dogs enter it. 

 Whirr! goes a partridge; whirr! a flock of quail, and then 

 two more partridges. At the same time Belle gives tongue, 

 the others join, and a rabbit breaks into view, crosses the 

 ridge, goes into a w T et swamp and is at once lost. In disgust 

 the party take the horse and leave this unfavorable region. 

 A short drive lands them at a dry cedar swamp. Here June 

 at once makes a start, the pack hark to her, and the first 

 good run of the day begins. Under the heavy cedars the 

 voices of the dogs echo and re-echo till one could believe 

 the whole of the National Beagle Club pack were there. 

 The rabbit circles in the swamp, on the upland, under the 

 pines, but he cannot shake off the dogs, and after a twenty 

 minutes run he is shot and goes into J.'s game pocket. 



As the party start to leave the swamp, Clyde takes a cold 

 track ; the whole pack work it eagerly; now one and theu 

 another is in the lead, then all are at fault, but Clyde 

 circle*, strikes the rabbitand alonecarries him off across the 

 fields, which here are covered with a scattered growth of oak 

 bushes. At first the pack do not hear Clyde, and B. stand- 

 ing on the ridge sees the whole run. The rabbit tries all his 

 tricks, but the handsome little beagle never falters, and after 

 some minutes brings him back within hearing of the pack. 

 Then there is a wild rush, all the dogs are on and the rabbit 

 flies through the swamp and over the plains. J., Jr., salutes 

 him with both barrels, but on he goes without any 

 acknowledgment of the courtesy shown "him. Still on and, 

 on. He has run more than an hour and a half, when in the 

 thick swamp he comes to L., armed with a new gun. Both 

 barrels are fired, the clogs' voices cease, and L. goes to pick 

 up his game, but it is not there. The beagles circle and 

 cover every inch of the ground, but they find neither the 

 rabbit nor his track. After a vain search the party decide 

 unanimously that L.'s gun not only kills the game but 

 annihilates it also. 



It is now getting late, and a turn is made toward home: 

 but it is decided to make one more start if possible. The 

 dogs are put in on an abandoned cranberry bog at the shore 

 of the Seine Pond. The bog is overgrown with bushes, 

 small pines and weeds, and is a perfect paradise for rabbits. 

 The dogs scatter, each working by itself. Clyde trails 

 slowly along the side of the pond. The hotter the track gets 

 the straigbter the hair stands on his back, and at last he 

 jumps the rabbit. Away goes the cottontail, with all the 

 dogs on, out of the swamp and straight down the shore of 

 the pond till the beagles' voices die out in the distance. He 

 led off like a fox. The hunters hurry on after the dogs, and 

 at last hear them coming back, just here the pines are 

 large and there is no underbrush. The view is unobstructed 

 aud 100yds. away the rabbit is seen coming at great speed. 

 Not far behind are the beagles in full cry, well packed and 

 straining every muscle. It is a picture to delight a sports- 

 man. J. Jr. and L see bunny come nearer and nearer, 

 rushing on to certain death. Calmly and coufidently they 

 await him. Now he is within shooting distance; the guns 

 leap to their shoulders, four reports ring out on the startled 

 air: the smoke blows from the field of battle just in time to 

 see the rabbit dodge into a thicket, pop out on the further 

 side and disappear in his burrow. 



That ends the sport. The Thanksgiving dinner is waiting 

 aud it is too late to stay longer; so the party drive slowly 

 home. Though the game bag is light they agree that the 

 hunt has been a success, and look with pity on four of their 

 friends who have spent the morning working the woods and 

 fields for quail and partridge without so much as the sight 

 of a feather. If any one wants no end of fun and a jolly 

 time let him get one or two couple of beagles and be happy. 



Bradley. 



Oape Con, Mass. 



SETTER LOST,— My Irish setter Glenmar strayed or was 

 stolen from my place in Westchester on Thursday last. He 

 is mahogany red in color with a white patch on his chest, 

 and is turning gray about the muzzle. He has a slight 

 lameness in his right shoulder and the hair is off in small 

 patches about his hocks. He has a wonderfully clean neck, 

 a well-domed skull and particularly well bent in stifles, and 

 is almost devoid of feathering If any of the many readers 

 of Forest and Stream should know of his whereabouts 

 they would confer a favor on me by notifying me.— Lor/is 

 Coutoit (1995 Main street, West Farms, N". Y.). 



