June 23, lS98,j 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



545 



ioss were not broken. "Solus's" modem cocker of to-day is 

 aotthe modern cocker of 1888. In those days I was kicking 

 about the long and low crocodile cocker. Where is he now? 

 Echo an.swers, "Gone, never to return," and now I kick 

 against the big-headed, crooked-legged baby cocker, and he 

 will soon follow the long and low. 



I am not asking any one to yield to my ideas; let them do 

 as they please; it's the dog I care for. Let us see about that 

 list of men. Willey i-i a real good fellow, hxit I asked him 

 what he bred such dogs for, and he said, '"Just to sell." 

 That's the whole story. To breed fancy dogs for fancy 

 judges to award prizes juat to sell to girls and dudes that 

 never saw a woodcock, only on toast, and do not know a 

 1-uffed grouse from a great auk. Mason, I know him also— 

 the best judge of fancy in America, but not in condition to 

 follow my dogs, and I doubt if he eVer killed a cock or grouse 

 in this country. Wilmerding I've known for 14 years. He 

 used to shoot some, too much business now; gets out about 

 four times a year. I could walk him dovsm in half a day. 

 He is not so very modern in his ideas this year. Kirk, a 

 friend of mine befoi e they had a spaniel club; he shoots 

 some, biit not over baby cockers. Bell and Laidlaw never 

 .shoot. Oldham — he ought to do some shooting, as I hear h e 

 is on a line game preserve. 



1 claim that I am consistent, for I have at all times stuck 

 to the working cocker. "Solus" adds insult to injury when 

 he says I have "only been able to breed weeds." I'can name 

 a whole lot of champions I h ave bred , and I also claim that in 

 Horn ell Velda I have tared the best cocker ever seen in America; 

 in fact the only one that the critics could not find fault with; 

 and 1 have now between thirty-live and forty that for type, 

 cocker character and sortiness, can beat the same number 

 from any kennel in the world. I am not rich, but I have 

 Eriends who will back my dogs for any amount. I will 

 match a pair of working cockers, 14in. at shoulder, 26 and 

 .371 bs. weight, against any modern prize winners in Amer- 

 ica for any reasonable stake or plate, for a three days' hunt, 

 work over the same ground, birds bagged to count. For 

 avery inch the modern dogs are under 13in., I will allow one 

 bird each day, and for every pound they are under 231bs. I 

 will allow one bird. 



I don't ask "Solus" or the club to change its ideas for me, 

 although they are changing quite fast, but all should re- 

 member that it was I who made the first kick against the 

 weedy, snipy cocker of fifteen years ago. 



About Detroit and Elmira that was just a matter of cash. 

 If the boys had done as much figuring on how they would 

 get past St. Peter as they did on the shows, they could have 

 ordered wings 16ft. long, for you know it will take a big pair 

 of wings to make respectable angels of the gang. 



"Spaniel" is all right; he knows something about a work- 

 ing cocker, but I can train a pup to retrieve from water 

 quicker by going in myself first, where it is shallow, and the 

 pup will follow^ We imported Miss Obo 11. and sold her, 

 as we thought she was too much of the field spaniel tyi)e, 

 and that we would never be able to keep her at the limit, 

 SBlbs. — a star ved-to- weight cocker is a nuisance. 



J. Otis Fellows. 



HoHNBLLiSViiiLE, N. T., May 14. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



That Mr. Morris, whose letter appeared in your issue of 

 June 1, has owned two kennels of cockers in this country 

 will, I think, be news to one and all. It has always been the 

 theory of the advocates of the ancient cocker that the mod- 



' ern cocker would go round a fallen tree rather than jump 

 over it, and further, that in a close swamp, where the wild 

 grape and blackberry abound, they would be useless. The 

 test I gave in my last letter was complete in every sense, and 

 convinced more than one of those present that the majority 

 were right. In the country where I am at present located 

 the birds are found where the berry or grape is in most pro- 

 fusion and where the size of the dog does not count so much 

 as perfect control, good scenting powers and endurance. 

 That one strain of sportsmen would prefer a large dog and 

 cleared land I can well understand; where you are watching 

 to see the bird on the ground and on the ground to give it its 

 quietus the danger of shooting your dog in the dense under- 

 growth is of course increased. 'But to the sport,sman who is 

 in all particulars a sportsman that argument will not do. 



I have worked cockers as much as any man in America, 

 tried all kinds from the old stjde to the new, and will always 

 maintain that the cocker we want is a dog of from 20 to 

 asibs., with plenty of bone and substance, flat coat, good feet 

 and a nicely formed head. 



In field spaniels I want the long, but not too long, and the 

 low, but not too low. Mr. Foster's Judex is about the style 

 I prefer, and I feel confident that if we ca.n only make up 

 our minds to have our dogs handled and brought up as a 

 sporting dog .should be, the Spaniel Club will soon convince 

 the most .skeptical that the spaniel has not lost any of his old 

 cunning or usefulness. Mr. Wilmerding's old friend. Black 

 Prince (who, I hope, will long be spared to his master), has 

 always been my model as to what a field spaniel can be 

 taught if properly handled, and it is a great pity that when 

 he was in his priine his owner did not import a really good 

 bitch to be served by him, as I think from that cross much 

 good ivould have resulted. Mr. Morris tries to throw ridicule 

 on the proposed spaniel trials. . It is pleasant to think that 

 Mr. Morris in spaniels has shot his bolt, and that the more 

 he attempts to decry the Spaniel Club and the spaniel they 

 favor the more they go up in popular estimation. A man 



1 who wiites of a poodle as a better spaniel than those now 



j shown is a man whose opinions we take at their true worth. 



, What we want is a beginning in spaniel trials. The first 

 time will not count for very much, bufc when the lovers of 



I sljauiels with their dogs meet together in the field, no matter 

 whether it is pigeon or woodcock, suggestions for the next 

 trials, improvements, etc., will surely follow, and thus out 

 of little much good must come. SoLTTB. 

 JnsB 9. 



Editor Forest (vnd Stream : 



It seems to me that there is a deal of talk going about 

 working and show cockers. Interested in the breed to a 

 small extent, I object to hearing the beauties of the day 

 maligned, and desire to call Mr. E. H. Morris down from his 

 self-erected pinnacle. 



In Forest and Stream of June 1, he states without qiiali- 

 fication, "Breedei-s ha ve never thought of getting a standard, 

 and judges that shall distinguish between the pet dog and 

 the working cocker." 



There is a standard that any man can understand, and a 

 pretty good (jue .-it tliat, and it seems to me that in at least 

 two shows the \vurking cockers were placed over tiie toys, 

 with a jolly row on paper in consetinence. It seems to me 

 that not so long ago Mr. Bell disputed this same statement, 

 that the dog show winners were not hunters, and offered to 

 wager good money that his dogs could hunt game as well as 

 "mugs." 



It seems to me that now is the time for Mr. Morris to 

 whirl in and show us the proper type of cocker. Pei'haps he 

 meant to do so at the Pet Dog show, but as the only cocker 

 of his breeding was sixth in a class of ten, it seems to me that 

 we must wait longer. 



"Talk is cheap, but it takes money to buy land." 



It Seems to Me. 



Too Poor to Own a Dog. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In your paper appears one signed "Strawberry Bank" who 

 claims to be too poor to own a dog. That is not the way it 

 is in central Montana. Out here the poorer a man is the 

 more dogs he owns; and are not dogs property now under 

 the law? Judith Basin. 



Our Bulldog Pictures. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



It is quite a surprise to find another person so rash as to 

 record by public letter his ignorance of bulldogs after you 

 administered such a dose of wholesome advice to Mr. Tisdel, 

 of Ithaca. 



The foot note added to Mr. Hampton's letter, published in 

 your last issue, seems to call upon me for at least a few words 

 of explanation to defend the character of the bulldog, and 

 rebuke Mr, Hampton for his unjust and improper attack 

 upon the respectable standing of my many friends who own, 

 raise and love their bulldogs. Mr. Hampton ventures the 

 guess that only a ta.ste for "monstrosities" will develop this 

 fancy or affection. If Mr. H. had said, a fondness for "gro- 

 tesque oddities," he might have guessed half the truth, as we 

 must confess the peculiarities of the breed are charmin.g. 



If we love our dogs because of a "fashion," truly the Bull- 

 dog Club must be congratulated for its success in advancing 

 the breed to public favor. (It is not possible to do this with 

 every breed.) 



To illustrate his idea that the dog is an "index to the 

 character of its owner," Mr. Hampton falls into a grave mis- 

 take by publishing a li.st of his fi-iends Mr. A., Mr. B., Mr. C. 

 and Mr. D. It would be wiser to suppose that the vile char- 

 acters of Mr. Hampton's friends had reflected on their dogs 

 and degenerated the poor brutes. At any rate we cannot 

 call the dogs posses.sed by Mr. A., B., G. and D., in evidence 

 to prove anything against the bulldogs, as there is a serious 

 doubt if these dogs are pure bulldogs; and please note, Mr. 

 H. takes special care that he discovers to us no means by 

 which we may prove that he does not know a bulldog when 

 he sees one. Farmers as a rule do not keej) bulldogs, and if 

 Mr. Hampton will give us the names of his rustic friends I 

 will take the pains to look up the matter and establish the 

 notion that rests in my imagination that A., B., C. and D. 

 have no dogs of the breed. 



Against Mr. Hampton's array, this list of his bulldog men, 

 let me place in contrast the list of my friends. A full list of 

 the members of the Bulldog Club of America: 



E. K. Austin, New York city, N. Y.; W. J. Comstock, 

 Providence, R. I.; R. L. Crawford, Jr., New York city; 

 Chas. D. Cugle, Baltimore, Md. ; W. B. Dinsmore, Jr. , Cam- 

 bridge, Mass.; Frank F. Dole, New Haven, Conn.; Duncan 

 Elliott, New York city; A. B. Graves, New Haven, Conn.; 

 W. F. Hobbie, Plainfield, N. J.; David L. Haight, New York 

 city; A. J. Hatch, New Haven, Conn.; Col. A. B. Hilton, 

 Saratoga, N. Y.; H. D. Kendall. Lowell, Mass.; G. P- Law- 

 she, Trenton, N. J.; John H. Matthews, New York city; E. 

 D. Morgan, New York city; Wm. Mariner, Milwaukee, Wis.; 

 Francis L. Morrell, New York city; W. G. McArthur, Bur- 

 lington, la.: Geo. E. McHie, Chicago, 111. ; Trenor L. Park, 

 New York city; Jas. E. Quan, Chicago, 111.; Willard E. 

 lioby, New York city; D. M. Richardson, Lowell, Mass.; 

 Mason Jones RenshaAV, New York city; R. C. Rueschaw, Chi- 

 cago, 111.; E. C. Schuyler, New York city; Chas. A. J. Smith, 

 Boston, Mass.; F, W. Sackett, Cape A^'incent; IVIiss Agnes T. 

 Thewlis, Peoria, 111. ; Thos. H. Terry, New York city; J. H. 

 Winslow, Philadelphia, Pa.; Thos. H.Webb, Peoria, 111.; 

 Robert D. Winthrop, New York city; E. A. Woodward, 

 Chicago, 111.; Henry R. Astor Carey, Newport, R. I.; Johns 

 H. Congdon, Providence, R. I, ; W. E. Gray, Baltimore, Md. 

 Honorary members: James Mortimer, Hempstead, L. I.; Dr. 

 N. Rowe, Chicago, 111. 



My list outnumbers the other ten to one, and as for qual- 

 ity—well, I feel sorry that Mr. H. does not include so many 

 gentlemen. My list gives the representative men in bulldog 

 circles. 



"What is the bulldog good for any way?" (I quote Mr. 

 Hampton, of Indiana.) Perhaps he may be useful in keeping 

 thieves and poachers fi-om off his owner's premises. Mr. 

 Hampton seems to have had experience and knows where 

 the "'no hunting" signs must be regarded with respect. I 

 trust he discovered the cause before he got over the fence; 

 but I congratulate Messrs. A., B., C. and D. that they own 

 such sensible dogs that look up intruders sharply. 



Do bulldogs bite? Why, yes, so do collies, St. Bernards, 

 setter, pointers, pugs, etc., etc., etc. I don't know that the 

 proclivity for nipping now and then is confined to any special 

 breeds, but I do stoutly hold that bulldogs are no worse than 

 others, and in some instances much better. Mr. Hampton 

 tries to prove his case by citing a few cases. I will challenge 

 for every ignoble deed that Mr. H. can prove against us, I 

 will give a dozen authenticated cases where the nobility, 

 loyalty and affection, yea, gentleness of the bulldog is es- 

 tablished beyond question, and fifty examples of vicious 

 brutes of other breeds. 



It seems egotistical folly for Mr. Hampton to air a contrary- 

 opinion when the world has suug the praises of the bulldog 

 for ages, until his very name is a symbol of loyalty, patience, 

 forbearance and nobility. 



"A relic of a barbarous age" (again quoting Mr. H.). If 

 the gentleman is not content to let "bygones be bygones," 

 and asks us to judge each breed by the uses they are put to, 

 let me inquire, what the refined, elegant and tender-hearted 

 people do with their dogs to-day. 



Greyhounds were formerly and are now used to chase, kill 

 and murder poor little hare.? and rabbits, that are trapped, 

 confined and loosed to a te.mi)orary freedom under the very 

 noses of their destroyers. The refined, elegant and tender- 

 hearted men watch with exquisite enjoyment the contest of 

 speed until the poor little captives lose their breath and 

 weary their legs and drop victims to the snap of the jaws of 

 death. Does Mr. H. object to greyhounds? Again, the 

 "sportsman," although his storeroom is well filled with 

 Adctuals, puts his gun over his shoulder, calls his setters, 

 pointers or deerhounds (as the case may be) to come to his 

 help, that he may better indulge his damnable passion to spill 

 blood and destroy life. "It is fun for the boys but death to 

 the frogs." The setter, pointer, spaniel or deerhound is 

 actually used to-day for a more barbarous purpose than ever 

 bulldog was put to. The rat pit and bull ring are models of 

 decency as compared with the slaughter, wicked, cruel, 

 useless slaughter of the average "sportsman." 



If Mr. Hampton wishes farther to know why bulldogs 

 should be permitted to exist, I will say, for the same reason 

 as allows life and respect to the St. Bernard, the collie, 

 poodle, pug, all the many terriers and hounds, and every 

 othei" breed that breathes under the sun. Let those that 

 know our dogs and know us speak with understanding and 

 speak loudly, and put to shame those that utter ill and false 

 things against us. 



It is rarely that I am tempted to quarrel, but the cause is 

 a just one, and my indignation is roused to resentment. 



John H. Matthewis. 



New Yorb: CiTt, N. Y. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I had sincerely hoped that the light you imparted, in your 

 able article replying to the letter of Mr. S. R. Tisdel, re 

 bulldog pictures,'was not only sufficient to put that gentle- 

 man right, but also to keep off any other "old subscriber," 

 who was tempted to write of things he knew not, yet it seems 

 chat Mr. O. H. Hami)ton evidently is in a bad vicinity, both 

 for bulldogs and neighbors, for his letter in your issue of 

 11th implies that Williamsburg, Ind., is not only full of 

 them, but that although the dogs are briefly mentioned, their- 

 owners, Messi-s. A., B, , G. and D., are the ones attacked. Mi-. 

 Tisdel's letter, as I understand it, was against your publish- 

 ing half-tones of thoroughbred English bulldogs, and im- 

 plying that he would discontinue his subscription unless you 

 promise not to do so again, as it shocked his sensitive nei-ves, 

 and the anticination of an illustration of a "pit" in the near 

 future, was filling his system with insomnia. Mr. Hampton 

 makes the bulldog simply a "runner up," to work in his 



evidently pet original idea, that a man should be known by. 

 the dog he keeps. This is a new one, sure (my, my, what an 

 educational age this is), but wouldn't Mr. H, have a hard 

 time explaining the character of a man who keeps .several 

 different breeds? We will allow him that gentlemen do not 

 keep bulldogs for their good looks or their intelligence, al- 

 though we might argue that a little, should .space permit, 

 but when he mentions affectionate dispositions, let me state, 

 with nine years' experience, that a thorougbred English bull- 

 dog has not one drop of treacherous blood in him, and should 

 not 1)6 even mentioned in that line with some other breeds, 

 and especially collies. He says, "Give the tough his choice 

 between a bulldog or a collie; which Avill he take? " Answer, 

 a collie, for a thoroughbred bulldog would not be worth his 

 keep to him. 



I fear that Mr. Hampton, like many others, knowing no 

 better, calls every tramp mongrel who has to fight for his 

 daily bone, a bulldog. The Bulldog Club of America was 

 formed for the purpose of educating all such to the fact that 

 those bulldogs (?) were not bulldogs. As you know, we have 

 progressed finely in three years, but it seems that Williams- 

 port has been overlooked. Be patient, Mr. H. , give us just a 

 little more time and we will get out your way. When you 

 go to the World's Fair, look upE. A. Woodward, of Chicago, 

 get him to show you a few of his "relics of a barbarous age," 

 and also ask him to allow his baby boy to illustrate how King 

 Lud can be teased and exasperated by him without showing 

 the least sign of temper, to say nothing of treachery. Then 

 have Lud put into a room, and after the house is quiet, you 

 do the "burtrlar act," but before you do just leaA^e an order 

 for an ambulance to be at the door a few minutes before Lud 

 gets throtigh wdth you, for you will need it badly. I must 

 say I rather like your idea """that a dog is somewhat of an 

 index to -the character of his owner," and as you have no 

 doubt given it much thought, time and attention, would you 

 kindly inform us of the dift'erent characters that go with the 

 different breeds? Don't neglect to especially mention the 

 characters of owners of Mexican hairless and Schipperkes; 

 and, if not too diabolical, the character of one of our large 

 owners who dares to own pointers, collies, Irish terriers, fox- 

 terriers, bulldogs and dachshunds all at one time. I ask this 

 with fear and trembling, for he must be beyond redemption, 

 and I really hesitate, for it seems that I should not deliber- 

 ately place you in a position to ruin this man by giving him 

 a character that must be the vilest of the vile. 



Chas. D. Cugle. 



Spaniel Trials. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



I think that the modus operandi of the proposed spaniel 

 trials outlined in "Dog Ghat" in issue of June 8, savors 

 rather of the burlesque. My experience with spaniels leads 

 me to believe that if the broom-grass-in-the-field procedure 

 is adopted there will be little test of a spaniel's capabilities. 

 Will not any hunting spaniel naturally make for the cover in 

 view? When he gets there, as far as I can make out, the 

 plan is to release the basketed pigeon, and when shot, order 

 the dog to retrieve. This will be a slight test of retrieving, 

 as the pigeon will probably drop in the open. That's all 

 right as far as it goes, but how about nose and bird sense 

 and endurance? I don't think that field trials should be 

 made drawing-room affairs to save the judges' legs. A 

 sportsman should not mind a whole day's tramp. I remem- 

 ber last fall attending the New England field trials, and if 

 any one can show me worse hunting spots than some of the 

 covers and swamps Messrs. Wallace and Coster literally 

 waded through I don't want to have anything to do with 

 them. The dogs were followed all the same in these trials, 

 and I don' t see why the spaniels should be treated to any 

 billiard table performances. The spaniel is supposed to be 

 a dog that can go into any cover, and what he cannot go over 

 he goes under. 



In reading the accounts of beagle trials I notice that most 

 of the work is done in cover, and often thick cover, and that 

 game is not at all plentiful as a rule. Still the judges seeni 

 to follow all right and arrive at a pretty correct estimation, 

 of the dogs' merits. Why cannot the spaniel men do the 

 same? Surely there are localities in New England, New 

 York and New Jersey, where some game may confidently be 

 looked for, that would be convenient to most of the spaniel 

 men. 



Spaniel trials, if they are to be such in reality and not in 

 name only, .should not be dependent on the convenience of a 

 few members who don't want to go to much trouble to carry 

 them out. Field trials for setters and pointers and beagles • 

 were not instituted on these lines. The good that would 

 accrue to the breeds for which the trials were instituted was 

 the incentive and not personal convenience. I don't think 

 this pigeon-in-a-basket idea will show under what control a 

 spaniel is to any extent; walking aci'oss fields between covers 

 will show that. What attraction will a pigeon in a basket 

 have for a spaniel? About as much as a nest of china eggs. 

 If the intention of the Spaniel Olub is merely to get a "few 

 members together and have a good time, why they can prob- 

 ably get it out of a basket as well as any other waj^; but if 

 they mean the proposed trials to be a test of sporting dogs 

 by sportsmen, then let the afl'air be conducted on sportsman's 

 lines, even if the judges do get some mud on their boots and 

 we find but two birds. The "seeking" will show the training 

 and capabilities of a spaniel, even if game is not flushed as 

 often as one would like. -At any rate, such work would be 

 natural and attain a better end eventually than a whole dove 

 cote in wickerwork with a string to it. 'Trials that will be 

 but a farce at the best will bring ridicule on one of the hand- 

 iest sporting dogs living; but if carried out in a natural way 

 the verdict of sportsmen, whatever the result in the way of 

 finding game may be, will be — they did their best, and. no 

 man can do more^ Axs NATUKBI/, 



The Wissahickon Catalogue. 



Philadelphia, June 19.— Editor Forest and Stream: Ex- 

 clusiveness in information is only a success when combined 

 with correctness. In the report of the Wissahickon show 

 your representative says, "The arrangement of thecatalogue 

 had, it IS said, been left to Mr. Watson, and after the first 

 catalogue was issued it was found that a number of dogs 

 entered were not in it at all," etc. The inference is that I 

 made a muddle of work I w^as responsible for, whereas the 

 real facts are that I simply assisted the printer into knock- 

 ing into some semblance to correctness the copy sent him by 

 Dr. Sauveur's assistants. The first of the catalogue copy 

 was given the printer at 11 o'clock on Saturday morning, 

 and the last batch on Monday morning. The proofs of three 

 or four batches had to be marked \vith class number all the 

 way down the margin and then sorted into catalogue order. 

 The printer and I had to accept as correct the copy sent, but 

 where positive of error I made alterations. The omissions 

 and errors complained of were in "copy," and in place of the 

 catalogue being one to find fault with it was a mo.st credit- 

 able piece of woi-k considering the circumstances, and that 

 entries by late Canadian registered letters were telegraphed 

 to the printer as late as 8 o'clock on Monday night. In fact 

 but for the printer's foreman having had the expeiience of 

 two years with the Keystone Club's catalogue, I don't know 

 when there would have been a catalogue at Wissahickon. 



There were about eight dogs omitted from the catalogue, 

 four of the Swiss Mountain Kennels missed by the amanu- 

 ensis in cop>dng the entries, and the others were not sent to 

 the printer until late on Monday night and delivered on 

 Tuesday morning, when more than half the catalogues had 

 been struck off. Jas. Watsoj^. 



[Our information came from the superintendent of the 

 show, and we think the above letter simply proves all We 

 said,] 



