Feb. 8, 



FOREST AND STREAM. 



POINTS AND FLUSHES, 



\By a Staff Correspondent.} 



In a Chicago daily paper, under date of Jan. 18, I note the 

 following dispatch from Washington, D. C: "W. T. 

 Buchanan, of Iowa, was to-day nominated as Minister to the 

 Argentine Republic. Mr. Buchanan is well known in 

 Chicago through his connection with the World's Fair. He 

 is one of the original Grover Cleveland Democrats. A good 

 many influences united to secure him the Argentine mission, 

 which he sought. It is the most desirable of all the South 

 American posts." 



I am sure that every one will rejoice at Mr. Buchanan's 

 good fortune and success. As chief of the Department of 

 Agriculture, he brought together exhibits from nearly every 

 part of the world, and presented a magnificent department 

 for the instruction of the people. It is true that he made a 

 failure of the dog show, but that comparatively was but of 

 secondary importance and but one. detail of thousands. I 

 have a mild suspicion that if Mr. Buchanan finds that there 

 is not a single dog in the Argentine Republic, he will not 

 grieve thereat. While he was the subject of a great deal of 

 frank criticism in connection with the dog show, when criti- 

 cism was in order, I have always felt that his opinions of 

 dogmen would be well worth reading. 



Stud Fees. 



The reduction in the stud fee of Lad of Rush will be 

 hailed with satisfaction by pointer breeders. In this connec- 

 tion Mr. J. L. Adams, his owner, in a private letter writes 

 me: "I have decided to put him at $50, to be in the reach of 

 all. 1 have done very well with him. He is a great sire as 

 • well as a great dog, and the public will find that out next 

 fall. There are now five of his pups, out of my Devonshire 

 Jilt, 10 months old the 3d of this month, now in training. 

 Horace Smith of North Carolina has one belonging to Mr. 

 D. G. Rowland, of this city. C. H. Smith of South Caro- 

 lina has two belonging to me, and Blankenbaker has two 

 belonging to me. All five are good ones and will be heard 

 from later on. All the handlers, or at least Smith of North 

 Carolina and Blankenbaker speak very highly of the ones 

 they have. I have had no report from Smith of South Caro- 

 lina. He has not had his but a few days." 



Pointer men can justly feel a pride in the present good 

 standing and records of the pointer, and should feel encour- 

 aged to added effort, particularly when the opportunities for 

 breeding are available at such reasonable rates. 



Prizes at Field Trials. 



There is a matter in regard to the prize money which is put 

 up each year by the different field trial clubs, which I think is 

 worthy of discussion, and that is the largeness of such sums. 

 Each club tries to give the largest sum it can possibly raise. 



For sport and for an incentive to trainers to compete, such 

 large sums are not really necessary. In any event, the. club 

 which hangs up large sums of money for competition sooner 

 or later gets embarrassed financially. The Central Club, I 

 believe, lost an important sum of money every year. 



The Eastern Club at one time had quite a large sum in its 

 treasury, and now has a respectable balance, but small com- 

 pared to what it once was. 



The United States has a good balance, but a real unfortu- 

 nate trial •would come near exhausting it. It is harmful to 

 the sport when a club quits permanently in consequence, of 

 being a loser. It were better to go on year after year On a 

 sound basis than to give one or two trials and quit losers. 



The money won is but a small part of the A'alue received at 

 a field trial. Dogs make reputations aud are a source of rev- 

 enue to the owner, to say nothing of the honor of the win- 

 ning. Bitches which have made a reputation by winning are 

 more valuable sometimes in the way of a revenue than the 

 stud dogs. 



Moreover, when there are so many field trials and the 

 patronage divided up a good deal, each club assumes a 

 greater risk in offering large sums. There is nothing inher- 

 ent in it as a sport which requires such large prizes. Unlike 

 nearly every other sport which is displayed in public compe- 

 tition, there are no gate receipts. All depends on the number 

 of entries. Taking into consideration the history of field 

 trial events in this country and the deficits which several 

 clubs have experienced, it seems to me that all have been try- 

 ing to do more than they safely could. Again, is it necessary 

 to give so much money in prizes to induce owners and hand- 

 lers to come forward and make reputations for themselves 

 and their dogs, all of which is so much capital? 



B. Waters. 



909 Security Building, Chicago. 



Heavy Mastiffs. 



Editor Forest and Stream: 



In your last issue Mr. J. L. Winchell writes a very excel- 

 lent article on "Heavy Mastiffs," and the Forest AND 

 Stream comments slightly on the same. 



The fact that mastiffs are again forging to the front is cer- 

 tainly encouraging to the breeders who have hung on to the 

 grand old breed. I have been confident for several years 

 such would be the case. 



The real value of a mastiff is not appreciated until one is 

 owned. I admit, on the bench the more showy St. Bernard, 

 with his gay color and brilliant coat, overshadows the mastiff. 

 But when a dog is wished for — a general all-round compan- 

 ion, yard and house dog; the mastiff, of all large dogs is 

 king. 



A St. Bernard washed, groomed and in good coat, as seen 

 at a show, is indeed a pretty sight, but take one to your 

 home, give him his liberty in wet weather and dry, in hot 

 and cold climates, and see how much he resembles the 

 beauty you saw at the show, unless indeed you can keep a 

 groom for him alone. 



A mastiff, owing to his short coat, is much the easier to 

 handle, in fact, a roll on the grass is all he needs to keep his 

 coat in shape, and he will generally take care of himself. 



Of course the sensational prices paid a few years ago for 

 St. Bernards was bound to set breeders for revenue crazy, 

 and St. Bernards became the rage. And another reason why 

 mastiffs were given up in the East (Note— I will not admit 

 such to be the case in the West, for where in the West in any 

 years did you see as good a display of mastiffs as at Chicago 

 in 1892 and 1S93?) is the fact that a good mastiff is perhaps as 

 hard to breed as any animal I know of, and many, after try- 

 ing and failing, gave up and dropped by the wayside. If 

 you breed a poor mastiff you have nothing but a yellow cur. 

 A St. Bernard, even not up to show form, and though lack- 

 ing in muzzle and character, owing to his showy color will 

 often pass with a novice, whereas a mastiff without type, 

 muzzle, skull and all that goes to make a mastiff, is a cur in 

 appearance. 



What I started out to say I must now bring forward; 

 Mr. Winchell lays great stress on size. I would sound a note 

 of warning: size is one point only and really about the last 

 to be considered, if we are to sacrifice anything let it be size. 

 Indeed I have made up my mind after years ot study on the 

 subject, the perfect mastiff should not weigh above 150 to 

 1601bs. and the bitch 125. In my own kennel 1 value some 

 lOOlbs. to HOlbs. mastiffs more than I do some weighing 

 150 to ITalbs , equally as well bred, but notso trim or symm fcri- 

 cal as the smaller bitches. In the past we all have striven 

 for size and what have been the results? Ruined legs, cow- 

 hocked, snipy muzzles and awkward ungainly beasts. 



In this second wind which mastiffs are gaining, let us lose 

 sight of size and breed good mastiffs with soundness and 

 type. I well remember what "Billy" Graham once wrote 



me years ago. I gave him an order for a good mastiff to be 

 purchased in England, but my one instruction was he should 

 not weigh less than 1751bs., my one idea was size. Mr. 

 Graham replied "he could find no good mastiffs that heavy, 

 but at ISOlbs. could send a typical and sound mastiff." This 

 set me to thinking, and I have since learned there is much 

 besides size to a mastiff. 



Mr. Winchell mentions the names of his dogs and u=es the 

 names of them in his article, which I believe gives me license 

 to also refer to them as an illustration, otherwise I should 

 mention no particular clogs. We waut type, and we want 

 soundness. , We want to breed dogs with type as found in 

 the head of Black Prince, but we do not want bis short body 

 or bad hindlegs. In Boss's Princess is the body and sound- 

 ness without the type as presented in the head As I have 

 pointed out we must have both. What is a head without 

 body, and what is a body without a head? The even, well- 

 balanced mastiff is what we want, and not the typeless 

 giants, hi breeding for a while, should we not let size go? 



I believe a bitch of the description of Boss's Princess, no 

 matter what her size, should always be beaten by smaller 

 typical bitches. In support of my theory follow mastiff 

 literature backward for tweuty to forty years and he will 

 find the majority of all good mastiffs were not giants. Take, 

 for example the mastiff of this age— Beaufort. He easily 

 stands at the head, has type, has soundness, has all that 

 goes to make a dog, but he is not large. Again, I sound the 

 bugle, beware of that false god— size. 



In conclusion, I wish to say to Mr. Winchell I wish him to 

 understand this is no attack on his dogs; I refer to the 

 mastiffs as a breed. I may say also that I have seen quite a 

 number of Black Prince's pups, and in no case has he trans- 

 mitted his bad hindlegs or short body. For this reason and 

 possessing type he will be of great value as a breeder, 



Chas. E. Bunn. 



Peoria, 111. 



New Orleans Dog Show. 



The dog and poultry show opened here under very favor 

 able auspices on Jan. 23. The building is well adapted for 

 the purpose, being roomy aud well ventilated. The weather 

 is bright, warm and clear, and the attendance is quite equal 

 to the anticipation of 1 he club. While the entries are not so 

 numerous as expected, there are some good specimens in al- 

 most all classes, in fact notably so in St. Bernards, the show- 

 ing made by the Argyle Kennels being most excellent, and a 

 great feature of the show; their benches being always sur- 

 rounded by a large number of admirers. In fox-terriers, 

 pugs, pointers and setters many good specimens have also 

 their admirers. 



Much disappointment is felt at the absence of Ben Lewds, 

 who had written he was coming with a large string, and 

 from whom no explanation of his absence has been received. 

 Many dogs he had applied for have been absent on account 

 of being promised to him. This is much to be regretted on 

 account of the managers' having tried so hard to make their 

 show a success — they feel the disappointment keenly. How- 

 ever, with the present fine weather continued, and the great 

 interest manifested in the show by the best class of citizens, 

 little doubt is felt of its proving short of a success financially. 



John Davidson. 



The show was disinfected with Sanitas, and local benching 

 was used. The papers, especially the Times-Democrat, de- 

 voted plenty of space to the show, and the attendance 

 throughout seems to have been good. There were 124 entries 

 iu the dog department, and about 500 in that devoted to 

 poultry. Mr. John Davidson judged all classes, and the work 

 was not a difficult one for this veteran in the business. 



LIST OF AWARDS. 



MASTIFFS.— Dogs: 1st, withheld; 2d, J. H. Winship'a Stanley. 

 Bitches: 1st. withheld; 2d, J. L. O'Connor's Beauty. Very high com., 

 H. J. Cassard's San Costanza. 



ST. BERNARDS —Rough-Coated— Challenge— 1st, C. A. Pratt's 

 Sir Bedivere.— Open— Dogs: 1st, C A. Pratt's Prince George; 2d, L, I. 

 Doize's Lord Malcolm. Bitches: 1st, C. A. Pratt's Rustic Beauty. 

 Very high com., Mrs. A. S. Wheeler's Ruby II. Com., H. J. Weinmann's 

 Sassy. Puppies: 1st, withheld; 2d, C. P. Ellis's Grover Cleveland. 

 Very high com., L. P. Gibert's Paris. High com., C. E. Kells, Jr.'s 

 Gerould. 



ST. BERNARDS.— Smooth-Coated— Dogs: 1st, C. A. Pratt's Alton 

 II. Very high com., L, I. Doize's Don L. Ditches: 1st, C. A. Pratt's 

 Pratt's Belle; 2d, L. I. Doize's Belle. 



DEERHOUNDS.— Prize withheld. 



GREYHOUNDS. — Bitches: 1st, R. D. Williams's Maid Marion; 2d, 

 and high com., Chesterford Park Kennels' Chesterford Alice and 

 Ches< erford Frederica. 



FOXHOUNDS.— Challenge— 1st, R. D. Williams's Commodore. — 

 Open— Dogn: 1st, withheld; 2d, R. D. Williams's The Admiral. Bitches: 

 1st, R. D. Williams's La Joya. 



POINTERS. — Dogs: 1st, Eldridge Kennels' Rush of Lad; 2d, F. F. 

 Myles'sRoswald. Very high com., J. A. Mcllheuny's Tomo. High 

 com., Mrs. G. D. Fisher's Fisher's Nero. Bitches: 1st, Leinster Ken- 

 nels' Bess Graphic; 2d, G. D. Fisher's Fanny L. Very high com., L. J. 

 Meader's Lady Blanc. Puppies: Very high com., F. J. Wiltz's Fritz. 



ENGLISH SETTERS.— Dofirs: 1st, F. F. Myles's Modoc; 2i, B. A. 

 Michel's Uncas. Very high com., Chesterford Park Kennels' Chester- 

 ford Surprise. High com., G. H. Beruos's Spokane and F. F. Myles's 

 Jesse James. Bitches: 1st, J. W. Barker's Belle McLean; 2d, Chester- 

 ford Park Kennels' Chesterford Jennie. 



IRISH SETTERS.— Dogs: 1st, W. L. Washington's Kildare Beverly. 

 High com., J. J. D'Aquin's Gumbo. Bitches: 1st, W. H. Eakins's 

 Bessie Finmore. Puppies: 1st, W. H. Eakins's Bessie Finmore. 



GORDON SETTERS. — Dogs: 1st. Dwight Kennels' Heather Lad. 

 Bitches: 1st, Dwight Kennels' Dwight Efifie. Puppies: 1st, Dwight 

 Kennels' Dwight Effle. 



COCKER SPANIELS.— Challenge— 1st, G. Bell s champion I Say.— 

 Open— Dogs; 1st, G. Bell's Troubled. Very high com , Larry Wilt's 

 Don Lee. High com., J. A. Mcllheuny's Prince Mae. Bitches: 1st and 

 2d, G. Bell's Realization and Parti. High om , J. A. Mcllhenny's 

 Princess Jlac. Puppies: 1st and 2d, G. Bell's Troubled and Queen 

 West. Very high com., Miss Ada Wilt's Sophia Harrison. 



COLLIES.— Dogs: 1st, Mrs. David Morgan's Fordhook Comus; 2d, 

 Chesterford Park Kennels' Chesterford Bruce. Bitches: 1st, Chester- 

 ford Park Kennels' Chesterford Bess. Puppies: 1st. Chesterford 

 Park Kennels' Chesterford Bruce; 2d, L. N. Scnoenfeld's Bonaparte. 

 BULLDOGS.— Dogs: 1st, P. E. Mary's Bully. 

 BULL-TERRIERS.— Challenge— 1st, Luzboro Kennels' Crisp. 

 BEAGLES.— Dogs: 1st, Middieton Kennels' Adam. Bitches: 1st, 

 Middleum Kennels' Snow. 



FOX-TERRIERS.— Dogs: 1st, R. E. Fishburn's Glendon Spark; 2d 

 and very high com., Leinster Kennels' Dixie Tartar, jr , and Shelby 

 Sew Forest High com., C. J, Michler's Regent Box. Com., W H 

 Collins's Hotfoot Dodo and C. R. Kennedy's Regent Boy. Bitches: 1st 

 and very high com., W. H. Collins's Hotfoot Flurry and Hotfoot Vic- 

 tress. 3d, U. Rogers's Rosalind. High com., J. Chittenden's Blemton 

 Queen. Com., Lein6ter Kennels' Wilton Leah, Puppies: 1st and 2d, 

 E. ('«. Olden's Infanta Stipend and Driftwood Vinnie. Very high com., 

 W. H Collins's Hotfoot Daisy. High com , Leinster Kennels' Vi. Com.. 

 W. H. Collins's Hotfoot Dodo and Hotfoot Gem. 



IRISH AND SCOTCH TERRIERS. — Dogs: 1st, Chesterford Park 

 Kennels' The Colored Preacher. 



BLACK AND TAN TERRIERS. — 1st, Chesterford Park Kennels' 

 Rocheile Oolah. 



PUGS.— Challenge— 1st, A. H. Parker's Casaina.— Open— Dogs: 1st, 

 German Howard Pug Kennels' Drummer; 2d, A. E Shaw's Dixie Pen- 

 rice. Bitches: lac, Mrs. C- J. Michler's Lady Treasure; 2.1. German 

 Howard Pug Kennels' Sateen II. Very high com., T. W. Castleman's 

 Coquina. High corn., C. J. Michler's Baby Ruth. Puppies: 1st, A. 

 Alonzo'sBon Mot; 2d, German Howard Pug Kennels' Young Penrice. 



BLENHEIM AND KING CHARLES SPANIELS. — 1st, J. A. Wilt's 

 Dottie. 



ITALIAN GREYHOUNDS. — F. H. Hoyt's Idiom. 



specials. 



For largest number of dogs in care of one handler, first withheld; 

 second, T. A. Howard; third, E. B. Elliott. 



DOG CHAT. 



Detroit Dogr Show. 



Exhibitors will have to be careful this spring. The pre- 

 mium lists for the early shows are coming out pretty well 

 together and well ahead of time. Forest and Stream, 

 however, will post the time for entries closing, so that no one 

 need be left in the cold. The City of St. Straits Kennel 

 Club's premium list for their second annual show is the 

 next to command attention. It is an easy one to review. 

 The prizes are liberal enough ia the more popular breeds, 

 though they fall off in the small terrier classes and some of 

 the other breeds should have had the sexes disdded. Mas- 

 tiffs, St Bernards, Great Danes, pointers and setters (with 

 the exception of Gordon setters) and collies, get $15 in each 

 challenge class and $15, $10 and $5 in open classes. The first 

 three breeds mentioned also have puppy classes, with $10 

 and $5 as prizes, with sexes completing together. Other 

 breeds get £10 in challenge classes and $10 and $5 in open, 

 and we are pleased to find that no money is wasted in puppy 

 prizes. Field and cocker spaniels and foxterriers are the 

 only breeds where challenge classes are divided, and in 

 poodles, Irish water spaniels, bloodhounds, Daudie, Skye, 

 Bedlingtou and Scotch terriers sexes compete together in 

 open classes, and do not aspire to the dignity of challenge 

 classes. Mastiffs and St. Bernards, bloodhounds, Russian 

 wolfhounds, Great Danes, pointers, English setters and 

 collies get kennel prizes of $15 ; the others must be content 

 with $10. The spaniel specials are good and chiefly caih. 

 The Mastiff Club has also done well by the show. Fox- 

 terriers get a silver trophy from Mr. G Bell and also a $100 

 cup from H. Walker & Sons. Handler prizes, which seem 

 to be a necessary adjunct to almost every show nowadays, 

 are $25 aud $15 in. value, for having largest and second largest 

 number of dogs respectively. The judges are : John David 

 son, Monroe, Mich., for hounds, grey hounds, pointers 

 setters, dachshunds and beagles; James Mortimer, New 

 York,mastiffs, St. Bernards, great Danes, collies, deerhounds, 

 bloodhounds, fox terriers and Irish terrier ; Chas. H. Mason, 

 Philadelphia, wolf hounds, spaniels, poodles, all terriers 

 (except fox and Irish), King Charles spaniels, Italian 

 greyhounds, bull dogs, pugs and miscellaneous. Mr. Samuel 

 Brenton will be the veterinarian. The bench show com- 

 mittee is composed of George M. Heudrie, chairman; Thos. 

 Blake, Louis Hilsendegen, Guy D Welton, C. A. Parkinson, 

 W. Howie Muir, Thos. C. Ouellette and Chas. Thurman, 

 which is an earnest that the dog men will be well looked 

 after. Entries close Feb. 21, the second day of New York 

 show, and must be made to Guy D. Welton, 6S West Wood- 

 bridge street, Detroit, Mich. The fee is $3. An important 

 fact that Canadian exhibitors must remember is that all 

 dogs coming from Canada must be consigned to E. B Wel- 

 ton, Detroit, for bonding through customs. The American, 

 National and United States Express Companies will carry 

 dogs under the usual conditions, and exhibitors should re- 

 member the show begins on Wednesday morning and closes 

 the Saturday night following. Enclosed on a separate leaf 

 are a number of cash specials for different breeds that will 

 probably be greatly increased before the catalogue is printed. 

 In pointers, English and Irish setters, the club gives a $10 

 special for best four with field trial records. We should 

 suggest that this be altered for dogs that have run at public 

 field trials. 



The Nicholls-Mills Suit. 



The Toronto Mail of Jan. 19 reported the recently decided 

 Nicholls— Mills case as follows: 



"A decision has been rendered by Judge. Lynch in the case 

 of H. A. Nicholls of Chicago and T. Wesley Mills, of Mont- 

 real, which is the close of a very peculiar case. About a year 

 ago Dr. Mills, who was then president of the Canadian Ken- 

 nel Club, owned a bitch of the great Dane breed named 

 Minerva's Fawn. Mr. H. A. Nicholls of Chicago had a dog 

 of the same breed named Melac, and Dr. Mills, desirous of 

 obtaining the services of the dog, wrote to Mr. Nicholls on 

 the mat ter. The Chicago gentlemen replied that the services 

 of the dog would cost $50 Dr. Mill srerdied that, that amount 

 was more than he could afford to pay, to which Mr. Nicholls 

 replied that, in the interest of improving the breed of dogs 

 iu Canada, he would give the services of Melac for a choice 

 of two pups out of Fawn's litter. The dog was sent to Mont- 

 real, and in due course of time Fawn gave birth to a litter of 

 thirteen. Dr. Mills gave no intimation of this fact to Mr. 

 Nicholls, and when the latter gentleman wrote repeatedly 

 for information, Dr. Mills ignored his letters and made no 

 reply. Mr. Nicholls, feeling that his courtesy had been ill- 

 requited, sent an agent to Montreal to investigate the case. 

 He made a demand upon Dr. Mills for the choice of two 

 pups, and upon his being refused placed the matter in the 

 bauds of Mr. Greenshields, the well known lawyer. The 

 case was ably argued be:ore Judge Lynch. It appears that 

 Dr. Mills sold all the litter except one bitch and two dogs, 

 the former worth $40 each and the latter worth $50 each, and 

 the judge decided that Dr. Mills should give Mr. Nicholls 

 the bitch and one of the dogs, and if the defendant neglects 

 to deliver the bitch and one of the dogs he shall pay to the 

 prosecutor $90; or if he keeps the bitch and delivers one of 

 the dogs he shall only pay $40. The conduct of Mr. Mills in 

 this peculiar transaction has elicited some pretty sharp crit- 

 icism from members of the Kennel Club." 



We are in receipt of a letter from Dr. Mills, in which he 

 writes: "You may state on my responsibility that I have 

 directed my legal adviser to take an action for damages for 

 libel to the extent of $10,000 for statements made by the 

 Toronto Mail in a case in which I was concerned in court. 

 It is being circulated, and this may tend to neutralize very 

 damaging statements. The article in the Mail is a tissue of 

 falsehoods, published, I believe, at the instigation of some 

 ill-disposed person." 



Field Trial Classes. 



Instead of confining the Field Trial classes which were in- 

 stituted by the Westminster K. C. to winners of field trial 

 records, would it not be better for some of our best shows to 

 so word the conditions for competing in this class that any 

 dog having acknowledged field merit and training may stand 

 a chance of winning. This may be done by field triariudges 

 awarding certificates of merit to dogs which, though they 

 fail to get into the money, show undoubted merit in their 

 work. In dog breeding aud in many other conditions of life 

 the rule of the greatest good to the greatest number should 

 obtain. This iuea of "working" classes first originated with 

 the English Kennel Club, aud such certificates will be given 

 for the first time at the coming Kennel Club and Pointer 

 Club trials to entitle them to compete in the proposed 

 "working" classes at the Kennel Club shows. If these prizes 

 are made valuable, pointer breeders who breed for show hon- 

 ors only will be induced to give greater attention to field 

 qualities, and we shall uot see so many pointers and setters, 

 wbrjse only claim to admiration lies iu the fact that they are 

 handsome, or as "C. H. B." in English Kennel Gazette puts 

 it iu reviewing the pointers of the year in England, "Sports- 

 men would take more interest in dogs, which they were 

 satisfied knew their business, aud we should see fewer hand- 

 some pointers degraded into mere prize-winning machines." 

 This remark does not apply perhaps so forcibly to pointers in 

 this country, as many of our best are trained, but to the 

 Betters it is applicable. We make the suggestion that at the 

 field trials this month the judges be instructed to award 

 such certificates, and that the Mascoutah Kennel Club so 



