THE POLICE OF NATURE. 
229 
dogs as small as possible, and then stint tlieir growth by 
constant starvation. Herein there is great barbarity prac- 
tised for the sake of fancy and fashion. But many of these 
little black-tan pigmies, known as toy dogs, are not bull- 
terriers at all, but greyhound terriers, having been bred from 
the Italian greyhound ; and, for any service in defending their 
owners from rats, they are not worth a pinch of salt. So 
much for fashion and fancy. 
True sportsmen and rat-catchers tell us that a good dog 
cannot be of a bad colour ; that is to say, it matters little 
what the colour may be, so long as the animal is a good one. 
A dog for sound service should be any weight between 
eight and eighteen pounds. But one from ten to twelve 
pounds is a most serviceable creature, and, if well trained, 
will vfork its way through almost any number of rats. A 
well-trained dog never shakes a rat, or bites it twice, but 
seizing it across the neck and shoulders, pins it to the 
ground till it is dead. In this way many of them will kill 
from ten to twenty rats in one minute, if in close quarters. 
Nor do they ever bark or scratch at a hole, unless urged to 
do so, but patiently wait where you place them till the 
ferret is put in, and the rats bolt ; then they do their work 
as quickly as possible, and quietly wait for more. 
Bull-terriers also vary very much both as to courage and 
quality. Even puppies of the same litter, though all taught 
alike, will often differ as much as so many dogs of different 
breeds ; and sometimes not one among them will turn out 
worth a rush for rat-killing. Still there is this to be said, that 
if you have a well-bred puppy, you stand a good chance, by 
careful training, of having a decent killer, perhaps a good 
one ; while, on the contrary, a mongrel, with all the training- 
possible, never can make a good dog. But I must tell you, 
that an ill-tempered, surly, vicious man never yet brought 
up a good dog. You may give him the best puppies in 
the world, and his coarse, morose temper will spoil every 
one he has to do with. So you may take my word for 
it, that a kind, gentle, cheerful disposition is the first and 
principal qualification for a good sportsman, or trainer of 
young dogs. 
Few of the best rat-killing dogs of London understand 
anything about rat-hunting, and would as soon kill the ferret 
