FANCIERS’ JO URN 
F 
481 
F363 
BIRD 
AND 
POULTRY EXCHANGE 
VOL. I. 
PHILADELPHIA, SEPTEMBER 3, 1874. 
No. 36. 
THOROUGHBRED ANIMALS FOR SUBURBAN 
RESIDENCES. 
(Continued from page 483.) 
THE MASTIFF. 
It seems somewhat surprising, when we contemplate how 
many of our wealthy men and gentlemen of culture expend 
so much money and display so much taste in their country 
and suburban residences, that they should show so little in- 
terest in gracing their grounds with thoroughbred animals 
and fowls. The horse, a noble and useful creature to man, 
is no more so than a fine cow. The keep of a good animal 
is no more expensive than that of a poor one. I have seen 
it practically demonstrated that ten throughbred cows give 
a larger and richer yield than that of twenty-five head of 
poor cattle; besides what you save in the feed and care of 
fifteen superfluous heads. I find, however, that for the last 
few years the taste of the American people has changed very 
much in favor of good stock of all kinds, having discovered 
that in an economical point of view a good article is more 
desirable than a poor one. Our markets show great improve- 
ment in the character of poultry, and the farmers are waking 
up to the idea that it will pay better to keep a good class of 
fowls, feed them well, and take better care of them than they 
have heretofore done. Not for many years has there been 
so much excitement in regard to dog-flesh of all kinds. To 
live in the country without a dog is as bad as to be there 
without a wife. A person who loves animals is always a 
more agreeable companion and neighbor than one who has 
no taste that way. An elegant country residence without a 
noble dog performing sentinel duty about loses half its 
picturesqueness. We have too many useless dogs, and it 
would be a good thing for Mr. Bergh to destroy by his 
humanitarian process all the curs and mongrels, since the 
promiscuously-bred and half-starved and uncared-for ani- 
mals are of no use, but serve to engender and communi- 
cate disease. As a general thing, a well-broken mastiff 
will pin a man and hold him, and will bite only when en- 
raged by resistance or a blow. His docility is surprising 
when you think of his superior strength and courage. He 
seems to have an instinctive knowledge of his calling or pro- 
fession, and seems to be able to distinguish between a thief 
and an honest man. He is, in a certain sense, a physiogno- 
mist. I have seen my bitch Jessie look a stranger steadily 
in the eye for several minutes, without the slightest motion 
or recognition, and then only submit to his attentions or 
caresses out of respect for her master. Children, however, 
may fondle and play with them, even rudely, without excit- 
ing their ire. Comparatively few people know anything 
about a dog and the importance of good training. Like 
children, they require discipline and management ; and the 
more they are in your company and associate with your 
family the more intelligent they will become, understand 
your language, and even the various expressions of your 
countenance. So strong is their affection that you may con- 
sider yourself safe, by day or by night, under their care. 
The mastiff is the king of watch-dogs. It is quite a popular 
notion that the dog is no protection against the ingenuity of 
the burglar. I fully admit that the latter may take the 
shrewdest by surprise ; but the dog no more than the man ; 
and of the two the vigilant dog, with the keen power of his 
olfactories, maybe the more relied upon to give warning 
against the approach of the intruder. The vulgar notion 
of seducing a well-trained watch -dog is more of a myth 
than a reality. The very fact of a stranger about arouses 
all his ire; and you will find that your decoy, with all her 
blandishments, will be made to suffer his avenging power. 
There are other good and substantial physiological reasons 
that would make the experiment of the thief very unre- 
liable. Little do such persons understand the character 
of the animal they would attempt to allure. He has a 
master — he has a home, and these two things he appreciates 
wonderfully ; and having been thoroughly instructed in 
his duties, he performs them with a conscientiousness almost 
human. In breaking a watch-dog only one person should 
have the care of him, and he should be on the chain during 
the day, out of the sight of strangers. He should be fed 
regularly, and his kennel kept clean and comfortable. His 
breakfast should be light eorncake, milk, vegetables, and a 
few bones to amuse him ; and at night, just before entering 
upon his duties, he should have a good meal. After you 
have the dog fully under your control, and he shows a dis- 
position to obey or a fear to disobey, throw pieces of meat 
about the yard and then take him with you and watch him 
closely, warning him to be steady, and pass along by the 
meat, and if he attempts to pick it up chide him, and keep 
him over the meat some time, cautioning him to beware, 
and if he persists use the whip gently, and so on until he 
refuses to notice the meat, and so keep passing by and around 
each piece of meat until he refuses it entirely. After you 
have him well up in this lesson, allow him to go out alone; 
and if he has picked up any of the pieces, talk to him seri- 
ously about it and use the whip, and you will soon be able 
to let him run over the yard until he is quite hungry. After 
each lesson you should encourage him by a good breakfast 
or bite, so as to let him understand that you will give him 
all that he desires, without seeking it elsewhere. 
We find recorded only four ancient seats of the mastiff 
where they have been bred in their purity; that which is 
pre-eminent for its antiquity is the ancient family of Legh, 
at Lyme Hall, in Cheshire, from which he seems to have 
been banded down in his integrity, even prior to 1415; an- 
other at Chatsworth by the Duke of Devonshire; a third at 
Elvaston Castle by Lord Harrington, and a fourth at Hade- 
zor Hall by the Galtons. The Chatsworth breed is now ex- 
tinct ; the Hadezor dogs were all destroyed by poison. The 
Lyme Hall and Elvaston are the only remaining legitimate 
| strains, and of these two the Lyme Hall is pre-eminent. A 
