THE TERRIER.

The terrier as used for hunting is a strong useful little dog, with great endurance and courage, and with nearly as good a nose as the beagle or harrier. From his superior courage when crossed with the bulldog, as most vermin-terriers are, he has generally been kept for killing vermin whose bite would deter the spaniel or the beagle, but would only render the terrier more determined in his pursuit of them. Hence, he is the constant attendant on the rat-catcher, and is highly useful to the gamekeeper, as well as to the farmer who is annoyed with rats and mice. Formerly it was the custom to add a couple of terriers to every pack of foxhounds, so as to be ready to aid in bolting the fox when he runs into a drain, or goes to ground in any easily accessible earth; the stoutness of the terrier enabling him, by steadily following on the track, to reach the scene of operations before it would be possible to obtain any other assistance. This aid, however, in consequence of the increased speed of our hounds, is now dispensed with, and the old fox-terrier is out of date, or is only kept for the purpose of destroying ground vermin, such as the rat or the weasel, or as a companion to man, for which purpose his fidelity and tractability make him peculiarly fitted. Terriers are now usually divided into eight kinds :-1st, The old English terrier; 2nd, The Scotch; 3rd, The Dandie Dinmont; 4th, The Skye; 5th, The Fox Terrier; 6th, The Bedlington; 7th, The Halifax Blue Tan; and 8th, The Modern Toy Terriers of various kinds.

The English Terrier is a smooth-haired dog, weighing from about

'LADY," an English Terrier, the property of C. Morrison, Esq., of Walham Green.*

6 to 10 lbs. His nose is very long and tapering neatly off, the jaw being slightly overhung, with a high forehead, narrow flat skull, strong muscular jaw, and small bright eye, well set in the head; ears when entire are short and slightly raised, but not absolutely pricked, turning over soon after they leave the head. When cropped they stand up in a point, and rise much higher than they naturally would. The neck is strong, but of a good length; body very symmetrical, with powerful short loins, and chest deep rather than wide. Shoulders generally good, and very powerful, so as to

* "Lady," by Frank Redmond's celebrated dog "Tartar," out of "Vic," a Manchester-bred bitch, formerly the property of the Hon. Egremont Lascelles. Her weight is about 6 lbs.

enable the terrier to dig away at an earth for hours together without fatigue, but they must not be so wide as to prevent him from "going to ground." Fore legs straight and strong in muscle, but light in bone, and feet round and hare-like. Hind legs straight but powerful. Tail fine, with a decided down carriage. The colour of these dogs should be black and tan, which is the only true colour : many are white, slightly marked with black, red, or sometimes, but very rarely, blue. The true fox-terrier was generally chosen with as much white as possible, so that he might be readily seen, either coming up after the pack, or when in the fox's earth, in almost complete darkness; but these were all crossed with the bulldog. Those which are now kept for general purposes are, however, most prized when of the black and tan colour, and the more complete the contrast, that is, the richer the black and tan respectively, the more highly the dog is valued, especially if without any white. In all cases there should be a small patch of tan over each eye; the nose and palate should always be black. The toes should be pencilled with black reaching more or less up the leg. Such is the pure English terrier, a totally different animal from the short, thick-muzzled, spaniel-eyed, long-backed, cat-footed, curly-tailed abomination so prevalent in the present day.

The Scotch Terrier closely resembles the English dog in all but his coat, which is wiry and rough, and hence he is sometimes called the wire-haired terrier, a name perhaps better suited to a dog which has long been naturalised in England, and whose origin is obscure enough. Beyond this difference in externals, there is little to be said distinctive of the one from the other, the

colours being the same, but white being more highly prized in the southern variety, and the black and tan when more or less mixed with grey, so as to give the dog a pepper and salt appearance, being characteristic of the true Scotch terrier; but there are numberless varieties in size, and also in shape and colour. This is a very good vermin dog, and will hunt anything from a fox to a mouse; but while he may be induced to hunt feather, he never takes to it like fur, and prefers vermin to game at all times.

The Dandie Dinmont breed of terriers, now so much celebrated, was originally bred by a farmer of the name of James

Davidson, at Hindalee, in Roxburghshire, who, it is generally believed, got his dogs from the head of Coquet Water. There was also a good strain at Ned Dunn's at Whitelee, near the Carter Bar.

Those who have investigated the subject are inclined to think that the Dandie Dinmont is a cross between the Scotch terrier and the otterhound, or, as I believe, the Welsh harrier, which is identical with the latter.

The most celebrated strains are those belonging to the Duke of Buccleugh (presented by James Davidson); Stoddart, of Selkirk; Frain, of the Trows; McDougall, of Cessford; F. Somners, of Kelso; Sir G. Douglass, of Springwood Park; Dr. Brown, of Melrose; J. Aitken, of Edinburgh; and Hugh Purves, of Leaderfoot, who is the principal hand in having kept up the breed. So much were the Dandies in vogue some years ago, that Mr. Bradshaw Smith, of Dumfriesshire, bought up every good dog he could lay his hands on, and as a consequence his breed is now well known.

The Dandie is represented by two colours of hair, which is sometimes rather hard, but not long; one entirely a reddish brown, and called the "mustard," the other grey or bluish grey on the back, and tan or light brown on the legs, and called the "pepper;" both have the silky hair on the forehead. The legs are short, the body long, shoulder low, back slightly curved, head large, jaws long and tapered to the muzzle, which is not sharp; ears large and hanging close to the head, eyes full, bright and intelligent, tail straight and carried erect, with a slight curve over the back