Manchester. Here are a few of their names: Old Gass, Barrow's Pink, Handley's Saff and Colonel, Laing's Charlie, Kade, and Jerry, Lacy's Queen II., General, and Belcher, Justice's Viper and Vulcan, and innumerable others of a true quality.

"I will now lay down what I deem to be the true points by which the quality of a black and tan should be judged, taking a dog weighing from 17lb. to 18lb.

Body.-Well formed and short. Girth of chest about 20in. Back nicely arched, falling gently to root of tail.

"Head. In length, from occipital bone to tip of nose, 7in. to 8in.; skull, between the ears, almost entirely flat, with a slight hollow up the centre between the eyes, and no material drop at the eyes.

Eyes. Small, and set well together, neither too far apart nor too near; colour, dark brown.

"Ears. My opinion -My opinion on this point is on this point is very decided, although I am aware that many fanciers do not share it. I admire a scientifically cropped ear, well up, and pretty long. This gives a sharp bright appearance to this particular terrier.

"Neck. Not too long, and slightly arched, and betraying no coarseness at the point at which it joins the lower jaw.

"Feet.-Small feet, with the toes well together.

The hind feet should be cat-shaped, but the fore feet should be rather hare-footed, and come to a point in the centre.

"Tail.-The tail should be set on a level with the height of the shoulder, and carried straight or only slightly curved. It should be thick at the base, and taper gradually to the end, measuring from 8in. to gin.

"Coat.-The coat should be short and fine in texture. I have invariably found that when the throat is entirely covered there is a tendency to a heavy coarse coat. I therefore do not object to lack of hair on the throat, as I consider it a distinct. characteristic of the breed. I look for a fine silky coat of raven black, with a brilliant glossy appearance.

"Colour.-A rich mahogany tan, of as uniform a shade as possible. Tan spots on the eyes and on each cheek. The tan on the muzzle should begin at the nostril, and continue by the ridge of the nose and then fall under the jaw. The division between this and the pea mark on the cheek should be decided and distinct. The paw mark on the forelegs should be equally pronounced, and each toe should be nicely pencilled. The colour under the tail should be as nearly as possible of the same shade of tan as the other marks, and the tail should cover it almost entirely. There should be no breeching

G

of tan on the hind legs, on the neck, nor behind the ears.

"I claim that if a black and tan possesses all these points, he is of the true breed, as it is accepted and understood by the best authorities in his native county of Lancashire."

So much for Mr. Lacy's opinion, which must of course be taken as coming from one of the very best judges of the variety we have known; still, he does not tell us that the popularity such a handsome dog ought to possess could never be achieved, because it required cropping and so much attention in the way of "trimming" to make it presentable on the show bench. I need hardly say that the writer of the above extract had at one time an extremely powerful kennel of "black and tans," and he with his man, "Bob" Carling, could always send a dog into the ring in proper fashion. It was Mr. Lacy who bought that successful bitch Queen II., who did so much winning at the leading shows about 1870-2. The Rev. W. J. Mellor, then of Nottingham; Mr. S. Laing, Bristol; Mr. C. Harling, Manchester; Mr. W. Hodgson, Harpurhey; Mr. J. H. Murchison, Thrapston; Mr. T. Swinburne, Darlington; all had at one time or another excellent specimens of this variety. A little later Mr. A. George, Kensal Town; the late Mr. W. J. Tomlinson,

Mr. G. S. Manuelle, and Mr. Codman, of London, owned some very good terriers indeed, and from what I know of them they were shown without being unduly trimmed, but their strains were not particularly companionable animals.

Perhaps some of the best of the variety are now to be found in Scotland, where Mr. D. G. Buchanan, at Broxham, has a very excellent team, with which he wins a large number of prizes. Mr. Webster Adams, at Ipswich, has another nice lot; Mr. J. Tucker, in Wales, is a noted breeder; and until quite recently Mr. T. Ellis, Cheetham Hill, Manchester, had, perhaps, the best modern kennel, as it contained several dogs that had been purchased for large sums, and finally known with the prefix of Bromfield. Mr. B. Lathom, Eccles; Mr. J. W. Taylor, Oldham; Mr. J. Howarth, Strangeways; Lieut. Col. Dean, near Birkenhead; Mr. Tom Ashton, Lancashire; Mr. W. Barlow, Farnworth ; and Messrs. Hogg, Stand, near Manchester, at the time I write are great admirers of the variety. and possess perhaps specimens quite as good as there are in any other kennels. other kennels. But the But the "black and tan" is still bred in considerable numbers round about Manchester, and the would-be purchaser would be more likely to find suitable animals in that locality than elsewhere, though the

London and Birmingham dealers could no doubt produce anything that might be required.

Owing to the variety of surroundings that I have named, the black and tan terrier is scarcely a dog that can be recommended for the household. Whether there is anything particularly attractive for the dog stealer in him I cannot say, but I have doubts on the matter, for at least three of my friends who resided in suburban London owned very nice black and tan terriers, and sooner or later the three of them rose on three separate mornings and found themselves three dogless individuals. Their "black and tans" had been stolen, nor were they recovered, and one of the three friends, who liked the variety very much indeed, had a second of the strain stolen. So he got an Irish terrier, which remains with him to this day. Possibly the local thieves couple the Irish dogs with Irish politics, and sensibly enough consider them best left alone.

There are three clubs established to look after the well-being of the black and tan terrier, one arising from the ashes of the original body and established in 1892, and called "The Black and Tan Terrier Club of England," I presume to distinguish it from another club which has its headquarters in Scotland, and has but recently (1893) been established.