CHAPTER II

THE MASTIFF

MUCH has been written upon the origin of the Mastiff, but the writers are by no means agreed upon the subject. There can, however, be no doubt that a dog possessing many of the qualities of our Mastiff of the present day has been known in this country from time immemorial. The Romans, when they invaded these islands, found the natives possessed of a large and powerful race of dogs, from which the Mastiff, as known to us, is in all probability descended. Many of these dogs were exported to Rome, to take part in the sports of the amphitheatre, which shows how highly their courage was estimated in those days; and it is stated that a special officer was appointed to superintend the selection and transmission of these dogs.

The Mastiff is one of the three kinds of Cur dogs mentioned in the old Welsh laws of the ninth century, and is constantly referred to by old English writers as a house-dog and guardian of live stock and other property. In the forest laws of Henry II. the keeping of these dogs in or near royal forests was the subject of special regulations which would now be considered cruel and oppressive. The statute, which prohibited all but a few privileged individuals from keeping Greyhounds or Spaniels, provided that farmers and substantial freeholders dwelling within the forests might. keep Mastiffs for the defence of their houses within the same, provided such Mastiffs be expediated according to the laws of the forest. This "expediating," "hambling," or "lawing," as it was indifferently termed, was intended so to maim the dog as to reduce to a minimum the chances of his chasing and seizing the deer, and the law enforced its being done after the following manner: "Three claws of the fore foot shall be cut off by the skin, by setting one of his fore feet upon a piece of wood 8 inches thick and I foot square, and with a mallet, setting a chisel of 2 inches broad upon the three claws of his fore feet, and at one blow cutting them clean off.”

The etymology of the word Mastiff has exercised many writers, and very opposite opinions have been expressed with reference to

it. "Idstone" derives the word from "Mase Theefe," or "Master Theefe," because the dog was a terror to thieves, and this view was adopted by Manwood in his Forest Laws. The Rev. M. B. Wynn says the word is of Norman introduction, and he derives it from "the Latin massivus, massa, a mass, and applied to the breed on account of the thick-set, massive, or masty, form of the animal.” Skeat derives the word from the French-Low Latin-Latin, and says: "Old French mastif not found, but probably a variant of O. F. mastin (French mâtin), a 'mastive'; Cotgrave. The Low Latin form would be mastinus, doubtless short for masnatinus, i.e. house-dog, from Low Latin masnata, a household."

The general character of the breed is well described in the points of the Mastiff of the Old English Mastiff Club: "Large, massive, powerful, symmetrical, and well-knit frame. A combination of grandeur and good nature, courage and docility." As a watch-dog and as a guard to person or property, the Mastiff cannot be surpassed, nor, in fact, is his equal for these purposes to be found in any other breed of dog. His size and great power are sufficient to make any one cautious of entering premises where one of these dogs is known to be kept, or interfering with any one accompanied by a dog of this breed, whilst his docility and good temper render him an excellent companion. Children may be trusted with a Mastiff with safety, as he is very reliable in temper. Care must be taken to select a dog of pure breed, as a cross-bred Mastiff is frequently not to be depended on. He is the gamekeeper's best companion and preserver from night marauders, and for this purpose a dark brindled dog is preferable to a fawn, not being so easily seen at night.

The average height of the Mastiff is about 30in. for dogs, and 28in. for bitches; but the larger they are, the better, provided there is a proportionate increase in size throughout. A dog which stands 33in. high must have a larger head, a deeper and longer body, and possess more bone than one standing 30in. Extra height alone is not desirable.

The recognised colours of the present day are apricot or silver fawns and dark brindles, the red, which was to be met with some years ago, having apparently died out. Black is also spoken of as a Mastiff colour of bygone days, whilst blue-brindles are occasionally to be met with in litters. It is a colour not to be encouraged from a show point of view; but the breeder will be wise in not destroying puppies of this colour too hastily, for some of our best dark brindles have been bred from bitches of this colour. It is difficult to say whence this blue-brindle comes, but it has generally occurred in litters of puppies whose parentage traces back to Mr. Lindoe's Druid. The puppies when whelped are of a blue or slate colour, and the brindle markings do not appear till later. These dogs almost invariably possess light-coloured eyes.

Of the various strains of Mastiffs the Lyme Hall is one of the most ancient. It has been in the Legh family since the fifteenth century. The late Mr. Kingdon was a strong advocate for the purity of this strain, and maintained that no out-cross had been resorted to. This, however, has been disputed, and about twenty years ago a letter from a well-known Mastiff breeder was published, in which he stated that he was in possession of a communication from Mr. Legh which tended to show that Mr. Kingdon was mistaken upon this point. The Duke of Devonshire also possessed a celebrated strain of Mastiffs at Chatsworth, and it was from a bitch obtained from this source in the early part of the last century that Mr. Lukey laid the foundation of his well-known kennel of Mastiffs. It is from dogs bred by Mr. Lukey that most of the best Mastiffs of to-day are descended.

Among other noted breeders following close upon Mr. Lukey will be found the names of Captain Garnier, Mr. Edgar Hanbury, Rev. M. B. Wynn, Mr. Edwin Nichols, and Miss Anglionbury, who was the breeder of Turk (2,349), one of the most noted Mastiffs of thirty years ago, and winner of numerous prizes between 1870 and 1875. This dog had many owners, but was eventually purchased by Mr. Edwin Brough, who has made a world-wide reputation as a breeder of Bloodhounds, but who at that time was breeding Mastiffs, and with him Turk ended his days. It is difficult to find a Mastiff of any note without this dog's name appearing in its pedigree; but as in those days any number of dogs could be called by the same name, it is more than probable that this celebrated Mastiff was credited with being the father of puppies sired by some other dog of the same name. Turk was one of the few dogs sired by Mr. Field's King (2,301), a grandson of Mr. Lukey's Governor. He was a fawn dog, as was also his sire. Another celebrated dog of about the same period was Mr. Green's Monarch (2,316). It is to be regretted that this dog was not more extensively used at stud, as his great size and bone and excellent legs and feet are qualities which he transmitted to many of his progeny. On the other hand, his rough coat and high carriage of tail were faults objected to by many-faults which were apparent in many of his immediate descendants, but probably more so in those of the next generation. These defects could have been, and in fact were, bred out with a little care and attention. Mr. Hanbury's Rajah (2,333), besides being the winner of many prizes, left his mark as a stud dog in being the sire of Wolsey (5,315) a dark brindle-which colour he inherited from his dam, Mr. Hanbury's Queen-and The Shah (4,457), which, like his father, was a fawn, but not so dark in muzzle and ears, nor so good in shape of skull, as could be wished. This dog was first exhibited as a Duppy by his breeder, Mr. W. H. Balleston, at the Crystal Palace

in 1874, and was there claimed at his catalogue price, much to the chagrin of his owner. Among the most noted of his stock was Mrs. Rawlinson's The Emperor (9,340).

At the Alexandra Palace Show held in 1880 Mr. Woolmore brought out Crown Prince, a Mastiff about which there has been more discussion than probably any other. It was thought by many that his Dudley nose and light eyes would throw him out of competition, but the Rev. W. J. Mellor, who was the judge, decided otherwise, and awarded him premier honours in the puppy class, and afterwards endorsed his opinion by purchasing the

FIG. 19. THE MASTIFF MINTING, OWNED BY E. H. MOORE, MELROSE, MASS., WINNER OF AMERICAN MASTIFF CLUB'S CHALLENGE CUP, ETC.

dog, although he did not retain him long in his possession. No sooner was the dog seen than the correctness of his pedigree on his sire's side was questioned, some expressing their opinion that instead of being a son of Young Prince, his reputed sire, there could be little doubt that he was a son of The Shah, whilst others were equally decided in their opinion that no other dog than The Emperor could be his sire. It should be mentioned that all these three dogs, Young Prince, The Shah, and The Emperor, although the property of different owners, were at the time under the charge of the same man.

So long as the question was confined to expressions of opinion only, no steps could be taken to attempt to clear the matter up; but as soon as a public statement was made that direct evidence was forthcoming that The Emperor was the sire and that the breeder of Crown Prince was cognisant of the fact, the Committee of the Old English Mastiff Club felt that the time had arrived when something should be done to clear up the question whether The Emperor was really the sire of this dog. All who were in any way interested in the matter were invited to give evidence before the Committee. After a long and exhaustive enquiry, which extended over many meetings, the Committee came to the conclusion that Mr. Woolmore fully believed that Young Prince was the sire of Crown Prince, and that sufficient evidence had not been brought forward to show that the registered pedigree of this dog was incorrect. This decision was adversely criticised at the time, more especially by Mr. Dalziel, and by Mr. Evans, who had purchased The Emperor, but no disinterested person who was present at the investigation and heard the evidence could have come to any other conclusion.

Crown Prince was extensively used at stud, the result being that many of his faults became apparent in the breed. Light eyes, which are so objectionable in a Mastiff, were commonly to be met with, and the bad hindquarters, from which so many of our Mastiffs suffer, are in most cases traceable to the indiscriminate use of this dog. The Dudley nose appears from time to time in litters of Mastiffs, but breeders have been wise enough to destroy the puppies possessing this fault.

Mr. Beaufoy's Beau (6,356) was not a great success at stud until his show days were drawing to a close, when, among other good Mastiffs, he got Beaufort, the best all-round Mastiff that has been seen for many years, and Cambrian Princess, another grand specimen of the breed, the dam of Minting (Fig. 19). Beaufort (18,504) was bred by Mr. Sidney Turner, who has bred many good Mastiffs, and was purchased from him by the writer. This dog, for which an offer of £400 was refused, had a most successful career as a show dog and at stud in both this country and America. Minting was bred by Mrs. Willins by Maximilian, a son of The Emperor. Unfortunately for the breed in this country, he was purchased by Mr. E. H. Moore, of Melrose, Mass., U.S.A., for whom he won numerous prizes. Minting died a short time before the arrival of Beaufort in America, otherwise the meeting of these two famous Mastiffs would have been very interesting.

There are few dogs that have done more good for the breed than the brindle Cardinal (8,410). He became the property of the writer at a time when Mastiffs of this colour were very scarce, the colour being at that time by no means a popular one. He was not, there