The Sun.
London, England, 1863-05-25 00:00:00

THE INTERNATIONAL DOG SHOW.

MR. FLEMING'S TRAVELS IN TARTARY.
Now ready, in royal Bvo., with Map and 50 Illustrations,
uniform with Mr. Atkinson's "Siberia,"
TRAVELS ON HORSEBACK IN MANTCHU
; being A ummer's Ride beyond THE
GREAT WALLTARTARY II OF CHINAS By GEORGE FLEMING.
Hurst and Blaekett, Publishers, 13, Great Marlborough-
steeet.

On Saturday afternoon the whole of 1,600 or
1,700 dogs entered for exhibition at the forthcom-
ing International Dog Show (to be opened to-day)
were received and placed in their allotted positions,
in the Agricultural Hall, Islington ; and there can
be no doubt that it is not only the most extensive,
but at the same time the most extraordinary collec-
tion of the canine species ever known in this or
any other country.
The show is separated into two divisions, first,
" dogs used in field sports," to which the entire
area of the basement is devoted; and to the second
division, " dogs not used in field sports," to which
the galleries are appropriated. The animals are
placed upon platforms, in avenues extending the
whole length of the building, without being sepa-
rated into compartments, and the boatds are deeply
covered with sawdust, which, at this period of the
year, is held to be better than straw. By this
means an uninterrupted view of the whole of the
lower area is obtained from the western gallery.
And when it is stated that the aggregate length of
the platforms exceeds two miles and a half, some
idea may be formed of the magnitude of the show.
The harriers and beagles, &c., are placed in
kennels surrounding the front of the orchestra,
whilst in the centre of the principle avenue there is
an enclosed kennel of large dimensions to be occu-
pied by the Duke of Beaufort's pack of hounds just
arrived from France. Each of these kennels ie
surrounded by a light wire enclosure, in such a way
as not to impede the sight of the public. With
respect to the preliminary arrangements, consider-
able difficulty in the outset was experienced in con-
sequence of a sudden break down in the health of a
gentleman connected with the Birmingham show,
whose assistance had been depended upon by the
secretary, Mr. Sidney, but fortunately Mr. William
Brailsford, head keeper to the Earl of Lichfield,
kindly came to his aid in the emergency, and thus
the difficulties referred to have been surmounted.
The show is divided into 66 classes, 40 being de-
voted to the sporting and the remaining 26 to dogs
not used in field sports, and the prizes will exceed
£l,OOO in money. The sporting division consists of
foxhounds, harriers, beagles, bloodhounds, otter-
hounds, deerhounds, foreign hounds, greyhounds,
pointers (farga and small size), setters, foreign
pointers or setters, retrievers, spaniels, and Clamber
spaniels. The second division comprises sheep dogs,
mastiffs, Mount St. Bernardo, Newfoundlands, bull-
dogs, bull-terriers, white smooth-haired terriers,
black and tan terriers, Skye terriers, Dandy Din-
moats, Itslian greyhounds, King Charles spaniels,
Blenheim spaniels, and English toy terriers. Be-
sides these there are classes for British and foreign
lapdogs, monster dogs of any kind, for the smallest
well-shaped and healthy dogs, and for other fancy
breeds, poodles, pugs, Pomeranian, Dalmatian,
Chinese, &c.
First and foremost amongst the sporting dogs,
which will be sure to attract the attention of the
public, are the kennels containing the harriers, and
in which his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales
is a competitor. The three couple exhibited by his
Royal Highness are described, in sporting parlance,
to be exceedingly "neat and clever" specimens;
they are, however, somewhat thrown into the shade
by an adjoining pen, which belong to Mr. Thomas
Collyer, and which are of such a size that they may
almost be taken for foxhounds. Earl Brownlow has
else a kennel in this class, and there are some other
very fine specimens of the breed. The deerhound
classes are exceedingly fine, as well as numerous,
but the pointers are stated by those who understand
the matter to be the best show of that class of dogs
ever exhibited. Lord Stamford has some extra-
ordinary specimens in both these classes. In the
herhound classes his lordship's dog Bran is a truly
splendid animal, standing over 31 inches in height.
Brenda, the mother of Bran, for which Lord Stam-
ford gave 150 guineas, is in the same class, as well
as his lordship's celebrated deerhound bitch Ven.
geance, Which has taken the first prize in her class
on two previous occasions when she has been ex-
hibited ; in the pointer class his lordship exhibits
his, pointer Ben, aged three years and three months,
the muscular development of which animal is ex-
traordinary. Whilst the bloodhounds are in full
force and of exceeding beauty and extraordinary
power of limb, there is not so great ashow of grey-
hounds. There is, however, an excellent collection
of retrievers, spaniels, and other sporting dogs.
To the public generally who are not so much
acquainted with the excellence and value of the
animals in the sporting division, there can be no
doubt that the upstairs or non-sporting department
will afford the greatest amount of interest as
well as amusement. Here will in all probability
be found not only the largest but the smallest, as
well as the shortest nosed dog in the world; and to
read on the tickets the fabulous amount of value
which their owners attach to them, the visitors will
be led to believe that some of the specimens are
worth more than their weight in gold. In one in-
stance, a Skye terrier, revelling in the somewhat
Irish name of Garr
ticketed u y, No. 1,297, in Class 56, is
pat the modest price of £1,500. There
are no end of tickets assessing the value of the toy
dogs at sums vary log from £5O to £lOO and £500;
but of course it is understood that these are prohi-
bitory prices, and that the owners do not wish to
part with them ; but in other cases vary great value
appears to be attached to the specimens. In this
department there will be found serious dogs, comic
dogs, pleasant dogs, and surly dogs; dogs with long
noses and dogs with short noses; dogs with long,
others with short tails; some without tails at all;
and others of that peculiar class that it requires a
great amount of perseverance to discover which is
the head, or which is the tail of the animal. Some
of the pet dogs are not only indulged with cushions
of satin and velvet, but positively there are others
which are encased in mahogany and glass houses,
with perforated roofs, and who appear to be ful
Gcawaels
aware of
,h of their superior and aristocratic position.ly
the
as Htwono, F
specimensu Grev iolfl e ,
thisof the
descriptionl
t Li fe;
whilst Mrs. Delarue exhibits, it is believed, the two
smallest black and tan terriers in the kingdom,
either being able to occupy a pint pot for a dog-
house, with room. to spare. There is an extraord:-
n-looking King Charles spaniel, named Jumbo,
the value of which the owner fixes at £lOO. The
Italian greyhound classes are exceedingly beautiful,
and there is one little fellow, answering to the name
of Silvey, for which 100 guineas is also demanded.
The shows of mastiffs and waten' -dogs are truly
splendid ; but the most noble creature in
the whole exhibition is a Pyrenean wolf-dog,
exhibited by Mr. S. R. Bloek, of Barnet. That
useful class of animals, the Scotch sheep dogs,
or collies, as they are termed, ere very numerous,
barnededaraes considered to be splendid specimens ; but
ttaihletshotuhgerhetilisetNheewfoundlands are strong in number,
.nho
at
tea
hp
ipnear to be either so fine or pure in
we have seen them. Amongst the novel-
sub
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they
Sere
the s
d 8 apfparatus, and other useful and
theTe
interesting
Pooarrtninesgti o. ity and gentry of England
,erbut it has been felt to be desirable that in
wy
hinietho tthheismisatttheer
fithreetreectatnhobsee
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number
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uoaflly, the
ural
all futurpelasaheowansn,
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Agricultural
to whom th
thett to
lta,2k
0e
sportingo. M
world is indebted for the
Hall itself, is the originator of the idea of the an-
nual dog show; and he is about to see his notions
tested upon a scale far exceeding in n2agnitude any

ON iVI

E.NI

thing he had contemplated, but there are doubts
whether his ideas of a horse show upon the same
principle as that of the cattle show will be realised
in the autumn. No horse show will be of any ser-
vice unless it comprises the very best of animals of
every class, and the responsibilities pertaining to
their care, and other circumstances connected with
it, are so great that it is doubtful if it would
prove successful.

It should be mentioned that there is also a poul-
try show attached to the dog show, in the same
hall, and that it will consist of about 300 pens of
the choicest birds in the kingdom. The general
arrangements have been carried out under the
direction of Mr. Sidney, the secretary, and Mr.
Bird, the clerk of the works, and the animals are
so secured that there need be no apprehension of
any danger on the part of the public, or injury
from the animals. It is believed that the hour at
which the Prince and Princess of Wales wil
visit the show to-day will be about 3 p.m.