Morning journal and courier., 1880-02-13

about 12, 2,OOO licenses 70 Keep dogs (11,- 991), which yielded revenue of about SPA, COG. registered under 64 breeds At that time the Spitz took the lead, and the New foundlands next. The actual number of dogs in New York city is of course vastly greater. have seen no statement of the breeds since 1877; that was then made public because of the sudden and silly crusade against the Spitz. The number of dogs licensed in the United Kingdom is about 1, 400, 900, as stated by the commissioner of inland revenue, the actual number being estimated at at least three mil lions, and doubt not there are at least 100 breeds. Paris has 150, 900 dogs, of which 112,- 900 are licensed. When one complains that our dog laws are not enforced let us remem- Der that they are not enforced, in anycountry; even Paris has 40, 900 or 50,O00 unlicensed dogs. It is in such countries that we find the greatest variety of breeds-it requires many breeds of many characters to suit the many fancies; and yet in those countries where dogs are of more paramount importance, there may be but few breeds and even but few dogs. For example, in all Southern Greenland there are scarcely 2,0O0 dogs, yet the population is absolutely dependent on them.
 According to Dr. Kinks book on Danish Greenland they are absolutely indispensable to mans existence there, and yet there is practically but one single breed there, tolera- ply pure and believed to be descended from the arctic wolf. Various efforts have been made to improve this breed, crossing with va-
 
 been a failure-the cross breeds have been of but little use except for their fur. And this reminds me of another use-a breed of dogs on the northwest coast of America was bred for it's wool by the Indians. It was believed to be extinct, but they are found to still exist and pair has been carried to Europe. And there were many breeds as far East as we have definite history. In a German work published in 1781 I find all the breeds known and another grouped into 30 cases. In groups of breeds he traces the or'g 'ginal stock to Nimrod. We know that in the elas- sical writers. both Greek and Roman, that many breeds existed then, and Pliny tells some dog stories that would silence any mod ern dog story teller. Even farther back MT. Ward, the Assyrian scholar, tells us that in the very earliest Assyrian records there is mention of quite number of breeds, and several breeds figure on the monuments of ancientiEgypt. But it is in modern times, with in the last hundred years, that breeds have be- come perfected and extended, since the art of breeding has been reduced in 8 measure to science. In various countries there are now clubs in existence for fostering special breeds, and under the stimulus and rules the mod ern dog shows the breeds are becoming bet ter defined.
 have tried much to learn what the ex- tremes of size are, but rather unsatisfactorily. The heaviest breeds weigh over 100 pounds, special animals much heavier. have seen
 
 | which were alleged to weigh 24O pounds. At an exhibition at a dog show in Boston one was claimed to weigh over 300, but much doubt | it. do not know how light they have been | bred. Modern dog shows discountenance toy | dogs smaller than pounds, but many are | bred much smaller pound dogs are by no | means rare 2 pounds is the smallest have | seen exhibited, but this is not the limit. A | popular actress had 8 suit in New York \ court some two and half years ago, to pro- cure dog which she claimed had been stolen from her, 8 'precious jewel" as she called it pug, weighing pound, ounces, (2O ounces) and for which she had paid $500 in gold, more than twice it's weight in gold that is, | $50 per ounce Rather dear dog meat. | Sporting journals announced awhile ago the death of famous black -and-tan which at six months old weighed Al ounces. It is but ' fair to say that when dogs are bred to less than three pounds weight they are deficient in vitality, although they may be very bright, ! sprightly and intelligent These wonderful breeds have been made by man. There is ! absolutely nothing like them in nature. They are as much works of art as are pictures ol statues; in each case there must be phy- sique, material to work with and work into shapes to create the ideal out of. So witt many breeds of dogs. They are zoologica creations, and man is their creator in special sense. | Ihere was more point tO hODert Burns re- mark than he thought, when he said, 'sMan ii the dogs God; see how he lawns upon him The dogs shame the Christians" * ! The old St. Bernard is now rare animal. The | breed originally came from Spain, form oi Newfoundland mastif kept for protection from wolves in the Pyrenees; this is the tra dition. The climate of the hospice is too SC were for them, and like the monks they mus be bred in more genial cline, and when they | are grown they are taken there for their noblt work. By selection, care, and some crossing ! with other breeds, this renowned breed wal formed. When I was there 24 years ago took particular note of them, made such in quiries as could of the monks and read wha
 1 could find about them. I have followed this up ever since. They were rough haired
 but not shaggy, the tail dropping and not al
 bushy, the end suddenly rising, just as in thu
 stuffed Barry; the shoulders very high ant broad, the head somewhat dropping and broader than our modern Newfoundland and the nose rather shorter. This with thei l red inhamed eyes, caused by the rigors of th
 climate, gave them 8 much less pleasing ex
 pression than the modern breed has. Tn
 monks preferred spotted dogs heavily marked
 as easier seen in the binding storm and the | more they resembled the white lace bands o1
 neck and waist of the order of Benedictin
 monks, the better they liked it; but thel and earlier some of the best dogs were of cheap mahogany brindle.
 Of this breed doubtless the most celebrate,
 dog is known as Barry. do not know wher
 he lived, and it must have been during tn
 last part of the last century. The speake
 quoted from writer on dogs who credited
 Barry with living before that. Barry was tn,
 most active (efficacious) and noted of thes
 dogs, says the writer. He served for 12 year
 at the hospice, untiring and true, and save,
 the lives of more than 40 persons. He woul, let nothing keep him back. When the storn
 clouds darkened the heavens, and the blindinI snow storm ragged, restless and barking h.
 would hasten hither and thither from the hos
 pice, returning often to the worst place ol
 the road. If he found his strength insuffc cien
 to pull out or aid the fellow-t traveller, he has
 tened for the aid of the pious monks. Once as he was searching between two fearful gla | ciers and towering peak, he found sleepinf and half-frozen child. The green asbesto and the glittering mica, and the rocks between the precipices and the rocky precipices, hat enticed the poor little wanderer away iron the path to where cold and sleep had vel comed him. In this plight Barry found the child. He touched him with his warm tongue
 succeeded in awakening him, and by fondline and caressing induced the child to clambe
 upon his back Then the true and noble dol hastened back with his load ant with frightened face and wagging tai soon delivered his precious burden a the hospice A picture of thi noble doj with the child upon his back is now familia to every one As the faithful animal grey old he was sent with kind friends to Berne where he was pensioned, and when death came his stiffened skin was preserved in tht Museum of Natural History at Berne. I saw I it there twenty four years ago and got pic ture of him, and but last month saw an ac- count of it's present condition, with pictur
 from photograph The breed is now yer, scarce. There was dog in Albany, N. r., O this breed two or three years ago, and fev are left. In earlier times, several times tn. breed came near becoming extinct from ca lamities. Once an avalanche killed all bu two at the hospice. The speaker glanced nov at the Newfoundland breed and it's origin. Ex perience shows that the modern breed is ever, way the equal of the old in all the uses tc which he is applied, and he is certainly mucl more attentive and beautiful animal Tn, Newfoundland was introduced into Switzerland about twenty years ago. Their intelli gence, size and climatic endurance fitted then for the use the St. Bernards had been applied to. This breed crossed with the old St. Der. hard and with the mastiff, is probably the ori gin of the present breed, which has become definitely fixed as type during the last twen ty years.
 The professor came to the rescue of tn, bull dog as perhaps more misunderstood thar | 0fhar hreeda aYcanf narhans ha t,Ioodha.. .