Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-01-09

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cient capital. and three hours In "troika"
4 brought him to Perc nina, the grand ducaI
| hunting lodge. Hero veritable sur
| prise and reward for al his trouble awaited
| him. for. met by Monsieur Dmity Waltzof
| (chef du Conptoir), whom he found to be a
very intelligent fancier and judge. he had
| the pleasure of being conducted through
a kennel containing the finest collection OF
dogs of any one breed he had ever seen.
The Ancient Type.
Marvellous is the only adjective that VIII
Qualify here Imagine a hundred grown
dogs all stamped with the hall mark OF
the ancient type" the type that every ono
has read about, but rarely. II ever, seen;
in fact. the theoretical standard over
which every one has been so confused, re-
produced in practical perfection.
Such dogs he also found possessed by the
Boldarotfs at WoronZova In the province
OF Tamboy. from Tula. a fourteen-hour trip
over the route taken by the Trans-Siberian
express.
The dogs at Perchina vary In color from
white to dark tan mo black), while the
Boldarof kennel IS especially notable for
its white dogs and for their magnificence of
coat.
Ones first thought is. why have English
and American breeders not secured speci-
mems of these dogs, and why has not more
been heard of them? There are three
potent reasons answering this query. Prl-
marily, these wonderful kennels are very
remote from the ordinary travelled route,
secondarily, owing to the English dog
quarantine laws. very few Russian wolf
hounds have In recent years left Russia.
and, thirdly, years ago, when expectations
did take place, this type practically did not
exist.
System of Regeneration.
Nearly four score years ago the "anclene
type" did exist; then began q mania foN
Improvement" which provided nothing.
more nor less than th5 general spoliaton
/ the race. SO that from that time up to-
the recent regeneration brought about by;
the grand duke and Mr.. Boldaroff, the;
Russian kennels in general contained dogs
similar to those in the imperial kennels OF
today.
Nicola1 gathered the progentors of his now!
wonderful kennels. To briefly explain the
method OF regeneration. 1t is necessary only!
to state that 1t was brought about by a
violent out-cross: for example. strain con-
tanning Russian and English blood way.
crossed with another strain containing
Russian and Crimean blood. Some OF ths'
progeny of such crosses reverted to the
ancient type, and by the most careful selec-
ton OF these for years In succession the
results obtained by the Grand Duke Nicolai
and the Boldaroffs were brought about.
Eight years ago he his first gold
which had been awarded for twenty years.
In the last seven years the grand duke
has won in the single class seven out or
eight gold medals ever offered at Moscow,
and three out of five gold medals for wolfi
teams 1.-TWO dogs and bitch). The other
two gold medals for teams have been woni
by dogs Of Mr.. Boldaroff's breeding. y
Great Bit Of Luck.
Mr.. Thomas was very much fiattered I'M
being able to secure from the kennels OIL
the grand duke such a dog as the white
and brindle "Bistri.' whose family record'
Is an enviable one in dog aristocracy. )
From the Boldaroff kennel he was for
tunate enough to be able to purchase the
great silver medal white bitch "Sorva,'T
whose pride of birth was scarcely less than
that Of "Bistri." In addition to this pair
he brought out as a gift from that mosc
keen Of fanciers and genial Of hosts, Mr.
Artem Boldaroff the bronze medal white
bitch "Atamanka," which has been prd,3
nounced the best all-white dog In Russia.
The granddam of these two dogs, ths'
famous "Lihodka," whom authorities on
dogs declare to be the first profusely coated.
bitch In the regeneration of the breed, was
imported to England few years ago by q;
man who was not 'fn the SWIM ''I.ifIod.
ka," being the only one of her type on tbs
island, was actually thrown down" IN the
judging ring because she had too much
coat. Poor "Lihodka" died the day she ar,
rived in America, a short time ago, brought
here by Mr.. Thomas as an object lesson IN.
breeding.