NOTES BY TERROR.

Otago Witness, Issue 2253, 6 May 1897, Page 35

NOTES BY TERROR.

• . • I believe that the greatest of all British fanciers — the owner of the largest kennels lv the empire— is her Majesty tfce Qaeen. Such being the case, and in view of the tact that this year's show is to be held in conjunction with other local Diamond Jubilee celebrations, would it would not be possible to commemorate the occasion in some special and loyal manner? Suppose a few medals were struck and presented in !ieu of the ususl first-class certificates ? I think that some such plau would add much to the interest of the 1897 show.

■ . • I have heard it suggested more than once lately that there should be a cheep-dog trial in conjunction with the annual deg shows held in each centre. I-am therefore not surprised at the receipt of a lptter on the subject. It appears to me that if the several societies desire to create a wider interest iv their shows on the part of the general public and a genuine enthusiasm amongst fanciers and exhibitora, they might do worse than arrange not only for collie trials, but also trials for sporting dogs : —

"Deap- Terroe, — I notice the Dunedin Fanciers' Club have decided to hold their next dog show under canvas adjoining the Agricultural Hall conjointly with the winter show. Knowing at that time there will be a very large number of country visitors, particularly farmers

\nd shepherds, would it not be the most oppor* r *une time for the olub to inaugurate sheep-dog Uials? Tnere are plenty of available places around Dunebin for the purpose, from the For* bury to a hilly place. The local collie breeder* should welcome such a chance to show theie collies to advantage. Trusting others will assist to bring this about, — I am, &c, DusEDIN." • . ' I am sure that all fanciers will sympathise with Mr and Mrs R. Wark, of Chrißtoburcn, in the sad bereavement they have just suffered in the lO3S of their eldest ion, a fine young fellow of about 17 years of age. • . • There are a bull terrier and bulldog on board the Waikato, now at Fort Chalmers, foi Mr Wilson, of Christchurch. The bulldog is ». brindle, and a very fair specimen as far as I can

see ; the terrier is a very strong dog 1 , but a

ferocious-looking brate, and there was no getting „ near him. From what I could see, however, he is not what one might term really tip-top. • . ■ I see by the Sydney papers that the canine section of the show of the recent Royal Agrij cultural Sooiety of ■ New South Wales

was quite up to previous successes.

wero over 400 exhibits. The show was, ' however, overcrowded, and the benching is pronounced by one authority as disgraceful. The judges were Messrs B. H. Cox, G. G. M. Pain, E R. Roberts, W. Brifctain, T. F. Thompson, J. E. Pemell, C. Churchwood, and H.

Halls, aud they gave on the whole fair satisfaction. Taken altogether) the collies wera poor, the majority being out of coat. It is claimed that the four bloodhounds — two dogs and two bitches— shown by Mr H. G. Sandeuian (the only exhibits in this class) were the 0010 ro-

presentatives of purebred bloodhounds in the colonies. There were several exhibits in thu cJasses for Great Danes, Dalmatians, Dachshunds, beagles, aud Airedale terriers. Othe/rwise all classes might have had a fair repr?sentation from New Zealand.

• . ' The Australasian, iv referring to Mr B. Wrathall's visit to Coolgardie, says, inter alia :—: — "During Mr Wrathall's absenoo several new arrivals have put in an appearance at the Covio Kennels at Geeloog. Neidpath Dolly (by Dusky D'Orsay) has whelped two dog puppiea to the New Zealand dog Viceroy ; the wellknown Nalinga has whelped six puppies to Mr R. Triggß's crack dog Traitor j whilst Doric hs.s whelped five puppies to the New Zealand importation Corio Wonder (late Trim Oara-

bineer)." I make this quotation to ohow mj leaders the influence that New Zealand kennel j is exercising on the other side.

\ ■ . •As I btlieve that we have in Dunediu i what are beyond dispute the finest speoiumia cf deerhounds in Australasia, t.he following contribution by Mr R. Hood Wnghfc on deerj hounds exhibited at tbe leading shows irt { Great Britain during 1896 will doubtless prov>>, ! acceptable to many, for Mr Wright is a wellI known authority on that breed of dogs :—"I: — "I t have often wonderrd in days gone by why «cci- ■ fctouuds should reia&in in so few hands, and that they have never boomed like some o£ fch-a, : other large breeds. But. for the last year oi: i nvro they h»ve been coming steadily to tha [ trout, aud 1896 has been » record one so far. ; There has been a good demand both at horn* . ! and *broad ai. fair prices, »nd good ones have j lefb for Ceylon, America, Australia, Africa, | Holland, Beigium, and Newfoundland. I hays i always been an advocate for a big dog on good ! iiaes, but 'ho manufacture of the Irish wolf- ! houad has been by uo means a booa and a : blessing to their pure-bred cousins, and wheu ! by careful selection, breeding, and rearing^ a j good b>g one did appear you were met by polite^" i inquiries whether you had not entered him in , the wrong class. Bat this year fenr or fiva i good big ones have been doing the winning. ! Captain G- A. Graham, on the Irish woifhoujjcl . j in 'the .K.C. GUzc«!.fc retrospect, warns tba • hreedpr*. that they are getting bi?, and tells as i the sias rcost approved of in the forests. H? I zee..? be right, or otherwise, buD as they are | scarcely ever uaad nowadays, 1 maintain thai, ; as they are not required for deer-stalking, hn'o j only a,f guards »,ud companions, the haudsomsr I aud bigger fchey art: the better. 10 is noti»ecessary, anil I should bs eorry to see any cro.'ainy used to obtain thij, bub bybreeding from strains of our well-kaowu pillars of the slud, not rearing too runny, And feeding generously with o, fair aa/ounb'of rnw flesh, the size can bo gowithout losa of either c. aracter or quality. Major Davis, in tins K. C. G. deeri'ouud rciroßpect, talks about the hai- ! tbouj' v.f symmetry and the tape measure, like the good architect he is ; but who is •,o mt'fcpure the Jeogth of * dog's body? No two 7>!>n!d agree : the owner probably creeping up tbe neck aud adding an inch or two on the tail end, while the opponent would curtail (uo pun, pleasa) at bosh ends to suit his argument. - No, I have no faith in the me&Gure, ainco i kr.ow Great Daun rcen both at Horns and ; o'orov?, avvi when beanug the height of their dogs fe»sl ineliutd to ask them if they havo ; measured up or>e and down the of/her. i 80/zoin, f.W. houaa, and daorhound man aru ! tirrtd with the s^ame btu«b, but we ace no worse I ilania the angler, golfer, and biker." i '.* The Tfcrm' " Fiat- catcher " Not * Xci proauh. — The Stockkeeper, replying to a cor- : respondent who objected to his dog being i termed a ft*i;-calcher 5 aays :— "We think thu j cevm it scarcely a reproach ; it doas not by any. ' means imply that the acimat 5s a bad specimen. ! It realiy means fch*t hirf qualitiea shine to j hrillian'oly that they may dezzls the eyes of aw ' iocaotioua j'Jclge, aad so render him blind to the dog's uefects. If the judge is «o fla*; as to ba oaugbt in this manner, the dog on thafc occasion r« entitled to 'ba called s flat-catcher. We do nob see how a. bad itpecimea could p!&y tie role, aud as the flat variety of judge is pretty prevalent, we think the exhibitor who owns dogs that can catch their eyes has nothing to complain of." • . • A Mr E. J. Tremlott writes to tv» Stockkeeppr stating that he is taking three fox terrier** to Durbau, South Africa, but thst he i« registering them under freib earner, so that they will be judged ou their merits in their new country and not upon their reputation 88 prizewinner in England. Considering that competent judges in Africa are in all probability readers of the Scockkeeper, ifc is just possible that Mr Tremlett slyly expects they will see hia announcement and thereby be led to judge favourably, in very tear and trembling, for the sake of their reputation his in all likelihood worthless pets. • . • The following, from the Sydney Mail, is on a most interesting tubject; to fanciers- " A pamplet has been issued by the Board o£ Health containing, amongst other things, directions for the prevention of bydatid disease. This i 6 said to be caused when animals (including mankind) swallow the eggs of the tapeworm co often present in the bowels of the dog. The minute eggs of the tapeworm are said to gain sccess to man in various ways. They may ba occasionally found in streams, ponds, ur unprotected water tanks or wells, and may ba swallowed with unboiled water ; they can be blown about with dnst on to the rooE and bo washed into iron tanks by the rain, or they may find jbheir way on to the leaves of watercress, lettuce, or other naiad plants. The eggs often are to be found on the coats of dogs so affected or on their muzzles. The directions given fo* fche prevention of hydatid disease are as follow**

(1) Try to prevent dogs from getting tapeworm. Never allow dogs to enter slaughterhouse premises nor to eat uncooked offal nor to pick up food as they utray about ; feed them carefully at home, keep them clean, groom them occasionally, and do not allow them to make friends with strange or stray dogs. Regularly scald out their kennels aud the j ground round any place at which they are ! chained up, for, notwithstanding all pre- j cautions, any dog may acquire tapeworm, and ! the eggs ate easily killed with boiling water, j (2) Ownerless and U3eless doge should be syste- j matioally destroyed. These pick up their food j where they can and are most likely to have tapeworm. Cared-for dogs are often infected by stray dogs, which have the eggs clinging to their coats. (3) Do not allow dogs to enter the house; do not allow them to play with children ; j never allow them to lick hands or face ; never feed them at meal times, but always apart. (4-) Prevent dogs from entering any water which may be used for drink by man. Ne*er diink water from unproteetc-dponds or gtreanss until j it has been boiled — it is very likely to have been ! contaminated by dogs. (5) Keep dogs strictly out of tha kitchen garden. Boil all vegetables before eating them, but if salads arc rr quired j •wash them in running water leaf by leaf. It is j better to avoid eaiads taken from unknown or j unprotected gardens. f I "It is quite open to question whether a ! 'better result; would not accrue from the efforts ' of the Board of Health if the above directions j had been narrowed down to the first and second. | The'prccautions about unprotected >vatrr and salads from unknown gardens, if strictly followed out, would eoaapel ) many a bushman to j give up water id favour of whisky, and mo&t j townsmen to forego salad altogether, both of I •which would pr-rhaps be as little conducive to j health as the eggs of the tapeworm. On the j other band, most dog-owners would welcome, and to a considerable extent follow out, sen- j Bible directions for keeping dogß in good bealtb, j in which condition they are no more dangerous j than any other healthy animal. Possibly it | might be wise not only to advocate the destruc- I fcion of stray doge, but to try to prevent ho ! many dogs from becoming strays. The dog tax, j though it may possibly prevent about 1 per i cent, from keeping dogs who might obbenviso j have a healthy canioe on the premises, mi- j doubtedly encourages many to turn -their j mongrels into the street, often with the hope j that they will return as soon as th« house- i to-bcu<e inspection is concluded. Bub the mo»t prolific cause o! stray dogs is to be found in bitches beiog allowed tn run the streets »t certain times, when according to all the rules of decency atid health they phouM bekepb cloeely confined. This is s,u offence which might well be made punishable, aud whenever an amendment to the present dog act is contemplated it is to be hoped that legislation on this matter will bo inc'uderi." A Terbivji's Sense of Hcmoue. — A friend of ours snd his wife were spending raugical evenings with us, and au old black English terrier, who belonged to the house, had been in the drawing room, which was upstairs. The <fbg had been kindly noticed by our friend, who •wns partially lame from paralysis. On leaving the drawing room the dog followed him to the lop of the staircase (we, with his wife, were ■waiting below in the hall), and with cocked tail and ears stood gravely watching his slow, limping descent. When the invalid was nearly ab the foot of the stairs the dog began to follow, limping on three legs (he was quite sound) in liumourous imitation of our poor, afflicted friend, and tbi< assumed lameness w*s gravely kept up • till he arrived on the mat. It was impossible 1 to repress a smile, though our politeness was at 1 stake. — Sp=ctator. i How a Newfodndlakd Eapned Candy." — One summer afternoon a group of children were playing at the end of a pier which project* into Lake Ontario, near Kingston. Tke proverbial careless child made a backward step from the pier into the water. None of his companions could save him, and their cries had brought no one from the shore, when, jusb as lie was sinking for the third time, a. superb Newfoundland dog rushed down ihe pier into the water and pulled the boy"' out. Those of the children who did not accompany the boy home took the dog- to a confectioner's on the. shore, and fed him with a<« great & variety of cakes and sweets as he would eat. So far the itory is, of course, only typical of scores of well-known cases. The individuality of this case is left for the sequel. The next afternoon the same group of children were playing at the same place, when the canine hero of the day before came trotting dowuf to them with the most friendly wags and nods. There being no •* occasion this time for supplying him with delicacies, the children only stroked and patted him. The dog, however, had not come cue of pure sociability. A chiid in th». water and cak^sand candy stood to him in the close and obvious relation of cause *nd effecb,ftind if this relation was not clear to the children he rasolved to impress it upon tbem. Watching his chance, he crept up behind the child nearest the edge of the pif-r, gave a sudden push which sent him into ths water, tben sprang in after him, and gravely brought him to shore. — Spectator.

'. ' During the last few weeks a considerable amount of prize ponltry has been imported into Centcrbury. 'Mr Tonkin, of Timaru, when in the old country, procured on behalf of the Timaru fanciers several birds. Messrs A. and H. Clarkson have also received a trio of Minorca s and Indian game from the best yards in England, and a trio of silver-laced Wyandottes from Measrs Abbott Brothers, Norfolk, has been landed to the order of Mr W. Gosb, Christchurcli. The whole of these birds are of superior quality, and our stock will greatly benefit by their presence. la all probability these birds will be on view at the coming Chrietcbureb and Sydenham monster shows. Our lecal fanciers *r« working hard with their exhibits, and in several quarters are confident of success, so the excitement in poultry matters is now running high. — L'ytfcelton Times.