MR WARDS ST. BERNARD IMPORTTION.

Otago Witness, Issue 2303, 21 April 1898, Page 24

MR WARDS ST. BERNARD IMPORTTION.

The New .Z- aland S\ Bernard fancy has recently been strengfcht-ned by the importation by Mr Ward of High field Lord Ha-wkp, the extended pedigree of which ia given in Mr Beilby'a book, " The Dog in Australasia. " As his aaae shows, he wns bred by Mr Charles Ridley, and i* by Champion Lord Hawke (imp )ex Lady Richmond (imp ). He is barely in his prime yet, being only two and a halt' years old. He was shown once in Australia, and won firsb in a puppy class of 23 at the Victoria P. and D. Show in 1896. Champion Lord Hawke was the best brpd dog in Australia, ar.d second only to Chsniyioa Capstan as a show dojr, and best.'., even him in bond anrs colour He stood 33in at shoultier snd weighed 13sfc. He was a decided success at shows in England, before being imported, having sired Mips Hawke, Baron Othmar, Lady Godlva, Wintcn, Earl D.-irnley, &3., all ■winners.

Mr Beilby, in speaking of , Champion Lord Hawke, sajs that he is a mm combination of blue blood, ai:d is just the dog reqairc-rl for the fUt-sided, vreak-boned, weak-headed bitches in Australia, and has certaiuly done what was es> pi cted ot him. There remarks wculd nncloubtedly stand for Highfield Lcrd Hawke in New Zealand, as he possesses the qualities referred to in a marked degree, and is in fact a far and away better bred dog than his father.

Champion Lord Hawke was shown three times in England, and won Grsfc Crystal Palacp, firpt GrautLacD, and fust Saowdon. The Biilish Fancier cf March 24, 1293, says :— •'AmoDgtt the best Sb B-rnarch brought out last j car was Lord Hawke. A better bred Sfc. Bernard dog it would be impossible to find, as he is descended from all the cracks of days gone by He is pesfect iv colour and marking?, and iv hpad ha^ p.ll the character £f his grandsire, Ponf " Tbe Stcckkeeper of October 21. 1892, the British Fancier of the same date, the Field of October 22. 1892. and the Sporting Times oi the same date all contain flatier.-

ing notes of Lord Huwke, praising him in particular on his immense bone and his fcfcraightness. Champion Lord Hawke ia by Champion Marvel of the " marvellous head," and is conspqueiitly half-brother to Champion Duke of Mapteeroft, who is sire of the best headed dogs now living. His dam, Lady "Gladys Holte, is by Lord Bute, the biggest dog of his d&y, and the best stnd dog.

Bur, well bred as Lord Hawke is, Lady Richmond, the dam of Highfield Lord Hawke, is still better. She is by Sir Hereward ex Frandley Erica, and is litter sister to Champion Lord Douglcp, the best dog in England for tyro years, and' still in the very front rank, and to Champion Lady Mignon, the lovel^esb bitch ever seen on the English show bench. She won 54 first cups and specials and the championship, and within a ye*r of her debut was sold to Mr Reick, of America, for £1000, the largest price ever given for a bitch of any kind. Lady Richmond is also own sister to Earl de Grey, Xeofric, Xiord Ramsay, and Lord Marcus, all big English prizewinners. Sir Hereward bas also sired Champion Kenilwocth 11, Earl of Shrewsbury, Esrl of Burgundy, Duke of Portland, Duchess of Portland, and Duke of Surrey, all leading "lights on the show bench.

Sir Hereward himself has never been beaten on the show bench, having won 19 firsts and cup -when only 15 months old. He is litter brother to Champion Young Bate, winner of eight championships and 74 firsts and specials. Sir Hereward has now amongst his progeny more cracks tban any other Sfc. Bernard living or dead, and the Stockkeeper of March 5, 1E97, says :—": — " Sir Hereward 13 sire of Duke oi Portland, Earl de Grey, Leofric, Lord Douglas, and Ktnilworth 11, a quintette rarely equalled." Lidy Kiehmcnt? bas won the firrt Royal 1894. fi'sb Sydney 1595, and other prizes. She is llvt weight, aud perfectly marked.

Higl field Lord Hawke is a rich orange colour, gocd white mmkings on collar, very heavy black thadirgs on face and cars ; is very xuaEsivp, end has the heaviest legs yet seen in New Z aland ; is very active, and is a beautisul tempered dog. H« is nofc a big dog, but is full of true St. Bcrauru character. He ia a'ready sire of the biggest pup in Australia — 10it 21b at seven n_onths. From Plinlimrcon aud Lord Bute he ought tj throw greal size, and from Sir Hereward and Champion Marvel ought to produce the best of: heads. He has bten placed at srud in these calunans at the moderate fee of £'4 4-«, and ought to revolutionise the breed in this colony.

JUDGING FANCY COLLIES.

Deau Terror, — I noticed iv the Witness of the 17th ult. a paragraph from a Home paper commenting on the Canterbury judges passing over the fancy collies at the A. aud P. shows As I was not present at any of the .«kows refeired to I will Dot premiee either to defend or coiioemu tl'cir action, bub if plsced id a similar position I would certainly hesitate before takii g such an extreme step aa out-clasfring a t'cg jn an open class solely because he was evidently kept lot show purpose*' only.

Your H. me contemporary jays that "if the promot-r* of agricultural fchows were to state «xpl ; ciily wheib.sr.lhe coiJi.'-s were to be judged by their apparent" eapacisy Uv work or -upon the txh'bition fcvpp, thero would ba lees trouble afterwards." Now, if it were possible I would jast l'kd to ask the writer of that particular sentence a question which yon put when writing on a simiisr subject — viz., Wherein lies the difference ? Is it; not in our different ways of reading the ideal standard as laid down by authorities on the subject ? T«ke Btilby'a stardard, for instance, and speaking as a ELepherd I think a dog to come up to it is perfect, but a defect in a dog which would be a " mote " in my eje might possibly be a "beam" in the eye of a fancier. Pie&ty of room for brains, cpace for the lungs to play, and good feet are three essential points ">n a shephf rd's dog. Coat, brush, and ear carriage ase secondary considerations, whereas from a fatciei's point of view they are the most important points.

If the A. and P. societies w'sb in Tulure to avoid unpk-asaut incideutß of the kind referred te, they have only to coofir.e the entries to animals the bona fide property of shepherds or fannera ; then it may be ieaFon&bly assumed that the degs are workers. Scm<a ot the fiims of live jtoek salesmen in the Home Country at their Christmas fat 'stock sales i ffvsr prizes for the beet-looking dogs the property of clients of the marts or their shepherds, and the judges choson are usually noted fanciers. I have had frequent opportunities of seeing Mr Schofleld (the well-known fancier) acting in the capacity of judges at these Chrktmaß shows, and he invariably gave fa 1 i«f action. I consider tbis plan is «. most commendable one, as with such men ss Mr Schofir Id judging, shepherds can rely that the best looking dog will win -, and though in come instances the best, looking may not be the bes<i worker, yet the decisions of a judge of good standing give shepherds who are breeders some idea of the lines to breed on, which they can follow without for a moment lesing sight of the working qualities. I can remember very well— and I am -not by any means a veteran — when shepherds' dogs "swept the boards" at all the shows, when in fact there was no such thing as "fancy" collies — every collie could work or be trained to do so ; but in recent yeais utility has been -disregarded in order ta cater for the fads of fashion. — I am, &c, A Statics' Shephebd.