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Otago Witness, Issue 2356, 20 April 1899, Page 42

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— Mr M'Gee has under consideration an invitation from the Naseby Agricultural and Pastoral Association to judge dogs and poultry at their next show. — " To go abroad for news," I learn from ** Wattlebork," of the Australasian, that Lever's -hero — Handy Andy — is not dead yet. From last reports I hear that he is well and flourishing in Invercargill, New Zealand. The (tut deed achieved is the drowning of Borne Portion- setter puppies for a litter of Worthless mongrels. ' The parents of the Gordons had been imported from Victoria o& consider-

able expense, while the mongrels were homegrown. It is thought' that when the boy was told to drown the puppies he selected the " foreigners," owing to his strong protectionist proclivities — the same as he would have as readily selected a stranger — " to 'cave a 'arf a brick at him."

— According to "Our Dogs" indignation j has been aroused in Ceylon on account of Sir ] West Ridgeway, the Governor of the Island, having booked his passage to England next* month by the German steamer Barbarossa. There are a number of British .steamship lines touching at Colombo. It was thought that Sir West Ridgeway should have booked by one of these lines instead of "by a German line, heavily subsidised and run with the ostensible purpose of cutting out British mercantile shipping. Sir West has. now given his reason for selecting the German Barbarossa. He wants to bring his dog home, and the rules are so rigid on British liners that' he has had to choose a German boat, where there are no stringent regulations anent canine companions. So, for tho sake of the dog, the Governor travels in a heavily, subsidised German steamer.

— Mr C. S. lurner, in " Orts of Fancy " in the Poultry and Dog Gazette, Melbourne, writes:— lnstinct is a great factor throughout nature. It is a well proved fact that setters and pointers, if not worked for several generations, lose all the natural interest which they have from an early age in game if their fathers and mothers have been idle over it. Any old shepherd likes a dog from a strain of workers and knows that unless it is worked and taught it will be no good, and, they do not care to breed from them if stupid. Anyone who gets puppies and watches their movements can tell whether they are likely to make workers, and there can be no dpubt that what a good many put down to instinct is education instead. The truest. instinct I know .of in dogs is the bulldog temper, which always seems to be transmitted. Instinct is hereditary from pursuits immediately before, and might be evidenced by .some young members of our House of Lords whose fathers did nothing before them. Homing pigeons are not much use unless trained, and tho3e who want working dogs will find it much oasier for them if bred from oyorlcing stock, and some are less clever than others. One instinct which dogs have universally, unless spoilt, is to be faithful and intelligent, but if a setter is a companion inBtead^of a sportsman he will adapt himself to hia- surroundings and forget the game. — " Abel and " Tom Tug."—" Abel," the Schipperke, was the most mournful-looking puppy I have evetfgseen, and was in appearance more like a tiny black pig than a puppy dog. Tom Tug," the bulldog, was at the time a clumsy, loose-limbed puppy of about six months old, and was given to wild"fits of boisterous high spirits. The arrival of the Schipperke was the signal for one of these. After a few excited/ sniffs and ecstatic waggles, in which he apparently made an^ effort to con-, trol his emotion. 'he suddenly cast all restraints to the -wind, and indulged in a fit of hysterical delight,' mingled with .blandishments apparently designed to beguile the Schipperke. * He tore round the lawn at full speed with his tail between his legs, and then prostrated himself coaxingly on his front paws before the little black pig, who gazed at him sorrowfully and quite unmoved. Then he made a bounce at him, licked- him all over, and tore off again. Returning to the charge, he rolled on his back and kicked all bis legs in the air in the most engaging manner, and prostrated himself again. In short, he made a perfect fool of himself. And all to nc purpose. His blaudishments did not produce one sympathetic 'gleam from the Sehipperke's eye. — Mrs Dew Smith.

— Cleverness of Poodle.— l lately had occasion to blame my little girl for allowing her -poodle to come into the house in a muddy condition. Her reply was that she had tied him up securely in the stable, to which I responded, "Nonsense!" Yesterday I superintended that performance. The poodle was led by a stout string and fastenecV'to tho manger^ both pillar reins were then hung on the .same side of the stall, and both snaps fastened to the ring of his collar. After testing the snaps, I remarked, "At anyrate, ho can't get loose now!" "But he will," was the reply; "you'll see." "Nonsense!" I once more responded. The stable door was shut, and we returned to the house. In five minutes the poodle entered quite unconcernedly with his string broken. I returned to the stable and cross-examined the coachman. " Did you let that dog loose?" "No, air; he does it himself. He undoes the (=na.yf>*\vitli his teeth, breaks the string, and jumps out of that there little window," pointing to one 6ft from the ground, with a small sill a trifle lower. " I couldn't have believed it possible," I said. " No, nor anyone else either that hadn't seen 'im do it," was the answer. — Holcombe Ingleby, Heacham Hall, Norfolk, in "the Field.