Beeton's book of poultry and domestic animals - Thurman Lodge ...

particularly courageous. If a dog is wanted to rout out a
rat colony, no dog can so effectually set them scampering as
the EngUsh terrier. Killing them, however, is a. business
which this dog declines. While the rat runs, the dog will
run after it, but when tlie rat stops, so does the dog, and at
a respectful distance, too Should the rat show fight the
English terrier takes to his heels.
Not so his cousin, the bull terrier. He it is that delights in
carnage, and is never so thoroughly happy as when he is
UteraUy up to his eyes in rats in a rat-pit. His courage is
wonderful. As many as five or six savage rats at one time
have been seen clinging with their sharp teeth to the ratter's
lips and nose and eyebrows, but the dog has never once
winced nor paused in his attack. It is curious, too, how
little of bull-dog blood goes to furnish a dog with this contempt
for pain on the one hand, and fierce desire to inflict it
on the other. It is not too much to say that the most valuable
of bull-terriers in London have been independent of the
buU-dog for six or seven generations. Some of these dogs,
while weighing no more than six pounds, will be matched
to kiU large rats in a minute each, and that for an hour toge-
ther.
The Scotch terrier is a quaint-looking, clever Httle dog,
almost as remarkable for its animosity to vermin as the bullterrier.
Its colours are, as a rule, the same as the English
terrier, mingled with grey. It was this dog that in ancient
times was used in the cruel sport of " badger-drawing." There
is, as says a popular writer, "A peculiar breed of Scotch
terriers, called the Dandy Dimmont, in honour of the character
of that name in Scott's ' Guy Mannering.' These dogs are
of two colours ; one a Hght brown, with a reddish tinge termed
' mustard,' and the other a bluish-gray on the body, and tan
on the legs, denominated ' pepper.' These Httle animals are very
courageous ; although they often exhibit no proof of their bold
nature until they have passed the age of two years, appearing
until that time to be rather cowardly than otherwise. This
conduct is supposed to be occasioned by their gentle and affec-
tionate disposition. The legs of this variety of terrier are
short in proportion to the length of the body, the hair is wiry
and abundant, and the ears are large, hanging closely over the
sides of the head."
The " Skye " is certainly the oddest terrier of the family.
It would be worth inquiring how it is that this dog is so con-