lineage are obtainable and the general public are educated
sufficiently to understand the good points of the dog. I think the
breeding of this dog appeals to a wider class of people than any other
breed, from the man of wealth who produces the puppies to be given away as
wedding presents or Christmas gifts, down to the lone widow, or the man
incapacitated for hard work, who must do something to keep the wolf from
the door, and who finds in the raising of these charming little pets a
certain source of income and a delightful occupation combined. I do not
think that any one may apprehend that the market will ever be overstocked,
for as the dog becomes known, the desire for possession among all classes
will be correspondingly increased, and as he is strictly an American
product, no importation from Europe can possibly supply winners, or
specially good dogs, as is the case with almost all other breeds. And the
fact is demonstrated that dogs of A 1 quality can be produced on American
soil.

There are two or three subjects that demand the most careful consideration
at the hands of the breeder, and to which I am afraid in many cases not
particular enough attention is given. I refer in the first place to the
question of inbreeding, an admitted necessity in the early history of the
dog, but in the writer's estimation very harmful and much to be
discouraged at the present time. I will yield to no man in the belief that
the fact is absolutely and scientifically true that close consanguineous
breeding is the most powerful means of determining character and
establishing type, in many instances justifiable as the only correct way
to fix desirable qualities, both physical and mental, but extreme care
must be exercised that both parties to the union must be of good quality
and not share the same defects, and where it is evident that the extra
good qualities on the one side more than outbalance the defects of the
other, and extreme precaution must always be paid to avoid carrying this
system too far.

In regard to intense inbreeding, as in the case of mating dogs from the
same sire and dam, or the bitch to her sire, or dam to son, I thing it is
highly objectionable and should never under any circumstances be resorted
to; failure will ensue. Far better to let the bitch go by unmated and lose
six months than mate her in this way because a suitable stud dog was not
at the time available. I believe that this inbreeding is productive of
exc