n two classes immense interest was
taken in the show. But neither the promoters nor the sportsmen who
supported it could have had the faintest idea as to how popular dog shows
would become. The judges at that historic gathering were: Messrs J.
Jobling (Morpeth), T. Robson (Newcastle-on-Tyne) and J. H. Walsh (London)
for pointers, and E. Foulger (Alnwick), R. Brailsford (Knowsley) and J.
H. Walsh for the setters. Sixty dogs were shown, and it was said that
such a collection had not been seen together before; while so even was
the quality that the judges had great difficulty in making their awards.
The prizes were sporting guns made by Mr Pape and presented by him to the
promoters of the show. So great a success was scored that other shows
were held in the same year at Birmingham and Edinburgh; while the
Cleveland Agricultural Society also established a show of foxhounds at
Redcar, the latter being the forerunner of that very fine show of hounds
which is now held at Peterborough every summer and is looked upon as the
out-of-season society gathering of hunting men and women.

Mr Brailsford was the secretary of the show at Birmingham, and he had
classes for pointers, English and Irish setters, retrievers and Clumber
spaniels. Another big success was scored, and the National Dog Show
Society was established for the purpose of holding a show of sporting
dogs in Birmingham every winter. Three years later proposals were made
in _The Field_ to promote public trials of pointers and setters over
game, but it was not until the 18th of April 1865 that a further step
was taken in the recognition of the value of the dog by the promotion of
working trials. They were held at Southill, near Bedford, on the estate
of S. Whitbread, M.P., and they attracted great interest. The order of
procedure at the early field trials was similar to what it is to-day,
only the awards were given in accordance with a scale of points as
follows: nose, 40; pace and range, 30; temperament, 10; staunchness
before, 10; behind, 10. Style of working was also taken into
consideration. In 1865 a show was held in Paris, and after the National
Dog Club--not the Birmingham society--had failed, as the result of a
disastrous show at the Crystal Palace, a further exhibition was arranged
to be held in June 1870 under the management of G. Nutt and a very
strong committee, among whom were many of the most noted owners of
sporting dogs of that time. The details of the show we