ts at the present
time but one dog who can lay claim to the title of champion; this
unique specimen is the property of Sir Claud Alexander, Bart., of
Ballochmyle, and is known under the name of Wee Wattie. There are of
course several fanciers in Scotland, among whom may be mentioned Mr.
G. Shaw, of Glasgow, who is the owner of several fine examples of the
breed, including beautiful San Toy and the equally beautiful Mozart.

As with the Skye Terrier, it seems a matter of difficulty to produce a
perfect Clydesdale, and until the breed is taken up with more energy
it is improbable that first class dogs will make an appearance in the
show ring. A perfect Clydesdale should figure as one of the most
elegant of the terrier breed; his lovely silken coat, the golden brown
hue of his face fringe, paws and legs, his well pricked and feathery
ear, and his generally smart appearance should combine to form a
picture exciting general admiration.

CHAPTER XLII

THE YORKSHIRE TERRIER

The most devout lover of this charming and beautiful terrier would
fail if he were to attempt to claim for him the distinction of descent
from antiquity. Bradford, and not Babylon, was his earliest home, and
he must be candidly acknowledged to be a very modern manufactured
variety of the dog. Yet it is important to remember that it was in
Yorkshire that he was made--Yorkshire, where live the cleverest
breeders of dogs that the world has known.

One can roughly reconstitute the process. What the Yorkshiremen
desired to make for themselves was a pigmy, prick-eared terrier with a
long, silky, silvery grey and tan coat. They already possessed the
foundation in the old English Black and Tan wire-haired Terrier. To
lengthen the coat of this working breed they might very well have had
recourse to a cross with the prick-eared Skye, and to eliminate the
wiry texture of the hair a further cross with the Maltese dog would
impart softness and silkiness without reducing the length. Again, a
cross with the Clydesdale, which was then assuming a fixed type, would
bring the variety yet nearer to the ideal, and a return to the black
and tan would tend to conserve the desired colour. In all probability
the Dandie Dinmont had some share in the process. Evidence of origin
is often to be found more distinctly in puppies than in the mature
dog, and it is to be noted that the puppies of both the Dandie and the
Yorkshire are born with decided black and tan colouring.