IRISH TERRIERS are very popular, and should be nearly wholly red in colour, with long lean heads, small drooping ears, hard coats, not too much leg, and without coarseness. They make good comrades.
BEDLINGTON TERRIERS have long been popular in the extreme north of England, and are another fighting breed. It is indeed often difficult to avoid a difference of opinion between show competitors. Their lean long heads, rather domed skulls, with top-knot of lighter hair, long pointed ears, and small dark eyes, give them a peculiar appearance. The coats, which are "linty" in texture, should be shades of blue or liver.
Three breeds, all more or less hard in coat-texture, and grizzled in colour on heads and bodies, while tanned on other parts, are AIREDALE, OLD ENGLISH, and WELSH TERRIERS, which may be divided into large, medium, and small. The first-named make very good all-round dogs; the Old English, less in number, make useful dogs, and are hardy and companionable; while Welsh terriers are much the size of a small wire-haired fox-terrier, but usually shorter and somewhat thicker in the head. I intended one of Mr. W. S. Glynn's best dogs to illustrate the last-named.
FOX-TERRIERS are both smooth- and wire-haired. Their convenient size and lively temperament make them very popular as pets and companions for both sexes and all ages. The colour is invariably white, with or without markings on head or body, or both.
BLACK-AND-TAN and WHITE ENGLISH TERRIERS are built upon the same lines, differing chiefly in colour, the former being raven-black, with tan markings on face, legs, and some lower parts of the body, and the latter pure white all over. Both should have small natural drooping ears, fine glossy coats, and tapering sterns. The toy variety of the former should be a miniature of the larger, and is very difficult to produce of first-class quality.
The photograph gives almost an ideal picture of this national breed, the colour being known as black-brindle.]
[Illustration: _Photo by Lambert Lambert_] [_Bath._
This is a capital portrait of one of the best of this graceful variety.]
[Illustration: _Photo by H. Cornish_] [_Crediton._
This is a young dog not yet shown, but full of quality and type.]