The origin of the Dalmatian is quite as obscure as that of any other breed. When naturalists indulged in flights of fancy on such subjects this peculiarly spotted dog was said to be the offspring of an alliance between a dog and a tiger; he has been called a pointer, the Bengal harrier, the Danish dog, and likened to a bull terrier. There appears, however, to be no valid reason to reject the origin suggested by his name, and, with no arguments against it that bear investigation, and suggestions to the contrary appearing to be mere fancies unsupported by proof, I think it reasonable to assume that he is a native of Dalmatia, on the eastern shores of the Gulf of Venice. Of course, the idea at one time seriously put forward, that our spotted carriage dog was the result of a cross between a dog and a tiger, would now be laughed at by any schoolboy, who might, indeed, suggest the leopard as the more likely animal to produce a spotted dog. I do not know on what authority Youatt called him the great Danish dog, a variety naturalists have described as much larger and, in many respects, different from our carriage dog, and his claim to be a Bengalese harrier seems to rest on the single fact that a spotted dog resembling our modern Dalmatian was once brought from Bengal to Spain. That he originally came from Dalmatia his name indicates, and this view seems strengthened by the recorded fact that for two centuries and a half he has been one of the domesticated dogs of Italy, a country so near to his reputed native home that we can easily imagine his being familiarised there long before he reached this dog-loving isle.

When the Dalmatian first became known in England I have been unable to discover. He was a favourite with the wealthy in the last century, and continued to be considered an absolutely indispensable appendage to the elaborately magnificent equipage and stable establishments of the great, to which his highly ornamental appearance added splendour, and his natural habits and love for the horse so well fitted him.

MR. A. G. JAMES' DALMATIAN "SPOTTED DICK" (K.C.S.B. 8496). Sire Mr. Alderman Humphries' Ben - Dam Mr. Fayne's Nell, by Capt. Tarrant's Bob.

Bewick gives an engraving of one so perfect in the clearly defined and perfectly arranged spots that I have not the least doubt art improved on Nature, just as Mr. Baker in "Dogs of the British Islands " has made Captain's spots so very much more distinct with his pencil than Dame Nature has with hers.

Either of these engravings might, however, be taken as a model to breed up to as regards colour and spots, but neither is so correct in that respect as Mr. Moore has been in depicting Spotted Dick, the subject of our engraving, although the body colour is too dark, not doing the dog justice there, but the spots are given as they actually are.

It has been assumed that the Dalmatian possesses an instinctive fondness for the horse, but this I do not conceive was the cause of his being attached to the carriage and stable; but I rather suppose his ornamental qualities were the attractions to owners of equipages, and that his liking for horses and all connected with them has been fostered by habit and is now inherited.

"Idstone" says he never knew a dog of the breed that did not readily take to following horse and conveyance, but my experience has been different, and I possess one now of prize blood that shows no propensity to following a carriage, although reared among horses. Still, that is a predominating trait in their character, and, in fact, in that seems to consist their sole delight, and, no matter at what hour, they are always ready for the turn out, and do not seem to care how far the run may be.

Some Dalmatians keep close under the carriage in running, so much so that they appear to run as though chained to the axle, but others, indeed the most of them, when fresh and full of life, gallop in front, showing much dignity as the forerunner of the carriage, and pleasure in association with it. At other times they run marvellously close to the horse's heels, but they never snap at them or jump up barking at them in front of their nose as dogs of other breeds are apt to do under similar circumstances.

As already said, in the early part of the century the carriage dog was more generally kept than he is now as a part of the stable establishment, and then, and indeed until almost recent years, his ears were cropped short, often to a level with the head. Many readers will recollect dogs that had been subjected to this barbarous custom, and I am glad to say it no longer prevails; indeed, terrier fanciers are the only class who now indulge such a vitiated taste, and it is to be hoped they will soon, from shame at being so far behind their neighbours, if from no higher motive, give up a custom for which it is impossible to find any better justification than the wish to indulge a vulgar fancy. There are, I think, evidences that this very handsome appendage to the carriage is slowly but, I hope, surely regaining his popularity. It is true they have never been a large class at our shows, but I certainly know more good specimens at the present time than I have done for years, and I have known every prize winner since the commencement of shows.

The Messrs. Hale, of Brierley Hill and Burton-on-Trent, were principal winners at early shows, and Mr. Rowland Davies, of Swan Village, West Bromwich, owned some good ones that won at Birmingham and London; and then followed Mr. R. J. LI. Price's Crib, bred by Mr. Rowland Hale, that took all before him until in his declining years he had to give way to Mr. Fawdry's celebrated Captain - a dog, I think, the best coloured of any of the breed I have ever seen, but, from what I have seen of coming dogs, I should think his place is likely to be taken by the subject of our woodcut - Dr. James's Spotted Dick - a dog not so good in contrast of colour, but superior in formation.