On the suppression of bull-baiting by Act of Parliament in the early part of the last century, the Bulldog lost its peculiar occupation, but was preserved from extinction in the families of some of its admirers, and bred in all its purity."

For a man or a woman the Bulldog as we know him to-day is an ideal companion. His size is not obtrusive, as with St. Bernards, Great Danes, and Newfoundlands, nor is he noisily inclined, as are the various types of Terriers. Cleanliness can easily be inculcated into his mind. Furthermore, he is to be trusted with children, and, if healthy, is as active a little dog as any of his weight in the land, and equal to any walk that his master can perform.

On account of its evil associations in the dark days, the Bulldog was for a long time under a cloud so far as popularity was concerned and it was not until the fanciers of the early sixties seriously took it in hand that it emerged therefrom. The emergence, however, was gradual, and many years elapsed before the breed was raised to anything like the status that it has enjoyed in latter years. At first its patrons were largely of the middle and working classes, and to these pioneers really belong the credit for making the breed. Exhibitions and the spirit of friendly rivalry they engendered soon began to tell, although many of the sharp practices that almost invariably follow in the train of an enhanced market value were prevalent to a marked degree. Gradually the breed got into better hands, and the notorious and sometimes cruel practices that were resorted to in order to deceive the unwary were reduced to a minimum. To-day the Bulldog enjoys a popularity undreamt of by the old-time fancier, and prices that in the sixties would have been laughed to scorn, had they been suggested as within the range of probability, have been touched. Nor in these days, as in times gone by, is the breed kept solely by men : women have espoused its cause with a zeal that would have done credit to the most enthusiastic of its early supporters, and they have, moreover, met with a considerable share of success.

Of the pioneers of the breed as a show dog mentioned must be made of Mr. Jacob Lamphier (whose King Dick is regarded, and rightfully, as one of the chief pillars of the Stud Book), Mr. F. Lamphier, Mr. Tom Turton, Mr. G. W. Richards, Mr. Rockstro, Mr. J. W. Berrie, Mr. S. Wickens. Later came Mr. Robert Fulton (whose name perhaps is more familiar now as a pigeon breeder), Mr. James Hinks, Mr. C. H. Layton, Mr. Jack Henshall, Mr. Bill George, Mr. F. Redmond, Mr. S. E. Shirley, Mr. Rust, Mr. D. S. Oliver, Mr. Harding Cox, Mr. E. W. Jaquet, Mr. W. H. Ford, Mr. S. Woodiwiss, Mr. W. H. Sprague, Mr. Jack Ellis, Mr. George Raper, Mr. Beresford Hope, Mr. Benjamin, Mr. Cyril Jackson, Mr. Pybus Sellon, Mr. W. J. Pegg, Mr. C. S. Chaundler, Mr. R. G. S. Mann, and a host of others. To enumerate all those who have played their parts in the regeneration of the breed would occupy too great a space, particularly as such information is accessible in a permanent form in the very excellent Stud Books associated with the names of Messrs. Bowers and Jackson, in the Kennel Club Stud Books, and in the monumental monograph of the breed written by Mr. Edgar Farman. Similarly, no good purpose would be served by referring by name to the dogs that in their different periods flourished as typical representatives.

In connection with the Bulldog, the old print of Crib and Rosa is so often spoken of that brief reference to it is called for, more especially as until the last few years it was allowed to stand in the descriptions of the breed. The dogs depicted in the print were in their day supposed to embody all that was typical. Now, however representative the two famous Bulldogs were in the day when Mr. Sam Wickens ("Philo Kuon") drew up his description, they certainly cannot truthfully be regarded as typical of the Bulldog of the last few decades.

As to whether the fancier has improved the breed constitutionally is a moot point. Type has certainly been made more uniform ; but this in many cases has been at the expense of other qualities. The Bulldog of old was a far more active dog than his modern prototype, and no one who witnessed the ten-mile walking match in which the very typical Dockleaf and King Orry figured is likely to forget the fiasco in which it ended so far as the former was concerned.

Once it was thought that when the law stepped in and put an end to dog-fighting and bull-baiting and the other innocent amusements of our forefathers, the breed of Bulldogs would speedily become extinct, and so, as a matter of fact, the fighting type of dog did, but his descendant (whom some are pleased to call degenerate) is now one of the most popular dogs of the day, and his popularity is on the increase.

The novice who sets out to buy a Bulldog for the first time in his life has a difficult task before him. From a show point of view, no breed is so prolific in " wasters," and in no breed are really excellent specimens so scarce. If the novice desires to possess a dog, let him buy one at a comparatively early age - from six to ten months. He should look out for a big-skulled youngster with plenty of bone, a short back, a straight or cranked tail, carried straight downwards, a wide, massive chest, supported on sturdy, straight legs. On no account must the fore legs be bandy, as he may imagine they should be. The hindquarters, compared with the massive front of the dog, should be fine, or slightly made, so that the body, seen from above, bears a distinct resemblance to a pear.

In the head lies most of a Bulldog's strongest points. First, the skull should be exceedingly large in comparison with the size of his body, it should be flat above the temples; the eyes, large, round, and very dark in colour, showing none of the whites when the dog is looking straight forward. The nose, which should be black and large, is set back, well "on top" rather than in front of the face: this, by fanciers, is called "lay-back"; a dog deficient in lay-back is called " down-faced," which means that there is too great a distance from the tip of the nose to the "stop," or deep indentation in the skull between the eyes. The under-jaw must project well in advance of the upper, so that the dog is considerably undershot - this, in fanciers' parlance, is the "turn up," which is one of the most important of the many necessary characteristics. A dog with a poor, receding under jaw is "froggy," or "frog-faced." The teeth should be strong and even, and, says the standard of the Bulldog Club, " must be completely covered by the flews, or chop, when the mouth is closed "; but with all deference to the compilers of this standard, the exhibition of the canine teeth is no serious fault; some prefer that they should be visible, and it certainly gives a more formidable and characteristic appearance to the dog. The ears are of the utmost importance, though the large increase in bad-eared dogs proves that proper attention is not being paid to this very necessary point. The ear must be fine in texture, very small, and of the shape known as " rose." Bat or tulip - that is, upstanding - ears and buttoned ears are serious objections.