Since the decade above mentioned, both strains have been crossed with the bulldog, with a view to enlarge the skull and shorten the face; and the consequence is that many of the best dogs in other respects are underhung, splay-footed, and, what is of more consequence, savage in temper. There is also a tendency in this cross to increase the size; but I confess that the largest prize-winning pug which I have yet seen (namely, Mr. Foster's Comedy, first prize winner at Birmingham, 1877), was perfectly free from all signs of the bull cross in other respects. Though shown in a large and excellent class, Comedy was so perfect in shape, and so full of quality, in spite of his over-size, that the judges (Messrs. Hedley and Peter Eden) at once selected him for premier honours; and I perfectly agreed with the decision. Within the last ten years the two strains have been much crossed inter se, and it is difficult to find either a pure Willoughly pug or one in whose pedigree there is no line of that strain.

Mrs. Bligh Monk, of Coley Park, Beading; Mr. E. J. Poer, of Limerick; Mr. Annandale, of Edinburgh; Mr. Jolliffe Tuffnell, of Dublin; Captain Digby Boycott, of London; Mr. Sharpies, of Manchester; and Mrs. Mayhew, of Twickenham, have been the most successful exhibitors of late years-the last named having introduced a strain of the Chinese pug, but with what view I am at a loss to know, as there is no desirable point shown in excess in the importation from the Celestial Empire.

The Following Are The Points Of The Modern Pug

Grand Total 100.

1. The Head (Value 10)

1. The head (value 10) should have a round monkey-like skull, and should be of considerable girth, but in proportion not so great as that of the bulldog. The face is short, but, again, not " bully " or retreating, the end being cut off square; and the teeth must be level-if undershot, a cross of the bull is almost always to be relied on. Tongue large, and often hanging out of the mouth; but this point is not to be accepted for or against the individual. The cheek is very full and muscular.

2. The Ears (Value 5)

2. The ears (value 5) are small, vine-shaped, and thin, and should lie moderately flat on the face (formerly they were invariably closely cropped, but this practice is now quite out of fashion); they are black, with a slight mixture of fawn hair.

3. The Eyes (Value 5)

3. The eyes (value 5) are dark brown and full, with a soft'expression. There should be no tendency to weep, as in the toy spaniel.

4. A Black Mole (Value 5)

4. A black mole (value 5) is always demanded on each cheek, with two or three hairs springing from it; the regulation number of these.is three, but of course it is easy to reduce them to that number.

5. Mask, Vent, And Wrinkles (Value 10)

These markings must be taken together, as they all depend mainly on colour. The wrinkles, it is true, are partly in the skin; but over and above these there should be lines of black, corresponding with them, on the face and forehead. The mask should extend over the whole face of a jet black, reaching a little above the eyes, and the vent also should be of the same colour. In the Willoughby strain the black generally extends higher up the skull, and has not the same definite edge as in the Morrison pug, in which this point is well shown, and greatly insisted on by its admirers.

6. A Trace (Value 5)

6. A trace (value 5) or black line is exhibited along the top of the back by all perfect pugs; and the clearer this is, the better. As with the mask, so with this - the definition is more clear in the Morrison than in the Willoughby pug. When it extends widely over the back it is called a "saddle mark/' and this is often displayed in the Willoughby, though seldom met with in the Morrison strain; of course, it is admired in the one, and deprecated in the other, by their several supporters.

7. The Colour (Value 10)

7. The colour (value 10) of the Morrison pug is a rich yellow fawn, while that of the Willoughby is a cold stone. The salmon fawn is never met with in good specimens of either, and is objected to. In the Willoughby the fawn-coloured hairs are apt to be tipped with black, but in its rival the fawn colour is pure, and unmixed with any darker shade. Of course, in interbred specimens the colour is often intermediate.

8. The Coat (Value 10)

8. The coat (value 10) is short, soft, and glossy over the whole body, but on the tail it is longer and rougher. A fine tail indicates a bull cross.

9. The Neck (Value 5)

9. The neck (value 5) is full, stout, and muscular, but without any tendency to dewlap; which again indicates, when present, that the bulldog cross has been resorted to.

10. The Body (Value 10)

10. The body (value 10) is very thick and strong, with a wide chest and round ribs; the loin should be very muscular, as well as the quarters, giving a general punchy look, almost peculiar to this dog.

11. Lege And Feet (Value 10)

The legs should be straight but fine in bone, and should be well closed with muscle. As to the feet, they must be small, and in any case narrow. In both strains the toes are well split up; but in the Willoughby the shape of the foot is cat-like, while the Morrison strain has a hare foot. There should be no white on the toes, and the nails should be dark.

12. The Tail (Value 10)

12. The tail (value 10) must curve so that it lies flat on the side, not rising above the back to such an extent as to show daylight through it. The curl should extend to a little more than one circle.

13. Size And Symmetry (Value 5)

In size the pug should be from l0in. to 12in. high - the smaller the better. A good specimen should be very symmetrical.

As an excellent" illustration of the breed, I have retained the portrait of the late Mr. H. Gilbert's Prince, a prize winner in 1863-4. He was of the pure Morrison strain, and the first of it exhibited uncropped. I have also added the very interesting portraits of the parent stock of the Willoughby strain, painted by Alfred Dreux, a French artist of some celebrity, and evidently drawn with great care and apparent fidelity. Nell would take a prize in the present day, barring her throatiness; but the face of Mops is too long for the modern fancy, and has been "bred out" by careful selection. No doubt the cross was a judicious one, as what was absent in Mops was well marked in Nell - the bad colour of the latter being the only adverse point which has been retained.