I must confess this is a dog I know very little about; they crop up, however, pretty often at our shows, and give one the impression of being a cross between a King Charles spaniel and a pug.

In "Jesse's Researches" the following quotation from Sir Rutherford Alcock, long resident in Japan, is given: "And first I am to find a pair of well bred Japanese dogs, with eyes like saucers, no nose, the tongue hanging out at the side, too large for the mouth, and white and tan, if possible. My dogs are chosen, a species of King Charles spaniel intensified; and, by-the-bye, there is so much genuine likeness that I think it probable the Merry Monarch was indebted to his marriage with a Portuguese princess for the original race of spaniels."

The Japanese, it is said, give their toy dogs, when puppies, a spirit called saki to keep them small. It is a singular coincidence that a similar habit obtains among the lower order of dog fanciers in this country, where gin is given to stop the growth of puppies.

The following remarks on the breed are from the pen of Mr. Marples: -

"This variety of dog, specimens of which I have heard Mr. Lort remark he had seen some twenty years ago, and which have since been occasionally imported into this country, but not to any great extent, owing, no doubt, to the great distance, has not been propagated much hitherto, as the breed is almost a rarity, and up to the present has not even been introduced into any work upon dogs that I am aware of.

"Since coming into possession of the Japanese pug Ming Seng, I have been led to make some little inquiries respecting the breed, and the information I have gathered places the matter beyond dispute that such a breed does exist in Japan, and is as distinct as the pug of our own country and quite as common. It has been inferred by some that it may have been obtained by a cross with our King Charles and English pug or some other dog, but this I consider quite fallacious. The dog resembles a King Charles but little, excepting that it is short in face, while in build and general contour it is totally different, and the coat is perfectly straight, and being more profuse than the Charlie is scarcely a likely result from a cross with a smooth-haired dog.

"Mr. G. W. Allen won the silver medal at the Kennel Club's Alexandra Palace Summer Show in 1878, in the class for small sized foreign dogs, with Shantung (so named after a province, in which is the Palace of Pekin, where the dog was born). This is a black and white specimen, possessing the same characteristics as Ming Seng, but a little larger, being about 141b. weight. The Rev. G. F. Hodson won at Birmingham, in 1873, with a light red and white Japanese pug, the parents of which were imported by a friend of his in the 1st Dragoon Guards, and obtained by him from the Summer Palace of the Emperor of China. This dog was also of the same type, and an excellent specimen. A Mr. Currie, of Manchester, has a bitch with which he has also won a prize or two at local shows; and together with others that I have seen, coupled with other facts, are conclusive evidence that the breed is one peculiar to Japan, where it is kept in its purity and highly prized by the aristocracy of that country, as well as being a Royal favourite there.

"A Japanese gentleman, now residing at Blackburn, where he is acquiring a knowledge of the cotton business at the mills of Messrs. Briggs, heard of my Japanese pug, and on seeing it, to satisfy a friend of mine, favoured me with the following:-

"[copy.] "Rose Hill Mills, Blackburn, September 19, 1879.

"'I have seen Mr. Marples' Japanese pug, and I, being a native of Japan, can testify to its being a very good one; in fact, I have seen scores in my native country, and I do not remember ever seeing a better. They are mostly black and white in colour, and in coat, size, and general conformation I should say the little dog Ming Seng is a correct representation.

'"(Signed) Yamanobe Takeo,

Tokio, Japan.'

"The prevailing colour is undoubtedly black"and white, though there are some of a different colour - red and white, brown and white, and self colours - the Rev. Mr. Hodson's to note. The coat, in texture, resembles most to my mind that of a good colley, and also the architecture of the animal, excepting, of course, his extremities. In disposition the dog is very lively and intelligent, and, like our own pug, extremely sensitive. He soon becomes attached to his home and its inmates, to whom, under kind treatment, he shows great affection, but is somewhat sullen with strangers, and feels and remembers the least chastisement. Like the French poodle, however, he is remarkably intelligent and may be taught many tricks.

"Ming Seng is now a little over 3½ years old, and was imported by a sailor on board a merchant vessel trading between London and Japan, in tea and fancy Japanese goods, and sold to a gentleman in London, who afterwards sold him to a Mr. W. J. Lncas, of Blackburn, an old fancier, from whom he was purchased by me. I have exhibited the dog at several shows in 1879, in variety classes, under Messrs. Lort, Hodson, Cowen, Gamon, Skidmore, Brierley, and Adcock, with the following result: - Equal 1st at Manchester (Royal Liverpool and Manchester Society's Show), Preston, Bootle, and Farnworth; 1st Southport, and very highly commended Wigan, etc.

"Ming Seng is black and white in colour (showing a preponderance of the former), 91b. weight, measuring only ⅝in. in muzzle which is square, and, like many of our pugs, he has the protruding tongue; head lofty, eyes large and lustrous, being set in wide apart, ears small and dropping forward at the side of head. He is very symmetrically built, being short in back, has a deep chest, straight limbs, and is harefooted; his tail is twisted tightly over the hip, the hair upon which, as on the rest of the body, being long, profuse, and perfectly straight; the fore legs are well feathered, the hair on the hind legs being short up to the hock, resembling, as I said before, a colley in this respect. He is very sensible and affectionate to those with whom he is acquainted, and can perform several tricks, which, no doubt, have been taught him on board ship during his somewhat long passage."

I do not necessarily endorse Mr. Marples' opinions. On the subject of evidence he appears to be much more easily satisfied than I should be. When he compares this dog in "coat and architecture "to a colley, I must emphatically express my dissent.

Mr. Marples would have been as near the mark had he compared the Japanese pug to a hippopotamus.

Since writing the above, I saw at the New York Dog Show, where I acted as one of the judges, a class of nine, very level in quality, and all of Ming Seng's type; they were classed as Japanese spaniels.