The following first appeared in the "Country" newspaper, and led to correspondence, in which I was urged by breeders and owners to call the dog the Airedale, not the Bingley Terrier, as being more applicable, the breed not being restricted to Bingley, but well known all over that district of Yorkshire as Airedale.

"I have," I then wrote, "no intention of setting up a new breed, or to claim that I have manufactured one; I merely take the liberty of giving what appears to me a suitable name to an old and established variety manufactured by accident or design probably before I was born. The dog I allude to has already got 'a local habitation,' and names enough to pick and choose from, and yet I have ventured to give him another in my gallery of 'dogs of the day.'

"My reasons for doing so are that Bingley terrier is a more ready name and less confusing than some of his cognomens - 'broken-haired or working terrier,' for instance, by which title he is called in dog show catalogues; a name which, although correctly descriptive of my Bingley terrier, is equally so of quite a legion of British dogs that differ from him widely in many points.

"Then I have so many precedents for adopting a local name. There is the Yorkshire terrier, that was wont to be called the Scotch terrier, and still is by some committees of shows and others, for no apparent reason, except that it is so unlike the Scotch terrier proper; the Aberdeen terrier, a varmint little dog, which the Scotch Terrier Club also call the Scotch terrier, and also probably for no other reason than that he is not; there is, too, the Manchester terrier, the Bedlington terrier, and others with cognomens borrowed from the localities whence they sprung or where they abound. I might, it is true, have called it with much propriety the Airedale terrier, for the Agricultural Society? of that ilk ' appear to have at their shows taken him specially under their fostering care; but then they make Bingley their head-quarters, and at Bingley Show of all others, in my experience, he is to be met with in much the strongest force, both in quantity and quality. Or, yet again, I might have called him "The Waterside Terrier,' for by that also he is known well, and a very applicable name it is for this rough-and-tumble customer, who is equally happy wet or dry, and is not to be excelled in questing and hunting, either game or vermin, by land or water; but, applicable as it is, I fear the partisans of several other kinds would, with good show of justice, lay equal claim to it, and, what is more, prove their right; so, although he may be - indeed, is - par excellence the waterside terrier of his native vales, I cannot give him an exclusive right to the title, and fall back on my selection, the Bingley Terrier, as being at once short, unambiguous, distinctive, and easily said - which is in itself no mean advantage.

"The 'Bingley Terrier,' as I shall call the dog, gives one the impression of being a sort of giant relation of the Dandie Dinmont and the Bedlington. That he has a lot of hound blood in him, whether the infusion be recent or remote, there can be no doubt, and I hold that both the other breeds have the same. He is considerably larger than either, ranging from 351b. to 451b., very strongly built, the ribs rounder, and the haunches wider and more muscular than the Bedlington, and he is much longer in the leg, and consequently proportionately shorter in the body than the Dandie; he is, like the latter, very strong in the jaw, and the whole head is large; the ears fall close to the cheeks, rather wider and shorter for the size of the dog than in either of the other two breeds; the neck rather strong than neat; the whole body stout and compact, and good muscular shoulders, over useful straight strong legs and good feet; the hind quarters are firm and square, finished off by a thick coarsish tail, docked to about 6in. or 7in.; the coat is a right useful one, short, and broken, much harder to the feel than it looks, being a good mixture of hard and soft hair, and, in fact, just the coat to get dry after an immersion with a few good shakes and a roll in the grass; the prevailing colour is grizzle of various shades with tan, variously distributed, but showing a saddle back with tan legs, tan about face, etc, and with the hair on the top of the head lighter and much softer than on the body, as in both Bedlingtons and Dandies.

"I am told he is generally a generous-dispositioned, good tempered dog, bold and resolute in work, very hardy, the day never being too wet, too cold, or too long for him, so long as there is sport; and whether for rat or otter, duck or water hen, he is equally good, unexcelled in nose, eager at questing, and as game as obedient."

The following descriptive points of the Airedale terrier have been drawn up by breeders and supplied to me by Mr. H. R. Knight, Chapel Allerton, near Leeds:

Head, flat, and of good width between the ears.

Muzzle, long, but by no means light, the nose being black, the nostrils large, and the lips free from "flews."

Jaw, strong.

Mouth, level.

Eyes, small, bright, and dark in colour.

Ears, thin, and somewhat larger, in proportion to the size of the dog, than a fox terrier's, carried forward like the latter's, but set on more towards the side of the head, devoid of all long, silky hair, and without the least tendency to "fall."

Neck, strong, rather than neat, and free from dewlap and throatiness.

Shoulders, well sloped.

Chest, full and wide, but not too deep.

Hind-quarters, square, and showing a good development of muscle. Thighs well bent.

Back, of moderate length, with short and muscular loins.

Ribs, well sprung and rounded, affording ample scope for the action of the lungs.

Legs, straight, and well furnished with bone.'

Feet, round, and with no tendency to " spread."

Tail, stout, and docked from 4in. to 7in.

Coat, broken or rough, and hard in texture.

Colour, a bluish grey, of various shades, from the occiput to root of tail, showing a "saddle back " of same, also a slight indication on each cheek; rest of body a good tan, richer on feet, muzzle, and ears than elsewhere.

Weight, from 401b. to 551b. for dogs, and from 351b. to 501b. for bitches.

The following are weights and measurements of a few of the breed:

Mr. Matthew Hainsworth's Crack: Age, 1 year; weight, 531b.; height at shoulder, 23in.; length from nose to set on of tail, 35in.; length of tail, 7in.; girth of chest, 26iin.; girth of loin, 20in.; girth of head, 17in.; girth of arm lin. above elbow, 8in.; girth of leg lin. below elbow, 6½in.; length of head from occiput to tip of nose, l0in.; girth of muzzle midway between eyes and tip of nose, l0in.; colour and markings, dark mingle back, tan legs and head, wire haired, tan ears.

Mr. Joseph Jackson's Young Drummer: Age, 16 months; weight, 521b.; height at shoulder, 23in.; length from nose to set on of tail, 36in.; length of tail, 5in.; girth of chest, 29in.; girth of loin, 23in.; girth of head, 17in.; girth of arm lin. above elbow, l0in.; girth of leg lin. below elbow, 7in.; length of head from occiput to tip of nose, 9¾in.; girth of muzzle midway between eyes and tip of nose, 11½in.; colour and markings, grizzle back, tan legs.