We are frequently told so-and-so's terrier has finished his badger in some very small numbers of minutes. But there are badgers and badgers - baby badgers; and if we are to believe a tithe of what we hear on this head, the supposition is forced upon us that a great many badgers die in their infancy.

"We do know that the premier dachshund of the present day has within the last two months drawn a wild fox from his fastness and finished him, unaided, in about four minutes; but an unsnubbed, fully-matured badger of five or six summers is an awkward customer, and with him the result might have been quite different.

"What are called dachshunds may be picked up in most German towns, but those are often of an inferior sort, or half-breds, the genuine blue blood being almost entirely in the hands of the nobles. Familiar to us in the north were those of the late King of Hanover; those of Baron Nathasius and Baron Von Cram in the south. The Grand Duke of Baden's kennel at Eberstein Schloss is unrivalled. Prince Couza, Baroness Ingel-heim, and Baron Haber also possessed some of the best and purest strains.

"In England, Her Majesty the Queen and H.I.H. Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar have for many years possessed the choicest specimens of the best strains in Germany; and we have been favoured with stud dogs and brood from some of the above-named kennel, which required something more than gold to possess them. A habit has sprung up of late, and a very bad one it is, of entering rough-coated little dogs as dachshunds at some of our best shows, and some of them have received honours which they are in no way entitled to. This is misleading, as they are not dachshunds, but'bassets,' very nice little fellows, but with no more right to be exhibited as dachshunds than a setter or a spaniel would have in a pointer class. They may be half-breds, as dachshund-basset or dachshund-spaniel ; we have also met with others, hound marked and smooth-coated, which' looked like dachshund-beagle; these are all bassets, a term applied by the French to all low, short-legged dogs. The best we have met with were a leash owned by a French marquis; these had grand heads of the otter hound type, with rough coats, very long bodies, and short crooked legs, and were called 'Rostaing bassets,' and were excellent workers in thick coverts, but they rarely possess either the courage or the scenting powers of the dachshund."

Between the points translated from the German by Her Von Schmie-denburg, editor of "Der Hund," and the English view, as given by "Stonehenge" in "Dogs of the British Islands," there is some difference, and as "Stonehenge" acknowledges the assistance in drawing up the description of points of three German gentlemen and at least two Englishmen of long experience in Germany, this is the more remarkable. These gentlemen were Prince Albert Solms, Mr. Schuller (who has imported a great number of the best dachshunds seen in this country), Mr. Schweitzer, Mr. Percival de Castro, Mr. Fisher, and Mr. Barclay Hanbury.

Of the skull "Stonehenge" says, "the occiput wide and its protuberance well developed," - the German description ignoring an occipital protuberance, and indeed seeming to be in contradiction of its existence; indeed conical heads are distinctly declared faulty.

Of the ears " Stonehenge" says, "long enough to reach nearly to the tip of the nose, .... hanging back in graceful folds." By German breeders at Hanover show, 1879, we were assured they do not like the ears to come much over the angle of the jaws.

Of the eye " Stonehenge" says, "rather small, piercing, and deeply set" against "medium size, round, neither protruding nor sunken."

Neck "somewhat short, thick," against "long, flexible, broad, and strong."

The German description is silent as to size, but this we have remedied by the actual measurements of well known dogs, which we give at the end of the chapter.

The following are the points of the dachshund, as drawn up by a council of the Hanover Kennel Club, composed of many of the leading German breeders:

1. General Appearance. - Low and very long in structure, the fore part (not only the chest) especially well developed, legs very short, the fore legs turned inward at the knees, but the feet considerably bent out. The whole appearance is weasel-like; the tail is moderately bent, and is carried very little above a horizontal line, or else downwards. Hair close, short, smooth. Expression intelligent, attentive, and lively.

2. Head. - Somewhat long, tapering towards the nose, wedge-like, broadest at the hind part of the skull, and without a stop; skull broad, almost flat; nose narrow, straight, sometimes a little upward-bent; lips very little hanging, forming a small fold at the corner of the mouth.

3. Ears of medium length, tolerably broad, and rounded at the end, which is less broad than other part. The ear is placed high up and well backward, so that the space between ear and eye appears considerably-larger than with other hunting dogs. The ears are not wrinkled, but hang down close at the cheeks.

4. The Eye is of medium size, round, neither protruding nor sunken in (klar vorliegand, i.e., well visible when seen from the side), and very sharp in expression.

5. Neck. - Long, flexible, broad, and strong; the skin somewhat loose in front.

6. Back. - Very long, slanting towards the tail; loins well developed.

7. Breast. - Broad, framework of ribs long and deep, the flanks drawn in.

8. Tail of medium length, strong at the root, and tapering to a thin end; almost straight, and carried as said above.

9. Fore Legs. - Muscles stronger than at the hind feet; the shoulders very muscular, upper arm short and strong, bending outwards; the knees bent inwards, the feet again outwards. The legs seen in the profile must appear straight, not hanging over in the knees.

10. Hind Legs. - Straighter than with other dogs, seen from behind almost straight; the quarters have muscles well visible, almost pointing out (eikig), the bone from hock to pastern very short.