1868: Shows at Birmingham and Manchester 1869: Shows at Laycock's Yard, Islington, Birmingham, and Manchester; 1870: Shows at Crystal Palace, Birmingham, and Man-chester

Now comes another long interval, as I do not find any show of importance until November 30th, 1868, when the Ninth Annual Show was held at Curzon Hall, Birmingham, with 806 entries.

The following are given as the judges on this occasion: for Deer-hounds and Greyhounds, Messrs. Mallaby and C. E. Lewis; Pointers and Spaniels, Messrs. Moore and C. E. Lewis; Setters, Retrievers, and Extra Class, Messrs. T. Taylor and J. Sykes; Fox-terriers, Rev. T. O'Grady and Mr. J. Walker (Wrexham); Otterhounds, Harriers, and Beagles, Mr. J. Walker; Blood-hounds, Mastiffs, St. Bernards, Newfoundlands, and Large-sized Foreign Dogs, Messrs. E. Hanbury and J. Percival; Other Dogs not used in Field Sports, Messrs. Charles Collins (Worcester) and M. Smith (Leeds).

In the Sporting Division there were good entries all round, the largest by far being in Pointers, Setters, Retrievers, and Spaniels.

In Non-Sporting, as usual, the largest entries were in Newfoundlands, Bull-dogs, Bull-terriers, Black-and-tans, and Toy Terriers.

Messrs. Whitehouse, Laverack, and Gorse were amongst the winners in Sporting classes. Mr. Cropper was well in front with Fox-terriers; and, amongst the others, the Rev. J. Cumming Macdona (still one of the Doggy People), Messrs. E. Nichols, J. Hinks, W. Page, Sam Lang, W. Macdonald, A. Burke, and W. Mayhew will be remembered by some of my older readers as names long connected with the Fancy.

In the December following, beginning on Christmas Eve, 1868, was held the Eighth Dog Show at the Zoological Gardens, Manchester, with an entry of 424.

The following were the appointed judges: Sporting Dogs (except Deer-hounds and Greyhounds), Messrs. John Douglas, R. Brailsford, and Burnell; Fox-terriers, Messrs. Douglas, Brailsford, Burnell, and Monsey; Deer-hounds and Greyhounds, Mr. T. Booth; all the Non-Sporting Varieties, Messrs. J. Monsey and Edward Owen.

Pointers and Setters were the strongest classes in the show; next in order came Retrievers, Setters, Spaniels, and Fox-terriers; with a decent entry in Mastiffs, Bull-dogs and Bull-terriers,. Black-and-Tan, Scotch, and English Terriers. Many of the varieties since so popular had not a single representative.

Amongst some of the best-known exhibitors were Messrs. J. A. Cowen, E. Nichols, W. Cropper, E. Brennan, P. Bullock, Revs. W. J. Mellor, Cumming Macdona, and S. Atkinson, Messrs. R. Hale, J. Hinks, W. Page, J. Henshaw, F. Lamphier, S. Lang, T. Burgess, and J. and W. E. Kershaw, all of whom have been more or less known to the succeeding generations of dog lovers.

The next important show of which I find any record - and to me it was memorable, as I think it was the second London show of any size that I attended - was held in June, 1869, at Laycock's Dairy Yard, Islington, with an entry of 958, at that time thought a very large number.

I see the list of judges contained the following names: Bloodhounds and other Hounds, Rev. Thomas Pearce (so well afterwards known as "Idstone":), Rev. J. Tennison-Mosse (who was such an enthusiast upon Dandies), and Mr. J. A Handy; Pointers, Retrievers, Fox-terriers, and Sheep-dogs, Messrs. J. Walker (Halifax) and John Sykes; Setters and Spaniels, Messrs. William Lort and Fuller Mait-land; Deer-hounds and Greyhounds, Colonel Goodlake and Mr. C. Randall; and, for all the Non-Sporting Division, Messrs. Matthew Hedley, Barrow, and Monsey.

Commencing with 9 Blood-hound dogs and 7 bitches, 10 Deer-hound dogs and 9 bitches, 18 Greyhound dogs and 12 bitches, and 8 couples of Harriers, 70 Fox-terriers (all Smooth) in four classes, 83 Pointers, divided by size, sex, and weight, about 90 Setters, in English, Gordon, and Irish, nearly 50 Curly and Wavy Retrievers, and about 100 Spaniels of different varieties, the Sporting Classes were well filled.

In Non-Sporting Division the Mastiffs were a caution to present-day exhibitors, as the Dog class contained 30, and 19 in the Bitch class! Twenty-eight St. Bernards, divided only by coats, appeared, and five out of the six prizes fell to Rev. J. Cumming Macdona, who at that time, I suppose, held the strongest kennel known of that variety. Twenty Foreign Hounds numbered amongst them two from the kennels of His Majesty Edward VII., then of course Prince of Wales, and took first and second prizes. They were specimens of the Russian Wolf-hound, since so popular as Borzois, and I fancy this was one of the first occasions I remember seeing any of the Royal dogs at any show. The third prize in this class went to a Great Dane, under its then title of German Boar-hound, exhibited by the Baroness de Clifford. There were 21 Newfoundlands and 17 Sheep-dogs. Amongst the exhibitors of the latter I see the name of Mr. Panmure Gordon, since the President of the Scottish Kennel Club, one of the Committee of the Kennel Club, and a generous and popular supporter of doggy matters generally, and who still sometimes appears as an exhibitor of some of his national breeds. With 50 Bull-dogs and 32 Bull-terriers, these varieties stood well. White English Terriers had what we should now think a record entry of 21, and Black-and-tan Terriers also, with 45; and Dandies and Skyes with 18 each, in one class each, and 30 Broken-haired Terriers, in one class, with three prizes, must have given the judges some trouble. Twenty Pugs and 13 Maltese, in one class each, would surprise some of our judges now; while 16 King Charles Spaniels, 22 Smooth Toy Terriers, and 15 Broken-haired Toys no doubt required considerable care in the award of prizes.

I have gone considerably into detail over this show because, from what I have heard since, it was considered about the best show, for quality, ever seen up to that time.

Amongst the many since well-known names of the exhibitors were Messrs. G. W. Assheton-Smith, F. Barlow, Rev. F. W. Adye, Messrs. J. N. Beasley, C. W. Brierley, T. Burgess, C. Butler, Rev. F. W. de Castro, Messrs. J. T. Chillingworth, G. V. Compton, H. P. Cotton, W. Cropper, H. Crossley, J. H. Dawes, J. Douglas, J. Ferriman, Hon. T. W. Fitzwilliam, Messrs. R. S. Holford, M.P., J., E., and J. K. Field, G. Fitter, R. Garth, J. F. Godfree, J. G. Grimwood, J. W. Gurney, E. Hanbury, J. A. Handy, T. W. Hazlehurst, J. Henshall, J. Inman, Lord C J. Ker, Messrs. P. J. D. Lindoe, R.E , S. Lang, F. Lamphier, J. H. V. Lukey, R. Mandeville, Rev. W. J. Mellor, Mrs. Bligh Monck, Messrs. H. C. Murchison, E. Nichols, W. Page, Leigh Pemberton, James Pratt, R. J. Lloyd Price, J. Roocroft, W. Shaw (better known as Bill Shaw), R. C. Vyner, Captain Wetherall, Messrs. J. H. Whitehouse, A. L. Willett, Lord Willoughby d'Eresby, Mrs. Wood, and Mr. Thomas Wootton, some of whom, I am happy to say, are still with us.