In the club standard such is not alluded to, and I do not believe any judge who found a perfectly marked Dalmatian with this light-coloured eye would disqualify or even severely handicap him on its account. Mr. T. Newby Wilson, of The Landing, Newby Bridge, Ulverston, has at the present time the best kennel of Dalmatians, his liver spotted Prince IV.; his black spotted Acrobat and Landing Boy being perhaps his choicest specimens. Another excellent liver or brown marked dog is Doncaster Beauty, and amongst the first rank in black and whites his Berolina, Mr. A. E. Paley's Black Prince, and Mr. H. C. Hodson's Goblin must not be forgotten. Mr. Hugo Droesse, of London, the late secretary to the specialist club, has from time to time shown some excellent specimens. Mr. H. Mercer, Newcastle, Staffordshire; Mr. J. H. Foster, Cheadle Hulme, Cheshire; Mrs. H. Carthew, Ulverston; and Mr. R. J. Hartley, Bridgenorth, Salop, have lately owned and still own some very good dogs of the variety, which, however, are more used for show purposes and for the adornment of the benches than to run after their masters' carriages. Mr. James Fawdry, Sutton Coldfield, has always been a great admirer of the breed. His dog Captain was one of the best of his day, and at the earlier shows Mr. R. J. Lloyd Price used to win with a dog called Crib, which was quite equal to the best we have now. Another good one came from Kirkby Lonsdale, Dr. James' Spotted Dick, and about twenty-five years ago there were, perhaps, more of these coach dogs in the north of England than in any other part of the country, though in Staffordshire Messrs. Hales had a kennel containing many first-rate specimens.

The Dalmatian has not of late years proved particularly popular with the general public; he has been left to the care of the servants, and children jeered and called him "the plum-pudding dog." He has not deserved such treatment, and although I do not go so far as many of his admirers and vouch for his excellence as a sporting dog when trained for the purpose, I do believe that brought up as a companion to man, he proves quite equal to any other of the canine race.

Perhaps his lack of popularity (a special club was established in 1890 for the purpose of increasing his fading fortunes) may have been owing to the great difficulty in breeding perfectly marked specimens. Litter after litter may be produced, the progeny of the best parents, without a fairly marked puppy in the lot. Some turn out too dark, others too light; one may have heavy black ears, another may, when fully grown, look as if a huge bottle of ink had been emptied over him, and there does not appear to be any rule or guide by which to breed for perfect markings.

In poultry, something towards breeding for markings alone, can be done, as is the case with the black and white Hamburgs, silver spangled and silver pencilled. To get perfectly marked pullets you breed from one strain, to obtain equally good cockerels you breed from another. There does not appear to be any such rule with regard to the spotted dog, and in most cases when a good one is produced it is by a sheer fluke.

Another thing against his popularity is that it is hardly possible to tell when the puppies are born, nor for long after, how they will be marked when fully matured. For instance, they usually come into the world white. Occasionally some are thus early marked with faint spots, or black ears, or both; but this is not as things ought to be in a specimen that is expected to turn out perfect. About the tenth day after birth, the spots commence to make themselves apparent. There is a dark ridge along the belly, the ears blacken, the back becomes slightly darker, and about the third or fourth week most of the spots, though ill-defined, are visible on the body. So the markings continue to develop until the puppy is some three months old or so, at which period all the spots on the body should be pretty distinct.

However, the stern or tail generally remains white until about the fourth month, when, if there are to be spots thereon at all, such should begin to appear. Still, very often they are not even faintly visible until the twelfth month, and the quality and appearance of a Dalmatian puppy cannot be told definitely and as a certainty until it is twelve or fifteen months old - never earlier. So those who are in the habit of purchasing puppies at six weeks, when a Dalmatian is the object, must act in accordance with these facts. As a rule a breeder of the variety will not sell his puppies at so early an age. Did he do so, he might, for a couple of pounds or so, dispose of what might in the end turn out to be the best dog he ever bred, worth probably thirty or forty pounds. The latter is, however, an unusual sum to give for an animal of this variety, still one pretty nearly perfect might pay the purchaser at that amount, in stud fees, and prizes he might win. After writing the above, I need hardly say that occasions are not isolated where an owner of Dalmatian puppies has, on their birth, finding them without marks of any kind, ordered the whole litter to be destroyed.

Although the Dalmatian Club has been energetic, and has done good work since 1890, when it was first inaugurated, it has not been able to popularise its special dog to any great extent. At our largest shows the club is in the habit of giving special prizes and causing separate classes to be provided for the black and brown spotted varieties, thus enabling the two to compete on their own merits. Still even this has not been the means of increasing competitors to any great extent. At Cruft's huge show held at the Agricultural Hall in February, 1893, although eleven classes were provided and seven special prizes, there were but twenty-three entries, and only thirteen dogs actually competed, several of them being entered in more than one class. Were it not for a few ardent admirers of the variety, I fancy that the "coach dog" might, in a few years, become pretty well extinct so far as this country is concerned.