Whilst alluding to big dogs, mention may be made of Mr. Shillcock's Lord Bute, said to be the one giant of his breed. He might stand a quarter of an inch higher than Plinlimmon, but he was not nearly so heavy a dog, and withal but a moderate specimen. He, too, went to America, with a stated weight of about 20olb., which, on arrival at his destination, came to be increased about ten per cent. He has, however, a very excellent son in Young Bute, once owned by Mr. S. W. Smith, of Leeds. This dog likewise went to America, his purchaser being Mr. W. Reick, of New York, who had, at the time of writing this, the finest kennel of St. Bernards, probably, in the world. It had included such dogs as Sir Bedivere, Young Bute, Princess Florence, and Marvel.

As a fact, in the present year, 1893, there are several very excellent St. Bernards now or recently appearing at our shows, to wit - Mr. Duerdin-Dutton's Starboard and Binnacle (Pegotty also should be mentioned, but she is now rather old); Mr. Norris-Elye's Alta Bella, Bellegarde, and Beautiful Abbess; Mr. S. W. Smith's Le Prince, who made such a successful debut at Birkenhead, in the autumn of 1893, and again won all that was to be obtained at Edinburgh; Mr. T. Shillcock's Duke of Maple-croft, a son of Marvel and Princess Florence, his Lord Rosebery; Mr. J. F. Smith's Siegmund's Czar, recently imported from Switzerland; Mr. Lewis's Colonel V., Dr. Inman's Winona, Rev. R. T. Thornton's Andromeda and Albula - all of the rough-coated variety. Nor must we forget to mention that big and good all-round dog, Mr. Royle's Lord Douglas, who made a most favourable first appearance at the Kennel Club Show in 1893, where he won several first prizes and came reserve for the challenge cup.

Amongst the best smooths, in addition to those already mentioned, are Mr. J. F. Smith's Keeper, Gondola, and a young dog named Marengo, by Keeper - Altruda, which he brought out at Darlington, where he defeated his sire Keeper and Argonaut for the special cup, but shortly after was purchased by Mr. Paterson, of Glasgow, who also bought Lola IV. and Sans Peur; Mr. G. W. Marsden's Sans Reproche and Barrie; Rev. R. T. Thornton's Triton, recently bought from Mr. J. F. Smith; Mr. West-Little's promising puppy Tyrconnel, who is having such a successful career in Ireland; and Mr. Rutherglen's Argonaut. There is one dog, however, which, although useless on the show bench on account of his injured tail, must not be forgotten, and that is Capt. Hargreaves' rough-coated Sir Hereward (a litter brother to Young Bute), who undoubtedly stands high as a stud dog, and, although small in size, is probably as typical a St. Bernard as we possess.

As to the rough and smooth varieties, both repeatedly appear in the same litter, a notable instance of the kind happening when Bena produced Sir Bedivere, for at the same time there was another puppy, afterwards called Baron Wallasey, which was a thoroughly smooth-coated specimen, and took many prizes as such. The historical Barry was a smooth-coated dog, and the St. Bernardine monks prefer the smooth variety, for a short coat can be quite as protective as a long one, and would not be nearly so likely to be clogged up with snow as the latter.

There is a painting by a German artist named Specht, of four St. Bernards on the mountains; all are of the short-coated variety and excellent specimens too. Possibly why we in England have paid greater attention to the long-haired dogs is because of their greater beauty. Moreover, as a rule, almost all the best short-haired dogs have been and are white and brindle, a colour not nearly so pleasant as the rich red chesnut with white collar and blaze and dark shadings, which we have made fashionable in the rough-coated variety. It is said that the collar and the "blaze," the latter that white mark down the face from the occiput to the nose, are particularly valuable, as being representative of certain of the vestments worn by the order from which the dogs take their name. This may be so or not, probably not, for the monks themselves make no such acknowledgment, and they ought to know; but so far as beauty is concerned, no doubt dogs so marked are much the handsomer, and in this country are not considered perfect without that "blaze" and "collar".

Careful rearing and the best of food during his puppyhood, have added considerably to the St. Bernard's stature, and a full-grown dog of 20olb. weight is not now considered more extraordinary than was one of i6olb. weight a quarter of a century ago; and, whatever was once the case, there is no doubt that the race of St. Bernards is the biggest variety of dog known at the present day.

Mr. F. Gresham kindly furnishes the following: "To anyone who has made a study of the St. Bernard since it has become naturalised in England, it must be apparent that the smooth-coated variety - or it would be, perhaps, more correct to say short-coated variety - is the more purely-bred animal. In support of this we have only to go back to the institution of dog shows, when the rough-coated champion Tell and the smooth-coated champion Monarque were the most perfect representatives of their breed in this country, to see that at that time the smooth variety was much nearer the standard of perfection than the rough, and, as already stated, at some of the earlier shows more smooth than rough dogs were benched. Were Tell to be brought into competition with such dogs as Sir Bedivere in the present day, he would cut but a sorry figure; whereas Monarque, even in such company as that of Watch, Keeper, or Triton, would have been able, if not to win, to make a good fight. Following on the same lines, the roughcoated Thor, who has done so much towards building up the kennels of rough-coated St. Bernards here, and from whom are descended almost all the best of the variety, was very deficient in the most important properties, and on the bench was altogether a failure, even amongst the dogs that existed when he was alive. Furthermore, we have it on the best authority that short-coated St. Bernards are more highly prized than rough-coated at the Hospice of St. Bernard, and, moreover, are thought more of throughout Switzerland, the land of their birth, where there are at least a dozen good smooths to one rough. From these facts the conclusion may be arrived at that the rough-coated St. Bernard of to-day is purely a manufactured animal, whilst the smooth is a reproduction of the original St. Bernard, altered only in a slight degree as regards the texture of the coat.