on the breast is frequent, as it is in all self-coloured breeds.
In addition to the early celebrities already named, Extreme
Carelessness, Michael, Brickbat, Poppy II., Moya Doolan, Straight
Tip, and Gaelic have taken their places in the records of the breed,
while yet more recent Irish Terriers who have achieved fame have been
Mrs. Butcher's Bawn Boy and Bawn Beauty, Mr. Wallace's Treasurer,
Mr. S. Wilson's Bolton Woods Mixer, Dr. Smyth's Sarah Kidd, and Mr.
C. J. Barnett's Breda Muddler.
Naturally in the case of a breed which has departed from its original
type, discussions were frequent before a standard of perfection for
the Irish Terrier was fixed. His size and weight, the length or
shortness of his limbs, the carriage of his tail, the form of his
skull and muzzle, the colour and texture of his coat were the subjects
of controversy. It was considered at one juncture that he was being
bred too big, and at another that he was being brought too much to
resemble a red wire-hair Fox-terrier. When once the black marking
on his body had been eliminated no one seems to have desired that
it should be restored. Red was acknowledged to be the one and only
colour for an Irish Terrier. But some held that the correct red should
be deep auburn, and others that wheaten colour was the tone to be
aimed at. A medium shade between the two extremes is now generally
preferred. As to size, it should be about midway between that of the
Airedale and the Fox-terrier, represented by a weight of from 22 to
27 lb.
The two breeds just mentioned are, as a rule, superior to the Irish
Terrier in front legs, and feet, but in the direction of these points
great improvements have recently been observable. The heads of our
Irish Terriers have also been brought nearer to a level of perfection,
chiselled to the desired degree of leanness, with the determined
expression so characteristic of the breed, and with the length,
squareness, and strength of muzzle which formerly were so difficult
to find. This squareness of head and jaw is an important point to
be considered when choosing an Irish Terrier.
Opinions differ in regard to slight details of this terrier's
conformation, but the official description, issued by the Irish
Terrier Club, supplies a guide upon which the uncertain novice may
implicitly depend:--
* * * * *
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