Silvio was bred by Mr. James Roocroft, of Bolton, who owned a large kennel of this variety of terrier, and who joined with his townsman, Joe Walker, and with Bill Pearson in raising the breed to popularity in Lancashire.  Bill Pearson was the breeder of Tim, who was considered the best terrier of his time, a dog of 14 lb., with a brilliant white coat, the darkest of eyes, and a perfect black nose.

It is apparent that the Whippet was largely used as a cross with the English Terrier, which may account to a great extent for the decline of terrier character in the breed.  Wiser breeders had recourse to the more closely allied Bull-terrier; Mr. Shirley’s prize winning Purity was by Tim out of a Bull-terrier bitch, and there is no doubt that whatever stamina remains in the breed has been supported by this cross.

The following is the description laid down by the White English Terrier Club:—­

* * * * *

HEAD—­Narrow, long and level, almost flat skull, without cheek muscles, wedge-shaped, well filled up under the eyes, tapering to the nose, and not lippy.  EYES—­Small and black, set fairly close together, and oblong in shape.  NOSE—­Perfectly black.  EARS—­Cropped and standing perfectly erect.  NECK AND SHOULDERS—­The neck should be fairly long and tapering from the shoulders to the head, with sloping shoulders, the neck being free from throatiness, and slightly arched at the occiput.  CHEST—­Narrow and deep.  BODY—­Short and curving upwards at the loins, sprung out behind the shoulders, back slightly arched at loins, and falling again at the joining of the tail to the same height as the shoulders.  LEGS—­Perfectly straight and well under the body, moderate in bone, and of proportionate length.  FEET—­Feet nicely arched, with toes set well together, and more inclined to be round than hare-footed.  TAIL—­Moderate length, and set on where the arch of the back ends, thick where it joins the body, tapering to a point, and not carried higher than the back.  COAT—­Close, hard, short, and glossy.  COLOUR—­Pure white, coloured marking to disqualify.  CONDITION—­Flesh and muscles to be hard and firm.  WEIGHT—­From 12 lb. to 20 lb.

CHAPTER XXX

THE BLACK AND TAN TERRIER

The Black and Tan, or Manchester, Terrier as we know him to-day is a comparatively new variety, and he is not to be confounded with the original terrier with tan and black colouring which was referred to by Dr. Caius in the sixteenth century, and which was at that time used for going to ground and driving out badgers and foxes.

Formerly there was but little regard paid to colour and markings, and there was a considerably greater proportion of tan in the coat than there is at the present day, while the fancy markings, such as pencilled toes, thumb marks, and kissing spots were not cultivated.  The general outline of the dog, too, was less graceful and altogether coarser.