"Bearded Collies.—Of the three
first mentioned varieties the beardie is perhaps as distinct a
type as any. This class of dog is a sort of combination of the
ordinary collie and the Old English sheep-dog." Beardies are
nearly always dark or hazel grey in colour, roughly haired over
the upper part of the face and eyes, and rather pronounced in
the hook of the hind leg. This class of dog is very intelligent,
but some years ago, on account of their generally bigger size
and heavier weight, they became less popular with hill shepherds
than the smaller class of collies. This, however, was followed
by efforts for their reintroduction which have been attended
with a considerable amount of success, and one now sees more of
them than formerly. It is a tribute to the beardie that he is
often seen in the hands of drovers—a class of men who waste
little sentiment, as a rule, on their dogs, but usually put
points of utility and usefulness in the forefront. From the
point of view of the hill shepherd, however, the smaller collie
has its advantages. Being lighter in weight, its feet are not so
apt to get torn or frayed by rough heather roots or stumps.
A good specimen of a Bearded
Collie is represented in fig. 735." The image in fig. 735
was the same dog that was shown within this "Timeline" section
for the year 1905.
