Mr. J. Brookes says: "I have been a breeder of pugs some time, and have taken first prizes. The points often overlooked by judges are the moles on cheek and carriage of tail, which should be - bitch at near side, dog at off side."

Mr J. Nunn, an old London breeder, says: "There are two varieties, the gold fawns and silver fawns. ... I find the lighter the body colour the blacker the mask, ears, trace, moles, etc. With the golden fawn, the ears and trace are seldom more than a dark brown, nothing approaching a black, and when they have good masks I find their noses very often wanting in colour."

Mr. S. B. Witchell, breeder of King Koffee, Mrs. Crusoe, and other winners, said he objected to a protruding tongue. Mr. Marples expressed himself in favour of drop or button ears. Mr. Vero Shaw considered the rose ear the prettiest; and a considerable number of other breeders gave their views in accordance with one or other of the preceding. It will be seen that there is a very general consensus of opinion on main points, although different views are held on minor ones, and, as these differences principally express mere individual taste and fancy, they are likely to continue.

I give the following as my own opinions on the points of the pug:

General appearance and symmetry of the pug is decidedly square and cobby; a lean leggy dog and a long-backed short-legged one are equally out of harmony with the ideal pug, which, although not so graceful in contour as the greyhound and some of the terriers are, should yet be so well proportioned that each part is, as to size, in harmony and conformity with every other, and in combination, forming a symmetrical whole. Condition, which materially affects a dog's chance in the judging ring, alters the general appearance and destroys the symmetry when it represents extreme poverty or excessive obesity. The pug is a multum in parvo, but this condensation, if I may use the word, should be shown by compactness of form, in well knit proportions, and hardness of developed muscle.

The head should be round and short, the skull well domed and large, to correspond with the general size - bigness is the better word - of this delightful little ladies' pet. The muzzle must be short and square (a pointed muzzle is a serious drawback); the nose is short, but the pug is not "up-faced," like the bulldog. His nose should be decidedly of the snub variety, but not retrousse. The protrusion of the tongue is a deformity often arising from partial paralysis of that useful organ, and apt to appear in all short-faced dogs, but it should always be looked on as a fault.

The ears should be small, thin, soft, and velvety, and black in colour. Some are carried flat and close to the face, corresponding to the "button ear" of the bulldog; others have the ears partially thrown back, the edge again slightly folding forward, and a portion of the interior shown. This also corresponds with a variety of ear of the bulldog, called the "rose ear." I prefer the "rose" to the "button" ear in both breeds, the latter, giving a dull, heavy, almost sulky look to the countenance.

The eyes are dark in colour, very large, bold, and prominent, globular in shape, soft and solicitous in expression, and very lustrous, and, when excited, full of fire. There should be no tendency to water, or weep, as it is called.

It has been insisted that there should be a black mole on each cheek, with three hairs growing out of it. "Stonehenge" gives 5 in his valuation of points for this. "Idstone" lays it down as important, and hundreds re-echo them. I am of opinion that these two eminent writers have themselves merely echoed the extremely foolish cant of dog fanciers. A mole on each cheek is not peculiar to pugs, but will, on examination, be found in every breed, and is easily enough seen on all smooth-faced dogs, and I cannot, therefore, see why these marks should be claimed as a special point in the pug. I would not allow a single point for them.

The mask is the black colour of the face. The more intense it is the better, and it should include the eyes, running in a straight line across the forehead; the more sharply defined this mask is the better, as the contrast between it and the body colour is thereby more strongly marked. Separate from the mask is a black patch or thumb mark but rarely met with, but much to be desired, and no pug can be considered absolutely perfect without it. The loose skin of the head forms into wrinkles, which alter in depth with the varying emotions of the dog; when seen at their greatest they give a frowning look to it. The lines of these wrinkles can be traced when the skin is stretched, or smooth, by deeper shades of colour.

The trace is a dark line - the blacker the better - running along the back right to the end of the tail. It should be clearly defined and narrow, half an inch to an inch at broadest.

The colour of the pure Morrison is a yellow fawn, the pure Willoughby a cool stone or light drab; but the two strains are now much interbred, and good pugs of many various shades are met with. What is called the "apricot fawn " is now in vogue with many, but the great consideration is to get the colour - whatever its shade - decided enough, and with a very pronounced contrast between it and the black of the mask, trace, and vent. The most common fault in colour is smuttiness, the mask spreading over the whole head, the trace extending down each side, and the fawn hairs of the body being more or less shaded with black. A correspondent informs me that Mr. Beswicke Royd's family, who for many generations owned a very fine breed of pugs, now lost, had one pair - the last - that invariably threw one pure white pup in each litter. The eminent veterinarian, Blain, records a similar instance in a pug bitch of his own, which in three consecutive litters had one pure white pup. A white pug with good points would be a curiosity, and the production of a strain of them does not seem impossible, and is well worth the attention of speculative breeders.