But let no one try to dry a Yorkshire by rubbing with towels or like means, for the harm would be well-nigh irreparable. And in this instance the drying must all be done with brushes; each one in turn being put before the fire as soon as it has become dampened, and used always from the centre - "the parting" - downward on either side.

When it has been necessary to wash a dog frequently and in consequence his hair has become unnaturally dry, a mixture of glycerine and water, one part to four, or cocoa-butter will be advisable.

Or if the skin is very dry and inelastic and the hair staring and brittle, it may be well to drench the coat with cod-liver oil and allow it to remain on for several days, the dog, meanwhile, being swathed with cotton cloth or covered by a thin blanket, and kept in a warm place if the season is winter.

But unless fats or oils are urgently demanded, as in a case like this, they should be used sparingly and merely on coats which are very long and might otherwise be matted and snarled.

Discarding lard and animal fats, for the reason that they quickly become rancid, putrefy, and are liable to cause irritation of the skin, the vegetable oils should be chosen as a rule, although sometimes, as in "dressing" the coat of a German poodle, it will be allowable to use a little mineral oil in a mixture with one or more vegetable oils. And in these instances kerosene, olive and castor oils, in equal parts, make a serviceable mixture.

But with dogs generally olive or cotton-seed oil of purest and best quality only should be used, and barely sufficient to lubricate the outer hairs - a little of the oil being poured into one hand, then the hands rubbed together and the coat rubbed with them in the direction of the hair.

That there may be no mistake in this matter it is again urged that except in cases where drenching with cod-liver oil is indicated, or a dressing is required, as in corded coats, the quantity of oil used should be very small indeed, for any excess must clog the pores of the skin and prevent the free access of air to the hair roots.

Baths without soap are less objectionable than those in which it is used, and an occasional dip or swim cannot do a sound dog any harm, provided the water is not very cold nor entered shortly after eating a hearty meal. Yet moderation in these indulgences should be the rule, for water alone too often applied impairs the integrity of fine hair. And it follows that the custom indulged by some breeders of dipping their dogs in tanks every morning during hot weather is a questionable one except with certain breeds of dogs which have a special fondness for water.

Since no more favorable opportunity is likely to present itself some of the influences from within which bear upon the health of the hair may properly be considered here.

As so few owners appear to recognize it, it is necessary to emphasize the fact that the quality and often the quantity of hair varies with the general health, temperament and many accidental circumstances of the dog. In serious attacks of sickness persisting for several weeks it becomes dry and rough, with a tendency to break easily or fall out in consequence of being loosened at its roots. But while disease acts rapidly upon the hair and impairs its integrity, some functional disturbances merely, although slower in their effects in this direction, are yet quite as potent and baneful, and especially active are disorders of circulation and of the digestive and nervous systems.

The blood can never circulate as freely as it ought in a dog that is denied sufficient exercise, nor can the organs concerned in circulation long retain their strength and vigor under such denial. Manifestly, also, when they are unable to do the entire duty assigned them their failure will be registered in every part of the animal economy. The effects of faults in the digestive system are equally as wide-spread, and nutrition everywhere must suffer in degree corresponding largely to their intensity. And even farther reaching and more pronounced are the ill effects of disturbances of the nervous system - a fact that need not be urged, for all must have had at some time in their lives at least a disposition to fret and worry, which alone is sufficient to impair every important function and make the victim spiritless, weak and ailing.

Appreciating that the hair, like the fingers and toes, is literally a part of the living structure, and that it is vitalized and nourished by the same common supplies, it is easy to believe that it shares in the hurtful influence described, and that if a dog is kept chained or confined to contracted quarters, is improperly fed, discontented and unhappy, or from other causes the tone of his general health is lowered, his hair must inevitably suffer with all other portions of his make-up.

When the hair parts with its natural gloss and smoothness there is some cause for it, which must be found and removed before restoration will be possible. And beyond the faults in management already alluded to there is at least one other equally as common, and which has very nearly as potent an indirect influence on the growth and health of the hair, namely, that of denying dogs sufficient fresh, wholesome drinking water. In evidence of the injury induced thereby the writer records an instance that occurred some years since in his kennels. On this occasion he noted that in all his dogs, some forty in number, there was quite a sudden and great falling off in the appearance of the coat, the skin losing its elasticity and with the hair becoming dry and rough. During the investigations that followed every possible cause was eliminated except the drinking water, and after the help had been under surveillance for several days this was proved to be at fault. The kennels being at once piped and supplied with running water the inmates were soon back to their old form.

The moral of all this is, that while cleanliness, grooming, etc., will keep in good condition the hair of a sound dog happily situated, except in the presence of good general health the hair can never be at its best, no matter how cleverly and faithfully it is treated.

A word as to the so-called hair restorers. Including the domestic with all other agents reputed to have stimulant action upon the hair the number would be well-nigh countless, yet as a matter of fact there are but few that have any restorative action whatsoever. Many of them, it is true, have seemed to prove effectual in certain cases, but doubtless in the infinite majority of them the hair would have grown quite as quickly without any application.

The hair is planted in the skin, but unlike vegetable growths the root is not its actual source and origin. A shrub pulled up by its roots cannot be reproduced on the same spot, and unless it is replanted there that spot will know it no more. Not so with the hair however, which although it has been plucked by the root will yet reproduce itself, because its true source is not in its bulb or so-called root but in the outer or dermic layer of the follicle containing the root and in a small vascular papilla continuous with this layer, known as the matrix. The cells formed by this matrix are always being pushed up into the follicle and massed together so as to constitute the tissue of which the hair is spun. And obviously as long as the follicle and matrix remain normal the hair will be reproduced if it has fallen out, even root and all, but let them become disorganized so that they are no longer able to work, and "nothing under the sun" can restore hair in that spot.

If in consequence of ill health the hair becomes dry and rough with a tendency to break off or fall out, beyond removing the cause all that is necessary is to keep it and the skin as clean as possible, softened occasionally with a little cocoa-butter or glycerine and water, and apply friction with the fingers and brush; which means render the hair less brittle and conduce greatly to the restoration of vigor and tone in the hair-bulbs.

Bald spots do not often appear on dogs except in consequence of parasitic diseases, which must, of course, be cured before the hair can grow again. Perhaps the most popular agent resorted to by fanciers to restore hair on such spots - the skin being unbroken - is petroleum, and it is doubtful if many of them know that its good effect is attributable, not to its restorative powers but to its destructive action on the parasites that induce the baldness. Considering which action, its use, or still better the use of its refined product benzine - because it penetrates deeper - is to be commended on all bald spots of recent occurrence.

If the hair has long been off and benzine has been used faithfully without appreciable effect it will be advisable to resort to the tincture of cantharides or the sulphate of quinine, about the only serviceable medicinal agents that have any decided action as hair stimulants. The former being much the more powerful and a poison should be chosen only when the spot is so located that the dog cannot reach it with his tongue. And it is best applied in the form of an ointment, which can be made up as follows : Balsam of tolu and tincture of cantharides, of each two drachms; petrolatum, one ounce. These ingredients should be thoroughly mixed and the ointment applied freely, twice daily.

When quinine is used it should be in a solution composed as follows : Sulphate of quinine, one drachm; dilute sulphuric acid, fifteen minims; alcohol and glycerine, of each one ounce; water, four ounces. This, also, should be applied twice daily.

It is scarcely necessary to add that neither the petroleum, benzine, cantharidal ointment nor quinine solution should be used where the skin is broken.

There now remain to be considered two agents which should invariably be employed lavishly in all cases where the hair is not at its best, and these are pure air and sunlight - agents which stand above all others on the list of hair stimulants and nourishers.