Q CAN you tell me who was the Jack Russell of terrier fame? - Kenneth Orton, Ferryhill Station.

A THE man who gave his name to this breed of dog was the Reverend John Russell (1795-1883) of Swimbridge, near Barnstable in north Devon, where the pub is called The Jack Russell. Russell was a flamboyant character known as Parson Jack and was a keen hunter, particularly fond of fox hunting.

During Russell's lifetime, the fox terrier became increasingly popular in the show ring or as a pet and it was being bred for its show qualities rather than its working abilities. Russell wanted to preserve the hunting attributes of the terrier and this is why the Jack Russell breed was developed.

By the end of the 19th Century, two breeds of fox terrier, the wire-haired and the smooth-haired, had emerged and both had diverged far from their ancestral type.

Russell bred his fox terriers purely for their working attributes. Fox terriers had a distinct role in fox hunting. If a fox went to ground, a terrier would be sent in to flush it out. It was not the terrier's job to kill the fox. Digging capabilities, an ability to follow scent and a tendency to bark were necessary to flush out the fox. These were attributes Russell wanted in the breed.

It is believed that Russell's particular breed of fox terrier, which ultimately became the Jack Russell, can trace its origins to his time as a student at Oxford.

There, he encountered a milkman with a little fox terrier called Trump. It is said that Russell bought it on the spot and all Jack Russells are descendants of this dog.

Russell's terriers were kept solely for hunting and he rode to hounds with them in his saddlebags. The attributes of Jack Russells today are much closer to the fox terriers of the 19th Century than are the smooth and wire-haired varieties.

A I HAVE further information regarding the Burning Question last week about the pound sign. The weight sign lb is an abbreviation of the Latin libra (weighing scales) and that the Latin word pondo means 'by weight'. Our money pound used to be one pound weight of silver. The name sterling derives from an old coin depicting a starling. - B Langford, Richmond.

Published: 03/06/2002

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