11 S. X. OCT. 10, 1914.]
NOTES AND QUERIES.
291
suggests, the diagram shown by Dr. Wallace
in The Times could be turned upside down,
the unnamed lane mentioned between the
two parcels of land in the deed of 1599
would probably represent Globe Alley before
it was named after the new theatre. On the
1720 plan the Alley is not parallel to Maiden
Lane, but at the wider end, on the west side,
measures about 100ft., which, according to
the deed, was the width of the parcel of
land adjoining Maiden Lane. L. L. K.
" SPABBOWGBASS " (11 S. x. 227, 278).
If MB. JOHNSON will refer to the ' N.E.D.,'
t.v. ' Sparrowgrass,' he will see that the great
dictionary is no more " reserved " than
Dr. Wright in regard to this form. The
words are : " Conniption of Sparagus,
assimilated to Sparrow and Grass." MB.
JOHNSON'S note seems a little misleading in
one or two particulars, as does jalso his
quotation from Nares. It is true, as Nares
says, that Gerard and the older herbalists
generally give " sperage " as the English
name of this plant ; but Gerard uses both
it and "asparagus" in his text, indexes
" asparagus " under ' English Names,' and
says definitely that the plant's names are
" in English Sperage, and likewise Asparagus
after the Latine name." Lyte in his descrip-
tion uses only the names " asparagus " and
" sparragus," but tinder ' The Names ' he
says : "In Latine, Asparagus, and in shops
Sparag ' . . . . in English sperage." Turner
(quoted in 'N.E.D.'), like Lyte, attributes
the form " sparagus " to the apothecaries.
The derivation of " sparage " and " sperage "
from this is not more clear than that of
" sparagrass " and " sparrowgrass," which
do not appear in literature until later. They
are quite natural corruptions, and need no
far-fetched analogy from Arabia to explain
them. It will be seen that it was not the
euphuism of the seventeenth century that
first called sparrowgrass " asparagus."
C. C. B.
SKYE TERHIEBS (11 S. x. 250). Failing more precise information from some other correspondent, I may state in reply to ST. HUBERT
(1) That, like the origin of most British breeds, that of the Skye terrier cannot be definitely ascertained. It is probable that the different varieties of Highland terriers, Buch as the Scottish, the Skye, and the Dandie Dinmont, are all the descendants of a purely native Scottish original. They are all inter-related, but which was the parent
breed it seems impossible to determine.
As the name implies, the Skye terrier had
its early home in the island of Skye. There
is a legend most probably fabulous that
the dogs of that island were originally
Scottish terriers, but that at the time of the
Armada a Spanish vessel was wrecked upon
the shores of Skye, and that the only living
things saved were a number of white, long-
haired dogs, which interbred with the native
terriers, and from these have descended the
breed as we now know it. In 1773 Dr.
Johnson made, with Boswell, his celebrated
tour to the Hebrides, and in his own ' Jour-
ney to the Western Islands of Scotland,' pub-
lished in 1775, made brief mention of these
terriers, and observed that otters and
weasels were plentiful in Skye, that foxes
were numerous, and that they were hunted
by small dogs.
(2) Queen Victoria had a great admiration of the breed, and from 1842 onwards usually owned very fine specimens. Sir Edward Landseer was a great favourite at Court, and introduced a number of Skye terriers into his paintings. For these among other reasons, Skyes gradually attracted notice south of the Tweed, and by about 1860 they had a great many English admirers, and in the first volume of ' The Kennel Club Stud Book ' (1873) the breed was included. At the present time, although it can scarcely be reckoned a popular breed, it has a number of admirers, and has two clubs one in Scotland, and one in England to promote its interests.
(3) Outside Great Britain the breed has not received much attention. Only a few American, and still fewer French and German, dog -lovers have purchased Skyes from British breeders, with the view of introducing the breed into their respective countries.
(4) I am not aware of any breed of dogs in the North of Europe even remotely resembling the Skye terrier.
There is now an extensive literature of the dog, but attention to pedigree is of relatively recent origin, and books dealing with the various breeds do not date back more than twenty years or so. One of the earliest is Rawdon B. Lee's ' Modern Dogs of Great Britain and Ireland,' first pub- lished near the close of the nineteenth century. This has illustrations from draw- ings by Arthur Wardle, but I cannot say whether the Skye is illustrated therein, as I have not a copy to refer to.
F. A. RUSSELL.
110, Arran Road, Catford, S.E.
