I prefer to let the reader discover for himself the chapters which are of especial importance, but I am perhaps justified in referring to Mr. Walter Glynn's section on canine laws as the most exhaustive treatise on the legal status of the dog that has yet been compiled, and I think I do not mistake in regarding the section dealing with the dogs of foreign lands as unique in its completeness. In this connection I desire to acknowledge my obligations to the generous help of Mr. H. C. Brooke, whose intimate familiarity with rare exotic breeds is perhaps unequalled. For the selection of the illustrations I am myself wholly responsible. In a large proportion of cases the specimens depicted are well-known examples of their respective breeds or varieties; but because a dog's portrait appears in illustration he is not necessarily to be accepted as a superlative and faultless individual. I consider it enough if he is typical of his kind. Obviously, the labour of collecting so many hundreds of canine portraits has been no light one but my requests have usually been met with a ready response from the many dog owners at home and abroad who have kindly favoured me with photo graphs, or with the loan of pictures, or who have as kindly allowed the artists to paint portraits of their dogs for reproduction in the series of colour plates.