the bull and terrier crosses map to the terriers of Ireland and date to 1860-1870. This coincides perfectly with the historical descriptions that, though they do not clearly identify all breeds involved, report the popularity of dog contests in Ireland and the lack of stud book veracity, hence undocumented crosses, during this era of breed creation (Lee, 1894)." It also confirms that the bull and terrier was a heterogeneous group of dogs that may include purebreds involving different breeds, as well as dogs believed to be crosses of those breeds. By 1874, in Britain the first Kennel Club Stud Book was published, which included Bull Terriers and Bulldogs. Hunters Some believe that the courage of most terriers, both past and present, to bear the bites of badgers and other prey they are meant to corner, dig for, or attack is derived from having a quarter to an eighth of Old English Bulldog ancestry. Other terriers that were not developed by crossing Old English Bulldogs and earth-working dogs were believed to be of inferior quality and were valued far less. There are earth-working dogs who by default and definition are called terriers because they have the ability to go to ground; however, the best earth-working and hunting terriers were regarded as the progeny of bulldogs bred to earth-working dogs (terriers), with the offspring known as bull-terriers or half-bred dogs, among other names. Walsh also wrote of the Fox Terrier (or, rather, of its cross-breed ancestor): "The field fox-terrier, used for bolting the fox when gone to ground, was of this breed [bull and terrier]." Not only is the Fox Terrier the progeny of the bull-and-terrier, but so is the Airedale Terrier, rat-working terriers, working black and tan terriers and most all other vermin-hunting terriers. James Rodwell described in his book titled The Rat: Its History and Destructive Nature, that the great object, among the various breeders of bull-and-terrier dogs for hunting vermin and rats, was to have them as nearly thorough-bred bull as possible, but at the same time preserving all the outward appearances of the terrier as to size, shape and colour. Dog fighting In the 19th century, breeders crossed Bulldogs and English White Terriers to produce fighting dogs that were the forebears of the modern Bull Terrier breed. When blood sports were banned in the early 1800s, breeders continued with their clandestine dog fights in discreet venues, such as