No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 369 



your sheep, and then you go the county commissioners, and get your 

 money but you do not bother to go to the owner of the dog that killed 

 your sheep. Now, why not frame some law that will keep that dog 

 on his owner's premises? I don't want to see the man punished who 

 keeps a dog on his farm for a good purpose, but on the other hand, 

 up comes this thing that demands a law. Now let us get up a law 

 that will go for these fellows and destroy this dog business that 

 comes up every year. 



MR. HUTCHISON: Let me ask you one question: How would 

 you punish the man who owned a dog, but who owned no property; 

 how would you punish him? 



'ME. CLARK: Shoot him. 



MR. HUTCHISON: What, the man? 



MR. CLARK: Whv certainly; I would shoot him, too, if I couldn't 

 do anything else, and feed him on bread and water. 



The CHAIRMAN: Do you know that the dog gives that man more 

 protection than you or I have? 



MR. CLARK: He certainly does give him that, and a whole lot of 

 privileges. 



MR. SEXTON: We have talked this thing over year after year, 

 until the subject has become very tiresome, and yet nothing has been 

 done beyond making suggestions. Now, I want to add a little some- 

 thing in regard to sheep, and I tell you there is no domestic animal 

 for which I have more love than I have for the sheep and its progeny, 

 and I have seen the dogs come in and kill off my sheep to the number 

 of twenty-five, and I know it was done by the neighbor's dogs, but I 

 could not prove it, and had to go and get my pay. Now, is that all, 

 to get our pay? Mr. Clark says he is satisfied to let them go under 

 the state law. Let us try to get up a law such as he speaks of, and 

 see what the result will be. Will the opposition come from the 

 farmers? No; it will come from the general breeders of fine dogs, 

 who go to these kennel shows that Mr. Clark speaks of. The only 

 way we can keep sheep is to protect them from the dogs, and if we 

 do not do that, these curs will drive us completely out of business. 

 I tell you, the last carload of fine lambs that I bought at Buffalo and 

 took down to Spring House, I put in a fine pen, well fenced, and yet 

 the dogs got in there, and killed forty lambs in one night, and maimed 

 a lot more. I had to send for the butcher to come and take away two 

 wagon-loads of dead lambs. Why, I had on my farm sixty odd head 

 of fine sheep, and they were all killed by the neighbor's dog, and the 

 dog was chased right home, but we could not catch him. and that 

 man swore that the dog had not been off his premises. There will 

 never be anythmg done in this matter until the farmers of this Com- 

 monwealth take hold of the matter, and see that it is done. 



MR. CLARK: What plan have you; in what way shall we pro- 

 ceed? 



MR. SEXTON: Only to tax these dogs so heavily that they can't 

 afford to have them round, and then make the fellow who takes the 

 responsibility or the trouble, pay the fine of the irresponsible fellow. 



DR. OONARD: Now, this matter seems to be discussed entirely 

 from the sheep owners' point of view. I come from a county where 

 24—7—1906. 



