26o BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



death about it, and if I did not have a good constitution I cer- 

 tainly would have been. But let me tell you, in all sincerity, 

 that after having made a careful survey of this question, and a 

 study of the ins and outs of it as far back, perhaps, as 1840, I 

 am nov;^ prepared to make the statement that, in my judgment, 

 the dog question as regards sheep husbandry is simply a sec- 

 ondary one, that that cause alone does not explain the decline 

 of the industry in Connecticut, but that the decline is due to 

 changes in our economical condition, and because of the de- 

 cline of the industry, and because of the increase in our dog 

 population the dog question has become one of seeming im- 

 portance. Now then we are again in an era where we are 

 confronted with conditions purely economical, where sheep 

 husbandry becomes profitable, and that is why I want to bring 

 home to you that idea so as to divorce you as much as possible 

 from this everlasting dog question. The first thing is to get 

 the sheep and to get to work to take care of them, and then 

 let us take care of the dog afterward. 



Now as regards the line of action. To obtain some in- 

 formation as to intelligent action along that line, it appeared 

 to me that some assistance might be obtained from gathering 

 statistics regarding the number of dogs in the State, and the 

 amount paid for damages by them. Of course, there is a 

 great deal of damage committed by dogs upon sheep, the lia- 

 bility for which is never determined, and there is another con- 

 siderable amount of damage that is adjusted quietly between 

 the parties directly interested without the intervention of the 

 town, and the only damage that is accessible to the public is 

 that which goes through the ordinary channels or administra- 

 tion of town afifairs. Now in that connection, let me give you 

 just a few figures concerning the returns which have been 

 made. We have 168 towns. Although this was commenced 

 last May, we have, up to date, obtained returns from 137 

 towns, or about 80 per cent, of them. The returns from these 



