270 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



comes, and if the flock is chased, as I say, it is well known that 

 they will not do as well as if they had not been chased by dogs. 



Now what has been the result of almost every attempt to 

 breed better sheep here ? I can cite examples where men have 

 paid as high as fifty dollars a head for high-grade sheep. I 

 remember one instance of some Southdowns, for which the 

 owner paid a very high price. Those sheep were killed by 

 dogs, and all he could collect was tljree dollars apiece. Now 

 it is unquestionable that there is no incentive for a farmer to 

 introduce high-priced blooded stock that costs him any such 

 price as fifty dollars if, as soon as he gets them on to his farm 

 they are to be killed by dogs and he receive only three dollars 

 a head. 



There has got to be a different sentiment created. We 

 .must keep on agitating the matter all the time, in season and 

 out of season. A state law which will provide for greater 

 restraint of dogs may go far to solve the difficulty. Some 

 one referred here, a few moments ago, to the well-known fact, 

 that a dog almost always respects its owner's property. I 

 do not believe any of you ever had a dog on your farm that 

 destroyed your own sheep. They will go sometimes three or 

 four miles and take somebody else's sheep. That is a part of 

 the dog's nature, and it is one of the reasons why farmers 

 should demand that people take care of their dogs. 



Then there is another thing. You want to get it so you 

 shall have the privilege of shooting any man's dog that you 

 see in the field with your sheep, no matter whether it is worth 

 fifty cents or a hundred dollars, it should make no difference. 

 There is no reason why you should be compelled to take any 

 risk in the matter. Your property is valuable to you, and to 

 the town, and you should have the utmost right to protect it. 

 Every flock of sheep in the state increases the value of the 

 land it runs over. Every increase in the flocks of sheep in the 

 state increases the price of land. They fertilize the land, and 



