THE SHEPHERD'S DOG. 295 
given, and are, moreover, rather tedious of application, requiring a careful rubbing in of 
the poison, and as careful a rubbing out again, together with the drawback of a muzzle on 
the poor Doe’s mouth for three or four days, to prevent him from licking his irritated 
skin. 
One very safe and very quick remedy is the “Persian Insect-destroying Powder,” 
which has almost a magical effect, and is perfec tly harmless to the Dog, 
The best mode of applyi ing this remedy is, first to dust the Dog well with the substance 
until every portion of him has received a few particles of the powder, and then to put 
him into a strong canvas bag, in which a small handful of the powder has been placed 
and shaken about well, so as to distribute it equally over the interior of the bag. Leave 
his head protruding from the bag, and put on his head and neck a linen cap, in which 
are holes for his nose and eyes, and let the interior of the cap be well treated with the 
powder. Lay him on the ground, and let him tumble about as much as he chooses, the 
more the better. In an hour or two let him out of the bag, and scrub his coat w ell the 
wrong way with a stiff brush. 
If, during this operation, the Dog be placed on a sheet, or any white substance, it will 
be covered with dead and dying insects, and if the contents of the bag be emptied upon 
the white cloth, the number of moribund parasites will be rather astonishing. In a week 
or so the operation should be repeated, in order to destroy the creatures that have been 
produced from the unhatched eggs that always resist the powers of the destructive 
powder. I have personally tried the experiment, and have found the results to be 
invariably successful. The same substance is equally useful in freeing birds from their 
chief pest, the red mite, and is of deadly efficacy in the immolation of certain insects that 
are too often found in human houses. 
THE Most useful variety of the canine species is that sagacious creature on whose 
talent and energy depends the chief safety of the flock. 
This animal seems to be, as far as can be judged from appearances, the original 
ancestor of the true British noes, and preserves its peculiar aspect in almost every country 
in Europe. It is a rather large Dog, as is necessary, in order to enable the animal to 
undergo the incessant labour which it is called on to perform, and is possessed of limbs 
sufficiently large and powerful to enable it to outrun the truant members of the flock, 
who, if bred on the mountain-side, are so swift and agile that they would readily baftle 
the efforts of any Dog less admirably fitted by nature for the task of keeping them 
together. 
As the Sheep-dog is constantly exposed to the weather, it needs the protection of 
very thick and closely. -set fur, which, in this Dog, is rather woolly in its character, and is 
especially heavy about the neck and breast. The tail of the She sep-dog is naturally long 
and bushy, but is generally removed in early youth, on account of the now obsolete laws: 
which refused to acknowlec lge any Dog as a Sheep-dog, or to exempt it from the payment 
of a tax, unless it were deprived of its tail. This law, however, often defeated its own 
object, for many persons who liked the sport of coursing, and cared little for appearances, 
used to cut off the tails of their ereyhounds, and evade the tax by deseribing them as 
Sheep-dogs. 
The muzzle of this Dog is sharp, its head is of moderate size, its eyes are very bright 
and intelligent, as might be expected in an animal of so much sagacity and ready 
resource in time of need. Its feet are strongly made, and sufficiently well protected to 
endure severe work among the harsh stems of the heather on the hills, or the sharply- 
cutting stones of the highroad. Probably on account of its constant exercise in the open 
air, and the hardy manner in which it is brought up, the Sheep-dog is perhaps the most 
untiring of our dumesticated animals. 
There are many breeds of this animal, differing from each other in colour and aspect, 
and deriving their varied forms from the Dog with which the family has been crossed. 
Nearly all the sporting Dogs are used for this purpose, so that some Sheep-dogs have 
something of the pointer nature in them, others of the foxhound, and others of the 
setter. This last cross is the most common. Together with the outward form the 
