122 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



not conduce more to the better interests of the community to 

 dispense with the dogs and have in their place other kinds of 

 animals, which would produce good, wholesome, nutritious 

 food, whereby the chances of having sound minds would be 

 greatly increased. No doubt, there are exceptional cases, 

 where in many ways the dog is of value to his owner, but, as 

 a writer remarks, "Recognizing all this, and stripping the dog 

 question of all romance and poetry, every Candid man who 

 looks upon the actual loss produced on sheep throughout the 

 country, amounting to a million and a quarter of dollars 

 annually, must be forced to admit that the balance of evil 

 against the dog far outweighs all his benefit." 



It certainly is unwise to -allow so valuable an agricultural 

 interest to languish, if not to become destroyed, merely for 

 the sake of these worthless curs ; and if farther and more 

 stringent laws are needed for their reduction and restraint, 

 they should be speedily enacted. This matter lies in the 

 hands of our formers, and to them we are to look for that 

 kind of legislation necessary for the protection of this impor- 

 tant interest. 



Our limited space forbids entering upon the subject of 

 breeding, feeding and general care of the sheep ; but in 

 closing, we would urge upon all our farmers the serious 

 consideration of again turning their attention to this now 

 neglected kind of stock culture, as being beneficial to their 

 lands as well as profitable in its money value, and still more 

 to the great sanitary importance of furnishing both for them- 

 selves and the community a greater abundance of this whole- 

 some mutton food. 



P. LeB. Stickney, for the Committee. 



