SHEEP HUSBANDRY IN THE SOUTH. f 289 



stances, Mr. Peters gives, in the American Agriculturist, the following 

 characteristic illustration, copied from a Scotch paper: 



" The master of the bitch purchased at a fair some eighty sheep, and having occasion to 

 tay a day longer, sent them forward and directed his faithful Colley to drive them home, a, 

 distance of about 17 miles. The poor bitch, when a few miles on the road, dropped two 

 whelps; but faithful to her charge, she drove the sheep on a mile or two farther then 

 allowing them to stop, she returned for her pups, which she carried some two miles in 

 advance of the sheep, and thus she continued to do, alternately carrying her own young ones, 

 and taking charge of the flock, till she reached home. The manner of her acting on this 

 occasion was gathered by the shepherd from various persons who had observed her on the 

 roud. " 



The Colleyo aie not no\r uncommon in the Northern States, and I have 

 often seen proofs of their singular sagacity in collecting, driving, and 

 gliding sheep, and in catching out one from the flock when directed by 

 their masteis. I have often seen one drive a flock of fifty or sixty sheep 

 through a crowed street, encountering teams, pedestrians, and other dogs 

 at every rtep without the slightest assistance. 



THE GHEE? TO THE DOG. It is a mistake to suppose that a 

 trained sheep-dog will manage any strange flock, however wild and unac- 

 customed to such company. The sheep must be gradually made acquainted 

 with, and accustomed to the dog. They must know and they will 

 readily learn it that he is their friend, their guardian and protector, 

 instead of that hereditary enemy which their instinct teaches them to fly 

 from. A vy.int of knowledge of this fact has frequently led to disappoint- 

 ment and disgust, to a giving up of the valuable dog which it has cost 

 pains and money to procure. Mr. Skinner relates a ludicrous incident of 

 Mr. Jefferson, arising from his not being apprized of this fact. A thoroughly 

 broken sheep-dog had been sent him from abroad, and the great Sage of 

 Monticello, after having held forth ore rotundo to some visitors, on the 

 value of these dogs, and their immense convenience nay, their indispens- 

 ability in managing flocks, led forth his guests to give a practical exempli- 

 fication of the qualities of his dog. At the word, the latter made for the 

 sheep. The terrified animals fled in all directions, some of them dashing 

 themselves over precipices and breaking their necks. The dog either 

 shared the same fate, or, mortified at his failure, felt his pride too deeply 

 wounded to return. Mr. Jefferson never recovered him ! 



WOOL DEPOTS. 



Commission merchants who confine their operations exclusively to th* 

 sale of Wool, have opened large stores or " Depots," at three or four points 

 in the Northern States. Of the origin of this system, Mr. H. Blanchard, 

 of Kinderhook, N. Y., thus spoke at the Agricultural meeting at the 

 Assembly Chamber, Albany, Feb. 3, 1848 : 



" From* facts that were ascertained by Hon. J. P. Beekman, (then President of the N. \ 

 State Agricultural Society,) at the State Fair held in Poughkeepsie, in 1844, he became con 

 vinced that the growers of Dutchess county, by reason of the superior facilities afforded 

 them for the sale of their fine wools, were procuring from six to eight cents per pound more 

 than many wool-growers in other sections of the State who produced the same quality of 

 wool. The large quantity of fine wool grown in that county, offered great inducements foi 

 manufacturers ana purchasers of fine wool to make that a place of resort to obtain their sup 

 plies, and thus a fair competition was awakened, which resulted in a just appreciation of the 

 relative value of their wools, and remunerating prices to the fine wool grower. Soon after 

 Or. B.'s return, the evils consequent upon the system of selling wools in our county, as weL 

 es elsewhere, became a matter of discussion between him and other wool-growers in our 

 " : cinity and myself, the result of which was a request from them that I would open what 

 we now term a " Wool Depot." The principles involved in the depot system are not new 

 u oeing conducted upon those of a commission business ; but it is only the details and annli 



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