1889.] PUBLIC DOCUMENT — No. 4. 65 



makes a pretty large tax for dogs, but it is paid freely ; yet 

 keeping dogs is death on sheep. I was down at the Vine- 

 yard two years ago. They can raise sheep there, as they 

 have no trouble with dogs. I found sheep there four or six 

 miles from any habitation. But we are overrun with dogs, 

 and it useless to think of our raising sheep. You may raise 

 them in Franklin County, but you have got to exterminate 

 the race of dogs, or they will exterminate the sheep. A 

 friend of mine in Sutton said they had some very nice flocks 

 there — rams they paid lifty dollars apiece for — and the first 

 thing the dogs took was the ram — the best one. I think 

 there is one man there that has been raided six times this 

 season. A friend of mine was drivinsj alonsr, and a doo; 

 came out and took his horse by the nose, and it did him 

 damage. His wife said, "You will get paid for that." 

 " No," he said, " I have got two dogs just as bad." I have 

 some neighbors that keep more dogs than they do anything 

 else ; but they do not feed them ; somebody else has to do 

 that. I would like to have a law passed authorizing any- 

 body to shoot a dog if running loose without a keeper. 

 [Applause.] 



Mr. Peterson of Green Harbor. I would like to ask 

 some gentleman who is interested in the raising of sheep 

 what the best fence is to keep the dogs out and the sheep in. 

 That may help solve the sheep problem in a measure, at least 

 for those who would like to keep a few. I would like to 

 keep eight or ten myself, if I could do it safely, for my own 

 use. 



Mr. Avery. I would not want to undertake to build a 

 fence to keep the dogs out ; but I do not have much trouble 

 in keeping the sheep in. 



Question. What about the new method of fencing? 

 What about the barbed wire? Will the dogs go through 

 that, if it is high enough and thick enough? 



Mr. Bartholomew of North Blandford. I have no doubt 

 that dogs do work mischief, but we must remember that 

 there are varieties of dogs as well as sheep. In our section 

 we have no better protection for our sheep than our dogs ; 

 but we keep thorough-bred collies, and when they are well 

 trained they are the best protection that we have for our 



