224 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [P. D. 4. 



run in the fields and woods, where they kill and eat young 

 birds, birds' eggs, mice, squirrels and any living thing that 

 they can find. One might as well turn out a ravenous w^olf 

 to prey on eggs and young birds as to loose such a dog in the 

 country. In the winter some dogs are almost as expert as the 

 fox in catching ruffed grouse in the snow. Others become 

 skilled in picking up the young in spring, and will snap up 

 young bobwhites almost as quickly as a toad will catch a fly. 

 There are instances on record where dogs, given their liberty 

 on islands occupied by breeding sea birds, have destroyed all 

 the eggs and young. In the North the Eskimo dogs, allowed to 

 forage for themselves, are very destructive to land birds and 

 sea fowl. 



No dog should be permitted to hunt alone during the breed- 

 ing season of the birds. There is no reason why a dog should 

 be allowed at large in the country at this time except under the 

 care and control of the owner, who should be compelled by law 

 and public sentiment to manage a dog just as he is compelled 

 to keep within bounds larger domestic animals. 



Hog {Siis scrofa). 



The hog is not allowed to roam at large in Massachusetts 

 but when hogs are turned out in large enclosures they exter- 

 minate or drive out practically all animal life occupying the 

 ground within the boundaries of their pasture. In some parts 

 of the South, where hogs are allowed to run practically wild, 

 they destroy the eggs and young of birds that nest on the 

 ground. 



Grazing Animals. 



Horses, cattle, sheep and goats often trample the nests of 

 birds or the young before they are able to fly well. The crop- 

 ping of the grass, where such animals are pastured intensively, 

 exposes the nests of ground birds to enemies, and sometimes 

 results in the extirpation of species over wide areas. Goats 

 when introduced on islands have been known to destroy the 

 shrubbery, thus removing all cover and driving out the birds 

 that hide or nest in such cover. Close pasturing by sheep 

 has a similar tendency. 



