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XII.— DOGS. 



THE shepherds' dog, like other animals of the farm, has undergone 

 considerable change during the past century. In 1824 the dogs 

 used by farmers to take care of their sheep were greyhounds, hounds, 

 pointers, setting dogs, spaniels, and lurchers or terriers, all of which 

 were exempt from the dog tax if the value of the farm was less than 

 £190 per year. 



With such a mongrel lot little pity was shown them when rabies 

 broke out. During the hot weather in 1824 the Mayor of Kendal, 

 who had unlimited power, ordered aU dogs to be kept fast up, and had 

 men out with pistols to enforce his order — the disease continued 

 however, and in 1830 the Mayor issued a notice that " no person need 

 be apprehensive of the consequences of destroying dogs running 

 about the streets, for though an action hes for detaining a dog or 

 unlawfully destroying it, yet this distress only endures so long as the 

 dogs are domita naturce, and the property in them ceases the moment 

 they are out of possession." Again, in 1841, the Mayor of Appleby 

 gave notice by the bellman that all dogs found at large would be 

 destroyed. 



In the first decades of the century there was no such dog as a 

 collie known, and sheep dogs were selected from the mongrels which 

 showed most adaptability for shepherding. In later years the breed 

 thus developed, divided into two branches — the smooth and the 

 rough coated. Many of the best sheep-dogs are large, upstanding, 

 smooth coated — often wall-eyed — black or black with a Uttle white 

 or grey about the head and body, others are rough or broken coated, 

 which latter can best be described as " curs " with the highest sense 

 of appreciation attached to the name. The breeding of both varieties 

 for generations has been by selection of intelligence and sagacity to 

 control sheep — it requires these two points especially well developed, 

 together with a strong constitution, to combat the waywardness and 

 cunning of Herdwicks on their own fell sides— and in intelligence and 

 sagacity the Westmorland sheep dogs are not to be excelled. 



The number of dogs for which licences were issued during the 

 year ending March 31st, 1910, was 3901, and the number of exemptions 

 granted to farmers was 4386. 



