36*2 AMERICAN AGRICULTURE. 



ble for assisting the shepherd in bringing in his sheep, keep- 

 ing them within any required compass, driving them from 

 place to place and giving signal of danger. There are 

 numerous sub-varieties, of different sizes; some with long 

 tails, others without any; some smooth-haired, but more 

 generally shaggy or long-haired. Each of these have a natu- 

 ral instinct for the management of sheep, and, if properly 

 educated, will seldom fail to answer every reasonable wish 

 of their masters. Unless sheep are confined in small pas- 

 tures, and are so familiar and manageable as to come 

 readily at call, the use of the sheep-dog will save much of 

 the shepherd's time. He has the intelligence of a man in 

 comprehending the wants of the shepherd, and is vastly 

 more efficient in bringing them together, or driving on the 

 road and keeping them separate from other flocks. Sheep 

 soon get accustomed to them, and without being alarmed by 

 their presence, they learn to regard them as guides, whom 

 they must implicitly obey. All the above varieties have 

 been imported, and the smaller ones are now extensively 

 bred in this country. 



