W^ ': 



^■fjrTTzr'-.Tr ■'."-■ - ■ .■ --t -' ■ -jT ■7t*^i«v!ri'=:c-^ ■»:- - -^ > jr?'^'^>vtar. ■'>.:" -rrriyi^gif^ ^^:™7>;>'/»- . r-v — vt'. !■■''■ ■ ■ >: . TTt^^wT^jsp^^^ 



242 



THE ILLINOIS FAKMER. 



August 



face of its summit, covered with loose fragments, 

 just below the level of which glacier-marks come 

 to an end, tells us that it lifted its head alone 

 above the desolate waste of ice and snow. To this 

 region, then, the thickness of the sheet cannot 

 have been much less than 6000 feet, and this is in 

 keeping with the same kind of evidence in other 

 parts of the country; for, whereever the moun- 

 tains are much below 6000 feet, the ice seems to 

 have passed directly over them, while the few 

 peaks rising to that hight are left untouched And 

 while we can thus sink our plummet from the sum- 

 mit to the base of Mount Waskington and measure 

 the thickness of the mass of ice, we have a no less 

 accurate indication of its extension in the undvla- 

 ting line marking the southern termination of the 

 drift. I have shown that the moraines mark the 

 oscillations of the glaciers in Europe. Where such 

 accumulations of loose materials took place at its 

 terminus, there we know the glacier must have 

 held its ground long enough to allow time for the 

 collection of these debris. In the same way we 

 may trace the southern border of our ancient ice 

 sheet on this continent by the limits of the bould- 

 ers ; beyond that time it evidently did not advance 

 as a solid mass, since it ceases to transport the 

 heavier materials. But as soon as the outskirts 

 of the ice began to yield and to flow oflf as water, 

 the lighter portions of the drift were swept out- 

 ward ; and hence we find a sheet of finer drift-de- 

 posit, sand and gravel more or less distinctly strat- 

 ified, carried to greater or less distances, and fad- 

 ing into the Southern States, where it mingles 

 with the most recent river deposits. 



"One naturally asks, What was the use of this 

 great engine set at work ages ago to grind, furrow 

 and knead over, as it were, the surface of the earth? 

 We have our answer in the fertile soil which 

 spreads over the temperate regions of the globe. 

 The glacier was God's great plow ; and when the 

 ice vanished from the face of the land, it left it 

 . prepared for the hand of the husbandman. The 

 hard surface of the rocks was ground to powder, 

 the elements of the soil were mingled in fair pro- 

 portions, granite was carried into the lime regions, 

 lime was mingled with the more arid and unpro- 

 ductive granite districts, and a soil was prepared 

 fit for the agricultural uses of man. Therefore I 

 think we may believe that God did not shroud the 

 world He had made in snow and ice without a pur- 

 pose, and that this, like many other operations of 

 Hi8 providence, seemingly destructive and chaotic 

 in its first eflfects, is nevertheless a work of benefi- 

 cence and order." 



Legal Protection of Sheep. 



An important law, having for its object "The 

 protection of Sheep Husbandry," was passed at the 

 recent session of the Legislature. 



It provides that every owner of a dog in the 

 State shall annually "on or before April 80, cause 

 it to be registered, numbered, described and li 

 censed, in the office of the city or town clerk where 

 he resides, and shall cause it to wear around its 

 neck a. collar distinctly marked with its owner's 

 nunc and the registered number, and shall pay for 

 such license two dollars for a male dog, and ten 

 dollars for a female dog." 



The clerks are to retain twenty cents on each li 

 cense, and the balance is paid into the county 

 treasury. Whoever keeps a dog contrary to the 

 provisions of this act shall forfeit fifteen dollars, 

 to be recovered on complaint, and the money to 

 be paid into the county treasury. The assessors 

 are required to take an aecurate list, on the first 

 day of May, annually, of all dogs owned or kept, 

 with the owners' names ; and the mayors of cities, 

 and chairmen of the selectmen of towns, shall an- 

 nually, within ten days from the first day of July, 

 issue a warrant to one or more police officers or 

 constables, directing them to proceed forthwith 

 either to kill or cause to be killed all dogs going 

 at large within their respective cities or towns, and 

 not licensed and collared according to the provi- 

 sions of this act. and any person may, and every 

 police officer and constable shall, kill or cause to 

 be killed all such dogs whenever and wherever 

 found. Such officers shall receive one dollar for 

 each dog so destroyed, from the treasurers of their 

 respective counties, except that in the county of 

 Suffolk they shall receive it from the treasurers of 

 their respective towns. All bills for such services 

 shall be approved by the mayor or chairman of 

 the selectmen of the cities and towns in which 

 said dogs are destroyed, and shall be paid from the 

 moneys received under the provisions of this act." 



After issuing such warrant, mayors and select- 

 men are required to certify the fact, under oath, to 

 their respective district attorneys, whose duty it is 

 made to prosecute all officers who fail to comply 

 with the requirement. 



Persons suffering loss or damage of sheep, or 

 other domestic animals, by dogs, may inform the 

 mayor or chairman of selectmen, who are required 

 to appoint two disinteiested persons, who, with 

 himself shall proceed to the premises and deter- 

 mine and appraise the damage. Their award is to 

 be certified by them to the county commissioners, 

 who in December, annually, are to examine all such 

 bills, and issue an order on the county treasurer 

 to pay all that they approve. In case the gross 

 amount received for licences is not sufficient to 

 pay all the orders, the treasurer shall divide what 

 he has pro rata, among such orders, in full dis- 

 charge thereof. The appraisers of damages receive 

 from their town treasurer one dollar each, for eve- 

 ry appraisement. Any town, city, or county offi- 

 cer refusing or neglecting to perform the duties 

 imposed by the law, is punishable by a fine not ex- 

 ceeding one hundred dollars. 



SscT. 10. The treasurer of any county may, in 

 an action of tort against the owner or keeper of 

 any dog concerned in doing damage to sheep in 

 said county, which damage has been ordered to be 

 paid by the county commissioners, recover the 

 full amount thereof to the use of said county." 



The law is a very great improvement upon the 



old one, and we hope it may result in diminishing 



the number of curs, and increasing the number of 



sheep in the State, one hundred fold at least. Such 



a consummation is devoutly to be wished. It would 

 add millions to our valuation in a few years. Let 

 every dog be licensed or killed ; and let no owner 

 of a dog "whine" because of a just decree. — JTom. 

 Flaughman. 



