88 
THE SHEPHERD DOG.-A REMARKABLE COW. 
THE SHEPHERD DOG. 
The animal described by the figure below, is of 
the long-haired Scottish breed, and belongs to the 
same family as the Newfoundland and poodle, 
which embraces the most intelligent and useful of 
the canine species. There are two classes of these 
dogs, which differ widely in their size and charac¬ 
teristics. 
The larger is of great size and courage, and when 
protected by a stout leather collar, studded with 
spikes, is a full match for the wolf. These dogs 
are us.ed by Spanish and Mexican shepherds, on 
their wild sierras, as effective guards jagainst the 
attacks of all marauders, and are essentially the 
same race as the far-famed dogs of St. Bernard. 
They are not sufficiently gentle for guides, and the 
shepherds who employ them, rely on some well- 
trained wethers or goats to lead the flock at their 
call. Some have been imported into this country, 
but on account of their headstrong and ferocious 
them nor of the dog, 
Fig. 20.—Shepherd Dog. 
character, and occasional depredations upon the 
flocks, they have been found usuited to our wants, 
except on the borders of the wilderness. 
The Colley, or Scottish sheep dog, the English, 
and those extensively used upon the continent, 
differ much in their form and appearance, but agree 
in their intelligence, docility, and usefulness. They 
are of medium size, with a sharp nose, broad fore¬ 
head, and small upright ears ; they are both shaggy 
and smooth-haired, with a bushy tail, and much 
hair about the neck ; variously colored, though 
more frequently inclined to black or darkly spotted 
and grey ; and one branch of the family is entirely 
destitute of a tail. They possess an instinctive sa¬ 
gacity for the management of sheep • and in com¬ 
pany with a well-trained dog, under the direction 
•of the shepherd, they soon become entirely compe¬ 
tent to the control of the flock. They perceive his 
■wishes, by a word or sign, and with almost the 
speed of the greyhound, dart off'to execute them. 
Accounts of their performances have been frequent¬ 
ly related, which seem almost incredible to those 
unacquainted with their peculiar character. The 
following anecdote told by the Ettrick Shepherd 
will show their capacity more fully than any de ¬ 
scription :— 
On one night, a large flock of lambs that were 
under the Ettrick Shepherd’s care, frightened by 
something, scampered away in three different direc¬ 
tions across the hills, in spite of all that he could 
do to keep them together. Sirrah,” said the 
shepherd, “ they’re a’ awa !” It was too dark for 
the dog and his master to see each other at any 
considerable distance, but Sirrah understood him, 
and set off after the fugitives. The night passed 
on, and the shepherd and his assistant traversed 
every neighboring hill in anxious, but fruitless 
search for the lambs ; but he could hear nothing of 
and he was returning to his 
master with the doleful intelli¬ 
gence that he had lost all his 
lambs. “ On our way home, how¬ 
ever,” says he, “ we discovered 
a lot of lambs at the bot¬ 
tom of a deep ravine called the 
Flesh Cleuch, and the indefatiga¬ 
ble Sirrah standing in front of 
them, looking round for some re¬ 
lief, but still true to his charge. 
We concluded that it was one of 
the divisions which Sirrah had 
been unable to manage, until he 
came to that commanding situa¬ 
tion. But what was our aston¬ 
ishment when we discovered that 
not one lamb of the flock was 
missing! How he had got all 
the divisions collected in the 
dark, is beyond my comprehen¬ 
sion. The charge was left en¬ 
tirely to himself from midnight 
until the rising sun ; and, if all 
the shepherds in the forest had 
been there to have assisted him, 
they could not have effected it 
with greater promptitude. All 
that I can say is, that I never felt so grateful to 
any creature under the sun as I did to my honest 
Sirrah that morning.” 
These dogs are quiet and good natured, never 
inclined to roam nor neglect their duties, and are as 
little disposed to injure the animals intrusted to their 
keeping. They have almost the intelligence of the 
shepherd in discerning the vagaries of the flock, and. 
ten times his efficiency in driving it. No extensive 
sheep walks, unless closely hemmed in by impassa¬ 
ble fences, should be without one or more of these 
useful guards.— Allen's Domestic Animals. 
A Remarkable Cow. —Mr. John Nesbit, of 
Washington, Pa., informs us that he has a cow 
thirteen years old, that has brought forth twenty - 
one calves , at ten different births. At three births, 
she produced one calf at a time ; at four births, two 
calves each time ; at two births, three calves each 
time ; and on the 23d of August last, she brought forth 
four calves at one birth, which are all doing well ! 
