--gOBICULTURF 
ROCHESTER, N. Y.-FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12,1863 
{WHOLE NO. 726 
Anticipating queries which may arise in the 
minds of some of our readers, we will add that a 
Farmers’ Club can be advantageously formed by 
from six to a dozen persons, or it may include a 
hundred or upwards. Some Clubs have mem¬ 
bers in several towns, and usually meetata public 
place in the afternoon or evening. Lectures are 
not unfrequently delivered by persons from a 
distance, but more frequently one of the mem¬ 
bers gives a lecture or roads an essay on a subject 
announced at the previous meeting, and at its 
close the subject is discussed by the Club. Some 
Clubs, which embrace but few members, meet 
(weekly, fortnightly or monthly,) at the resi¬ 
dences of the members — one meeting beiog at 
the house of Mr. Brooks, the next at that of Mr. 
LanoWorthy, another at Mr. 1’ktkks, and so 
around the neighborhood, school-district or town. 
In such cases the Club often meets in the after¬ 
noon to visit and examine the premises, stock, 
etc., after which follows supper and then a reg¬ 
ular meeting for discussion. 
MOOEE’S RUEAL NEW-YORKER, 
AS ORIGINAL WEKKLY 
RURAL, LITERARY AND FAMILY NEWSPAPER, 
CONDUCTED BY D. D. T. MOORE, 
With n Corps of Able AmtotanU ft ml Contributors. 
CHA8. D. BRAQDON. Western Corresponding Editor, 
Thb Rural Nkw- Yorkxr is designed to be unsurpassed 
in Value, I’urity and Variety of Contents, and unique 
and beautiful in Appearance. Its Conductor devotes his 
personal attention to the supervision of its various 
departments, and earnestly labors to render the Rural an 
eminently Reliable Ctilde on all the important Practical. 
Sclent.illc and othorSubjects intimately connected with the 
business of those whose interests it tealously advocates. 
As a Family Jootulll it is eminently Instructive and 
Entertaining —being so conducted that it can bo safely 
taken to the Uoraes or people of intelligence, taste and 
discrimination. It embraces more Agricultural. Horticul¬ 
tural. Scientific, Educational, Literary and News Matter, 
interspersed with appropriate Engravings, than any other 
journal,—rendering it the most complete Agricultural, 
Litkraky and Family N'ewspapkr In America 
In addition to the usual variety heretofore given in the 
Practical Departments, the Rural for 1864 will comprise 
a Nkwand Important Fkaturk— a Department exclu¬ 
sively devoted to 
SnEEP HUSBANDRY, 
Conducted by Hon. Hkxry 8. Randall, LL. D., author 
of “The Practical Shepherd" and other valuable works. 
Dr. R. is conceded to bo the best authority on the subject 
in this country, and cannot fall of rendering this Depart¬ 
ment of great interest and value to all engaged or interest- 
ed in any branch of Sheep Husbandry. 
WESTERN EDITORIAL NOTES 
ARROGANTE— A SPANISH SHEEP DOO, 
the ohio wool qrowers’ convention insignificant item ou the prairies, remote from 
Before me is a letter in which I find the &1- streams. The traveler wonders “where they get 
lowing propositions and suggestions, having water for stock.” lie Rees no springs, nor brooks, 
reference to the action of the proposed meeting nor branches. It is natural be should wonder, 
of “all persons interested in the production, con- And especially in Central Illinois where the dry 
sumption, and handling of sheep and wool,” at season is long continued, his solicitude on this 
Columbus, Ohio, January 5th and 6th, 1S64: subject, is commendable. At some points Arte- 
1. A National organization of Wool Growers, with sian wells have been bored. In some cases there 
which state A«sociution» may co-oporute, In order to ivr e springy spots where slight digging discovers 
secure the more complete concert of action among this never-failing water. But comparatively few 
class of producers. farmers have learned that living streams flow 
I question the policy. I doubt if a Confedera- through nearly every quarter section of pralrie- 
tion of Wool Growers ia necessary. Locul or- | and . r do not think this an extravagant propo- 
ganizatlons are needed to secure the co-opera- 8 ition. These sloughs are the water-courses, 
tion of wool growers in their respective loculi- B j opC8 and water-sheds drain into them—the 
ties. Each locality BustainB peculiar relations to water filters through the porous alluvial soil 
a local market. The practice of shepherds In wtli ,. h has washed into them, and finds its way 
dillerent localities must necessarily be different. a iowly to the streams that are known to Geogru- 
There are different conditions of climate, and a pher8> If the fa u 0 f wutor is great and sudden, 
diversity of production. Illinois Is an exam- the soil of the sloughs fails to absorb it all, and the 
pie. The regime of shepherds in the North, gurplus rushes to the big rivers iu powerful tor- 
Central and South sections of the State is dis- f^nta, sweeping away everything in its path. In 
similar. It is somewhat dillerent in adjoining what is regarded as a comparatively level 
counties. Practice and policy must depend country, a dangerous flood seems an anomaly; 
upon circumstances. Circumstances are pecu- aad they are as frequent, and usually more 
liar to localities. And while there may be a destructive here along the prairie water-courses 
general co-operation, the bulk of the work must than atnong the bills of the Eastern States, 
be individual and local. jt ia proper to say, in passing, that our prairio- 
The State organization will be useful in ad- land is by no means level. When its elevations 
vancing the more general interests of the wool are marked by groves and buildings, hedges and 
grower, — such as the improvement of stock, orchards, these prairies astonish us by their 
comparison and discussion of the relative merits diversity of surface. Break the beautifully 
and profits of different breeds, and the general rounded and symmetrical outline, which mark 
relations of the producer and consumer. And the breasts of this prairie-land with a group of 
it will probably be profitable that there be con- objects, and we discover the degree of depression 
stant correspondence between the different State aru l elevation which before was imperceptible, 
organizations, through the Executive Commit- And the water which fallH on this broad land 
tees or Secretaries. In this way concert of ac- doe a not all evaporate. It goes to fill the banks 
tion may be secured. Delegated National Con- 0 f the Ohio and Mississippi and Missouri. It 
ventions maybe necessary or useful, occasion- gets there through natural channels. Thesloughs 
ally. But they should only be convened where are the tributaries to these mighty ditches which 
there is some important and specific object, to be dra j n this great fertile valley. And 1 find that, 
secured. Then the local organizations should y? ithoul exception, so far as my observation has 
be represented, and the thing put through xoilh extended, the farmer who has run a good mole 
telling emphasis . But let no effort be lost, nor through these sloughs a reasonable distance, 
money expeuded in creating an elephant. Let making a channel lor the water to flow in, ha8 
the local organizations have a practical and ape- i )etm compensated therefor an hundred-fold. In 
cific aim—the best Interests of wool growers in almost every instance he ha 3 found a perennial 
each locality. And when there ia any subject stream of excellent water, supplying Htock win- 
aftecting the interests of wool growers at large, ter and summer. This alone is compensation 
requiring discussion, let co-operation be secured which few of the earlier Western farmers hoped 
by correspondence, or by a Convention, as sug- to secure on the prairies. Then, the gain be- 
gested above. cause of increased productiveness Drained, by 
2. Wool Grower* should visit Columbus for a specific a mole ditch three feet beneath the surface, corn 
purpose. Each member should have some well digested grows where a team could not draw a plow bc- 
pruponition to propose, advocate and defend—some ques- f orft . (J ragB takes the place of the sedges. And 
tiou of general Interest to ask and press to an answer. (hl> Bl(mghg C0mpr i K0 (he natural meadow lands 
Thi3 is a good suggestion. If a man is dele- of the West. All kinds of grasses can be grown 
gated by an Association to attend this meeting, in them. I have seen red clover thriving in 
it is supposed the Association has some object iu them, apparently as much at home as on the 
it The delegate should be instructed. He summit of the slopes. The fact is, the sloughB 
should plan it and press it. It is always humll* contain the best soil of the farm, and are really— 
iating to attend a convention of this character their capacity for productiveness once fully de- 
and find a mass of men convened without any veloped — the most valuable portions of it I do 
definite motive or plan of action. No abstrac- not, of course, advise the farmer to select all 
tion should bo entertained. Practical questions slough in making a purchase; but I would not 
should be proposed and disposed of; aud the undervalue it nor sell my farm because there 
action of the Convention should be a concretion happened to be a slough on it. 
of wisdom and purpose that shall possess posi- And this article has been suggested by a 
tive power and exert a positive influence. It is remark made by an Eastern man who had vis- 
a good suggestion, therefore, that the thinking is ited his son, settled in iowa. Has he a good 
done at home, and the talking and resolving at farm? I asked. “Well, he seems to raise a good 
the Convention, that the whole may result in deal of stuff, but full a third of bis farm is slough, 
united action afterward. Let each man purpos- and good for nothing.” The father was probably 
ing to attend the Columbus Mass Meeting, ask mistaken in his estimate of the value of the 
himself, “What for?” “What do I propose to slough. 
which lie differed from the beautiful Spanish 
shepherd deg, he was wolfish, both in form and 
habits. But, though no parlor beauty, Arro- 
gante was unquestionably a dog of immense 
value to the mountain shepherd. Several times 
he had mot the large wolf of the Appcnincs, and 
without aid slain his antagonist. The shepherds 
who bred him said it was an affair of no doubt¬ 
ful issue when he encountered a wolf single- 
handed. Ills history, after reaching England, 
you know.” 
I have been unable to procure any new por¬ 
trait, known to be authentic, of a dog of Ibis 
breed. The American editor of Mr. Yocatt’b 
work on the Dog, (Dr. Lewis,) states the 
Spanish sheep dog “is of the same breed” as 
the great Alpine Spaniel or “Bernardine 
dog,” which is employed by the monks of St. 
Bernard in rescuing travelers among the 
storms and avalanches of the Alps. 1 have 
seen several of these, and Arrogante resem¬ 
bles them as nearly as can a spare, atten¬ 
uated, ugly man resemble one of massive pro- 
i portions and noble countenance — the height, 
length, contour, loose hide, etc., are the same.* 
But while I strongly Inclino to credit Dr. Lewis’ 
assertion of the Identity of the breeds, I have 
not felt authorized to give a portrait of a Swiss 
dog aa characteristic of a race of Spanish dogs. 
Arrogante proved himself an animal of im¬ 
mense value. Dull, almost stupid, aud appar¬ 
ently sleeping most of the day, nothing, how¬ 
ever, escaped bis observation, or was subse¬ 
quently erased from his memory. If led round 
a building, or inclosure, or even an open spuce, 
at night-fall, in a manner to evince particular 
design, during the entire night like a sentinel he 
traversed some part of the guarded ring, permit¬ 
ting neither man nor beast to paBs In or out from 
it. When miserable curs intruded on his obarge, 
they were slain in an instaut. lie possessed 
THE SPANISH SHEEP DOG. 
The cut above affords a faithful representation | 
of a thorough-bred Spanish Sheep Dog imported | 
with a flock of Merino sheep a number of years 
since iuto England. 
Soon after Arrogante’s arrival in England, a 
ewe under his charge chanced to get cast iu a 
ditch, during the temporary absence of the 
Spanish shepherd, who had accompanied the 
Hock and dog at their importation. An English 
shepherd, in a spirit, of vaunting. Insisted on re¬ 
lieving the fallen sheep, in preference to having 
the absent, shepherd called, though warned by 
his companions to desist. The stern stranger 
dog met him at the gate and also warned him with 
sullen growls, growing more menacing aa he 
approached the sheep. The shepherd was a pow¬ 
erful and bold man, and felt that it was too late 
now to retract with credit. On reaching the 
sheep, he bent carefully forward, with his eyes 
on the dog, which instantly made a spring at 
his throat. A quick forward movement of his 
arm saved his throat, but the arm was so dread¬ 
fully lacerated that immediate amputation be¬ 
came necessary. To suve the dog, which had 
but done his duty, as he had been taught. It, from 
the popular excitement, he was shipped in a ves¬ 
sel which sailed that very afternoon, from Bristol 
for America. lie was sent lo Francis Botch 
Esq., then a resident of New-Bedi'ord, Massa¬ 
chusetts. 
Fifteen or sixteen years ago, when I was 
writing “Sheep Husbandry in the South,” Mr. 
Rotch wrote me as follows: 
“ I have, as you desired, made you a sketch of 
the Spanish Bheep dog Arrogante, and a villain¬ 
ous looking rascal he was. A worse countenance 
I hardly ever saw on a dog. His small, blood¬ 
shot eyes, set close together, give him that sinis¬ 
ter, wolfish look, which is most unattractive; but 
his countenance is indicative of his character. 
There was nothing affectionate or joyous about 
him. He never forgave an injury or an insult; 
offend him, and it was for life. I have often been 
struck with bis resemblance to his nation. He 
was proud and reserved in the extreme, but not | 
quarrelsome. Every little cur would fly out at 
him, aa at some strange animal; and I have seen 
them fasten for a moment on his heavy, bushy 
tail, aud yet he would stride on, never breaking 
his loDg, ‘loping,’ shambling trot Once I saw 
him turn, and the retribution was awful! It was 
upon a large, powerful mastiff we kept as a 
night-guard in the bank. He then put forth his 
strength, which proved tremendous! His coat 
hung about him in thick, loose, matted folds, 
dirty and uncared-for — so that 1 presume a dog 
never got hold of anything about him deeper 
than bis thick, tough skin, which was twice too 
large to fit him anywhere, and especially arouud 
the neckand shoulders. The only otherevidence 
of his uncommon strength which 1 had observed, 
was the perfect ease with which be threw himself 
over a high wall or paling, which often drew my 
attention, because ho seemed to me wanting in 
that particular development which we are accus¬ 
tomed to consider as necessary to muscular 
power. He was flat-chested, and flat-sided, with 
a somewhat, long back and narrow loin. (My 
drawing foreshortens his length.) His neck, 
forearm and thigh certainly indicated strength. 
If the Spanish wolf and the dog ever cohabit, be 
most assuredly had in him such a cross; the very 
effluvia of the animal betrayed it. In all in 
Ity For Terras and other particulars, see last page, 
HOW ABOUT THE FARMERS’ CLUBS? 
are passive — exist only |in name —and what 
proportion are again in the “full tide of success¬ 
ful operation” at this appropriate season for 
meetings, discussions and lectures? We hear 
little on the subject, but hope these beneficial 
associations will not be permitted to droop or 
die for the lack of a little proper effort on the 
part of their originators and others who are in 
duty bound to see that their usefulness is not 
impaired. 
There are several somewhat prominent Clubs 
in this State and New England, which have 
accomplished much in former years, and others 
which have made commendable progress, of 
whose present condition and prosperity the 
farmers of the country who believe in improve¬ 
ment, and wish to follow their example, would 
like to hear at the present juncture. We shall 
be glad to receive reports from these Clubs—to 
learu and impart to our readers what has been 
the result of their organization and working thus 
far, and as to their present positions and pros¬ 
pects. Such information will be timely, and no 
doubt prove of Interest and value in many local¬ 
ities where the propriety of organizing Farmers’ 
Clubs seems to be a debatable question. 
But, though we call for information as to the 
progress and prospects of Farmers’ Clubs, we 
have no doubt of their value to the agricultural 
interest, or as to their beneficial influence in aug¬ 
menting the friendly and social relations of their 
members — and therefore urge their formation in 
every locality where it is consistent. Wherever 
they have been established, and properly con¬ 
ducted — the officers and members being live, 
energetic, progressive men, zealous in the cause 
of improvement— a spirit of inquiry and emula¬ 
tion has been awakened, and old notions and 
prejudices eradicated by the results of close 
investigation and long practical experience, 
brought out by the discussion of various ques¬ 
tions pertaining to the soil and its culture, leading 
crops of the locality, underdraining and subsoil- 
ing, the breeding and management of domestic 
animals, etc., etc, 
The Farmers’ Club is em¬ 
phatically the Farmers’ College. It has, how¬ 
ever, more professors or teachers than ordinary 
institutions of learning, for almost every intelli¬ 
gent and observing member can impart some 
valuable fact unknown to his fellows — and, in 
return for instructing others on one subject, will 
be taught by them iu regard to several matters 
of practical importance. The members by thus 
“teaching one another,” largely increase their 
own knowledge, promote the pecuniary interests 
of individuals and neighborhoods, and materially 
enhance the wealth and prosperity of the country. 
