522 
FANCIERS’ JOURNAL AND POULTRY EXCHANGE. 


fowls? I noticed at the last show in Boston that the Leghorn 
seemed to have this habit more than other fowls. 
Respectfully yours, AS 
Will some of our Leghorn breeders please answer the 
above query ? 
IMPORTATION. 
Jos. M. WapbgE, Esa. 
Dear Sir: I have just received, per ‘‘ City of Paris,” five 
Baldheads, viz.: two Yellows, two Reds, and one Short- 
faced Blue cock; the latter a rather scarce article in this coun- 
try. Twoof the birds are the winners at several of the large 
English shows, and well deserve the praises given them by 
their late owner. Yours truly, 
H. A. Brown. 
New York, August 4, 1874. 
IMPORTATION. 
Mr. Jos. M. WADE. 
Dear Srr: I have just received from Leicestershire, Eng- 
land, through Mr. C. C. Spring and John L. Baker, three 
elegant Rouen ducks, the finest I ever saw. They arrived 
in fine condition. Very truly yours, 
A. D. WARREN. 
WORCESTER, Mass., August 6, 1874. 


Sate Pet Department: 
4g> All communications and contributions intended for this depart- 
ment should be addressed to HOWARD I. IRELAND, 318 Stevens Street, 
Camden, N. J., or care of JosepH M. WADE, 39 North Ninth St., Philada. 

OUR FAITHFUL FRIENDS, THE DOGS. 
To any Christian-hearted mind, how harrowing, how re- 
volting the daily accounts from New York of the cruel, bar- 
barous, inhuman treatment our faithful friends, the dogs, 
have met with lately at the hands of the city officials, must 
be. We have been compelled to lay down the newspaper 
with perfect horror time after time, whilst reading how all 
sense of justice towards one of tbe best gifts of an all-seeing 
and an all-wise Providence has been cast aside, mercy wan- 
tonly avoided, kindness and intelligence exchanged for bru- 
tality and ignorance; and the facts show for themselves how 
little we Americans know of the nature of these animals, 
and how slow in this respect we have been to take example 
from our Huropean cousins. 
Look, for instance, at the wonderful sagacity of the splen- 
did St. Bernard dog. How many hundreds of lives—possi- 
bly some Americans amongst the number—have been saved 
from starvation and death by the wonderful intelligence of 
these animals. Look again at the inborn instinct of the 
full-blooded Newfoundland. Without training, or any pre- 
vious teaching, let him only see the struggling motions of a 
drowning form, be it man, woman, or child, he knows no 
fear, but dashes into the water boldly, confidently, to the 
rescue; and if he cannot drag the body to the shore, he will 
cling to it until further assistance arrives. We * remember 
to have seen the handsomest specimen of this kind in Lon- 
don, England, belonging, we believe, to the late keeper of 
Regent Park; and the dog’s neck was hung round with 
medals given by the Royal Humane Society for the number 
of lives the noble creature had saved from a watery grave 
in the Serpentine. Landseer has painted a magnificent pic- 
ture of him, and when exhibited in the Academy the paint- 
ing was entered under the title of ‘‘ Member of the Royal 
Humane Society.”’ 
Look again at the wonderful attributes of the shepherd’s 


dog in England. He knows every sheep in the flock, and 
can detect when one is missing as soon as his master, and 
straightway sets about hunting for it, never giving up the 
hope of its recovery whilst a chance remains. Night after 
night he is sent off alone from the cottage, and no matter 
what may be the distance, or the number of the flock, he 
will collect them and drive them safely and without assist- 
ance to the fold, with a clear, bright face, a wagging tail, 
and a sharp, cheery bark; and when his task is over, he 
looks for no praise or return but the bones. spared from the 
shepherd’s frugal dinner, and a pat on the head from his 
master’s hand, and to lie down at his feet, waiting in all 
faithful watchfulness for his services to be again required. 
Look once more at the patient watch dog, chained to his 
kennel night and day, having few of the privileges of many 
of the species, the terror of the thief, the safeguard of the 
home. Look at the numberless pets we have in our houses, 
always friendly, amusing, and faithful. Who indeed amongst 
the members of our houséholds gives us a truer, more thor- 
ough welcome each time we return home than the faithful 
dog? He has a hundred and one signs of showing his pleas- 
ure, and through life, come what may, come what will, mis- 
fortune, sickness, poverty, he, of all friends, remains un- 
changed, true to the last, when all so-called friends turn 
away. 
We have seen so many evidences of dogs’ sagacity, that now 
we never doubt any story that may come to our ears, per- 
sonal observation having taught us to know that their intel- 
ligence has frequently proved itself to be almost human. 
‘We may be pardoned if we quote a story told us not long _ 
ago, the truth of which is beyond all doubt. A faithful dog 
was the member of a household in which there was a baby 
boy under a year old. The boy was much attached to the 
dog, who followed him about as though he had been ap- ~ 
pointed his special body guard. Daily, when the little fel- 
low’s noontide sleep became due, nothing would satisfy him 
but to lie upon the floor, and his head upon the dog’s side, 
and no matter how long the child slept the dog never moved, 
but remained patiently still until the little fellow awoke. 
After thinking over all these noble attributes of our dumb 
friend, can we, without protest, submit to their being mur- 
dered wholesale to the tune of hundreds per day? We say, 
and not without knowledge of the subject, that the fact of a 
dog’s going mad is more the fault of the owner than the ani- 
mal. 'They are, in most cases, improperly fed for a hot cli- 
mate, and have not easy access to water to drink; and to 
crown all, muzzle your dog, and you aid materially the ap- 
proach of hydrophobia. A dog only can perspire through 
the tongue, therefore if the mouth be closed by the cruel 
muzzle, all perspiration is forced back into the system, and 
the result is madness. Dogsshould have no raw meat at any 
time through the year, and in summer no meat at all. Let 
them be fed upon a kind of soup made up from beef bones 
well boiled down with any and all kinds of vegetables that 
may be used at the table each day, and mixed with bread or 
cracker, and a handful of oatmeal. This should be given 
but once a day, and not earlier than six o’clock in the even- 
ing, so as to avoid feeding during the hot portion of the 
day. Leta piece of rock sulphur always be in the drinking- 
water, which should be frequently changed, and kept fresh 
and cool. Keep the poor fellow out of the sun. Take one- 
third the care of him that you do of your horse, and he will 
live and die in your service, faithful and true, a friend to 
the last, and never to be replaced when dead. ‘A merciful 
man is merciful to his beast. "—Suffolk County Journal. 
