No grazing farm is complete without one or more intelligent, well-trained dogs, adapted to the various wants of their owners; and the general taste has made their presence almost universal in every rural household. The dog is peculiarly the friend of man. Many other animals have a temporary though feeble attachment to him, which seems the result rather of constant companionship, or the selfishness of dependence, than any well-settled affection towards a master.

The dog alone, of all the brute creation, seems capable of a disinterested, self-sacrificing affection; and this, united with his usefulness and adaptedness to all climes and countries, has made him a favorite in every quarter of the globe. Since this animal is the habitual tenant of the farm, and, when suited to his peculiar duties, can be made of great utility by the assistance he is capable of affording in its management, we deem it entirely appropriate to our subject to indicate such of the species as are deserving the farmer's attention. Discarding all ideas of fancy or sportsmanship, and looking to utility alone, we may safely affirm that the farmer needs only such as may be found in the four breeds of the Newfoundland, the Shepherd's and Drover's dog, and the Terrier.

The Newfoundland is an excellent watch-dog; sagacious in discriminating between a friend and a foe, and with courage and strength to follow out his prompt and judicious conclusions. He is easily trained for the drover, to whom he is frequently a great assistant; and with a scent sufficiently acute to pursue game, he is readily broken in as a useful companion to the sportsman. He can also be made serviceable in the various duties of the farm: destroying noxious vermin, taking the cattle and horses to the field or water, drawing a light load, churning the butter, &c. It is true, he has not all the sagacity of the Poodle, whose intelligence approaches nearer to human reason than any other of the brute creation. But if he has not that quick apprehension, which too often leads, as in the case of forward children, to the attainment of every worthless accomplishment and the indulgence of every loaferish habit, he seems to have a sedate, well-formed judgment, which makes all his wit available for some useful purpose. He is unsurpassed as a water-dog; and his courageous efforts, wherever an opportunity has been afforded, in rescuing numberless human beings from a watery grave, together with his unswerving fidelity and devotion, commend him as the prince of the canine family.

The Shepherd's Dog.

This animal, of which we give a beautiful portrait on the next page, of the long-haired Scottish breed, 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 characteristics.

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 are used by the Spanish and Mexican shepherds, on their wild sierras, as effective guards against the attacks of all marauders, and are essentially the same race as the far-famed dogs of Mount 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 character, and occasional depredations upon the flocks, they have been found unsuited 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 forehead, and small upright ear; 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 gray; and one branch of the family is entirely destitute of a tail. They possess an instinctive sagacity for the management of sheep; and in company with a well-trained dog, under the direction of the shepherd, they soon become entirely competent 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 frequently related, which seem almost incredible to those unacquainted with their peculiar character. The following anecdote, often told by the gifted poet, Mr. James Hogg, more generally known by the soubriquet of the Ettrick Shepherd, will show their capacity more fully than any description.

"On one night, a large flock of lambs that were under the Ettrick Shepherd's care, frightened by something, scampered away in three different directions 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 Hogg and his assistant traversed every neighboring hill in anxious but fruitless search for the lambs; but he could hear nothing of them nor of the dog, and he was returning to his master with the doleful intelligence that he had lost all his lambs. 'On our way home, however,' says he, 'we discovered a lot of lambs at the bottom of a deep ravine called the Flesh Cleuch, and the indefatigable Sirrah standing in front of them, looking round for some relief, 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 situation. But what was our astonishment 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 comprehension. The charge was left entirely 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.'"

They are quiet and good-natured, never inclined to roam or neglect their duties, and 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 impassable fences, should be without one or more of these useful animals.

The Drover's Dog.

This animal is shown in the annexed figure. He is closely allied to the sheep-dog, from which he derives all his intelligence and capacity, differing only in being somewhat larger and heavier, which is essential to his controlling the sturdier bullocks under his charge. His additional size is acquired by crossing with some of the stouter races, such as the Newfoundland or the pointer, and even the bull-dog and large shaggy terrier have sometimes been resorted to for a strain of that indomitable courage and game, which is frequently requisite to the proper discharge of his duties. He requires more training than the sheep-dog, as his peculiar instincts are rather to the management of the flock than the herd; but when fairly broken in, he is equally expert in its management. The drover's dog may also be useful for watching, if crossed with a reference to this object, which the sheep-dog seldom is.

This, in addition to the foregoing, is the only dog necessary to the farm. He is needed principally for his great sagacity and indefatigable perseverance in exterminating rats and other vermin, that frequently congregate in swarms around the farmer's premises, producing such an aggregate of annoyance and devastation. Other dogs may occasionally be good ratters, but the terrier takes to them from instinct, as the Newfoundland does to the water, or the sheep-dog to his flock. He has great ingenuity and activity in ferreting out and capturing his prey, and whenever a fair opportunity is afforded, he seldom fails of success. The famous English terrier, Billy, on two occasions, killed 100 rats in a ring at each time, in an average of less than six and a half minutes.

The terrier is usually below the medium size, but sometimes fully comes up to or even exceeds it. He is smooth-haired or rough according to the breed, of which there are several, each claiming to be equally pure. Besides his capacity for the destruction of small game, his innate love for the sport renders him a valuable assistant in keeping off vagrant cattle from the premises; and his quick ear, habitual watchfulness, and prompt courage, fully qualify him, to the extent of his size, for an excellent watch-dog.

The fancy of country residents may incline them to keep a variety of other dogs than are herein enumerated, some of which, with good training, can be made partial assistants to their masters. But it is unnecessary to specify the various breeds that may possibly be of some use on the farm, as the slight crossing they will be likely to have, equally with their opportunities and the attention bestowed upon them, will serve materially to develop or obscure their peculiar instincts. The Spaniel family and its crosses will be found to combine the greatest intelligence, fidelity, and aptitude to learn; the hound has the keenest scent and greatest endurance in the pursuit of game; while the bull-dog has the most courage, sullen ferocity, and strength. Each may occasionally be wanted for a strain of blood for some particular objects; and this is especially necessary from the bull-dog in the management of refractory cattle, or to give the terrier greater stoutness and courage.

The absurd custom of keeping from one to a dozen dogs, untrained for any valuable purpose, or supernumeraries even if capable of rendering occasional service, ought to be abandoned by every rational man. Besides the great annual cost, the danger of communicating rabies or madness is sufficient to justify a legal restraint on their numbers. The sad havoc they commit on the flocks, demands the extermination by law of every dog that is guilty, whether

And even if it includes the fides Achates, or parlor companions,

the work of extirpation should proceed, to the extent of curtailing this branch of farm-stock to its wholesome and legitimate proportions.