The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 1850-1873, 1871-01-13

At a recent meeting of the David
son County Farmers Club, the fol-
lowing memorial to the Legislature
Was presented, read, and approved:
To the Honorable General Assembly Of The
State of Tennessee: l
Your memorialists would respect
fully set forth the fact to your Honor
able bodies, as the representatives of
the people of Tennessee, that we have
been appointed by the Farmers Club,
of Davidson County, an association
composed of agriculturalists and
stockraisers, to petition for the pas
sage of law which will protect the
shcepraising class of your constituents
from the ravages of sheep-killing
dogs. Such an enactment would not
only benefit those interested in the
breeding and raising of sheep, but the
people of the State at large, who are
all interested in the cultivation and
protection of every particular indus
try that is beneficial to each and
every other class of our industrial
communities. Such an enactment
would have the effect to increase
largely the number of sheep and i'm
prove the quality, and thereby increase
the revenue of the State, and what
ever measure will increase the State
revenue will surely tighten the bur-
dcns of the whole people.
The sheep growing and wool pro-
ducing interest Of the State already
large would be greatly increased and
become a source of revenue to the
State, second to none other, could the
farming community receive proper
protection from the enroachments
alluded to. The loss for the State of
Tennessee Gas taken from the agri-
cultural report of 1867 for one year
sum up as follows, viz:
The loss in killed per county, 331 ;
which, multiplied by number of cOun-
ties, 65, gives 2S,l35 sheep killed to
this number add the injured, and it
will increase it vastly. There are
now i'm the State, from the best data
we can find, about 100000 sheep of all
kinds. This would make. the loss a.
bout 9 per cent. Estimating the total
loss TO the State at 50 per head it
would reach the sum of $S4, 400. The
/ injuries would increase this amount
fifty per cent. to say nothing of the
tremendous drawback TO a branch of
husbandry as possible and important
As anv other. We gather from the
agricultural report oflS6S, that Tenn
essee stands as the third State in point
of loss Of sheep by dogs. 1t reports
an annual loss i'm all the States OF
100000 in sheep killed and a million
injured. The loss is equivalent TO
6.0O0OO0 pounds of wool. 1t is a tax
of y per cent. upon the total sum in
ycsted--a tax greater than the aver
age levied upon farmers by the asses
sors for county, State and national
purposes combined.
Such a burden is intolerable, q
drain upon the profits of industry
that should be checked, and in our
opinion the Legislature. or Legislators
who would turn deafear to or make
light of this measure do not know
their duty, orare afraid to discharge
! IL.
There are estimated 10 be about six
millions Of dogs in the whole county,
ofwhich five arc utterly worthless de-
stroyiug food worth many millions Of
dollars, committing serious depreda.
tons upon farm property, and repress.
ing and depressing wool industry to
the injury of business and the loss OF
State and national wealth.