Saint Mary's beacon., 1872-01-18

last weekly Issue has forcible and an ex-
haustive article on the shove subject.
which We Transfer TO our own eolunns to-
day. II should be carefully read and pom
dered By planters and its suggestions ac-
ted upon. If j, is desirable to do any thing
for shecp protection during the present ses-
sion Of our Legislature. The statistics
given. which are Of funquessionsbfc verify.
will astound many Of our farmers and
ought to move them. We think. to come
together and take steps in This matter to
make their wishes known to the Legisla-
ture. 1t is certain that nothing win be
done by our aw-mskers unless il is asked
to be done. and ifno,hing is done. - moth
ing will be, unless We take the initiative,
We shall have nobody TO blame bat osr-
selves.
We find in the proceedings Of the State
Legislature. now ia session, that Mr.. Earle.
of Queen Anne's. asked leave to introduce
a bill to repeal the law on the statute
book. chap. 1s9, Of 1870, to protect sheep
in Somerset. Dorchester. and Queen An
ne's counties. and TO re-enact the same
with an amendment. This mode of pro-
cceding. TO amend the laws Of the State.
is in accordance with the statute. SO that
the almost innumerable number Of disrinc,
acts are obyiated for amending an origi-
nal law. which heretofore lumbered up
the statute books of the State. ard made
il difficult to determine what the law real
ly was after So many changes had been
made in it. The law now is first repeal
ed. and new and perfect ac. il prcsen-
ted. improved upon aud passed. IL such is
the will Of the Lcgisla,ure-a very excel
lent Improvement. We do not know what
the purpose Of Mr. Earle IS in the move
ment now made-the law in question has
now been in operation two years. and it
is probable that any defects which have
been found in it TO accomplish the pur-
pose intended will have been manifested
during that time-but what we wish to
call attention to is the fact that the law is
one Of those partial ones which are so fire.
qucn,ly found in our legislation. and We
suppose that il extends only to the coun-
ties named. But law 20 "protect sheep"
from the rapacious and worthless ours.
which are found in every hole and corner
Of each district Of the several counties in
this and many other States. should be en-
acted Of most stringent character and
we hope that the farmers Of Maryland will
lose no time in instructing their represcn-
tativcs in the Legislature to have their
counties included in the proposed new law.
No doubt the committee TO whom the SUBJ
ject has been referred would be glad to
receive any suggestions which the intelli-
gent men Of the State could make. to make
the law as perfect as possible
We had the pleasure Of examining the
other day the herd of beautiful Jersey and
Guernsey cattle which has just arrived
and are advertised to be sold on the 18th
inst. by Mcssr. p. II. Sullivan & Son, in
this city, and it was rich treat for an
admirer Of fine cattle. With them we
found lot Of Shropshire Devon sheep.
imported ut the same time. and the idea
is presented to the mind. what Marylan-
der will venture TO pay the price which
will be offered for such animals at the sale
when he knows that before the end Of the
week he i. liable to lose his purchase by
the ravagcs Of the half starved dogs ofone
Of thc occupants Of the neighboring how
els?
BY the way. there has seldom been
brought to this port finer lot of sheep
than those alluded to. If some Of the
breeders in other States ofimproved sheep
could but see these before the sale, the
prices realized would probably exceed any
thing paid Of late days for mutton. Two
o: the animals. particularly. are rare spe-
cimens, anl doubtless will command a
very high figure.
Our object at present. however, is tc
direct the attention Of farmers of the sew
eral counties to the bill before the Lcgis-
lature. and to impress upon them TO move
in the matter forthwith if they wish to se-
cure participation in the benefits of the
law; the Legislature is limited in time,
and it is difficult matter towards the close
of the session to have new business intro
duced or acted upon satisfactorily.
The five Middle States. according to
the census of 1870, raised during 1870.
wool as follows: Pennsylvania. 6. .567.-
722 pounds; New Jersey. 33S GOO;
New York 1859, 225; Delaware, S.
3l6 and Maryland 1928 pounds =
There are facilities in Maryland, upon
lands peculiarly fitted for the business, of
raising ten times rs many sheep rs We now
have. bu. the depredations Of dogs have
discouraged the attempt to any considera-
biz extent. In the Agricultural department,
report for 1866 We find returns which are
really startling as to the damage commit
ted upon this class of farm property from
the cause indicated, and it is worthy of
the most profound consideration with our
Legislators il this state Of things is to last.
so far as this State is concerned. From
$50 counties. in every State except those
on the Pacific coast. an aggregated esti-
mate makes the number of sheep killed
BY dogs in about onc-fourth Of the whole
number Of counties in the United States to
reach $50. 900 and upon this basis the
number killed would be more than mil
lion yearly! To this is to be added. esti-
mated upon basis reported from actual
count in q series Of years in Ohio. more
than 500. .0vO more injured or musilaied.
In Maryland. in Ave counties reported.
there were l,l54 sheep killed by dogs in
1866; in Ohio. for Eve years. there were
2OS.s24 killed. averaging 10, 764 per
year. more than one per cent. ofhe focks.