The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1884-05-22
Unprofitable Livestock.

Long essays have been written OF
SCRUB" cattle and Improbable dair,
animals. Figures have been given tt
show that it costs no more to keep goot
animal than it does to keep a poor one
1t has come to be generally admitted tina
much of the stock kept by the ordinary
farmer is of but little real profit to him
In other words, it costs nearly as much
to feed and care for inferior animals a:
their returns in beef, milk or butter are
valued at. But we wish to speak of &
still more Improbable kind of livestock
and that is-the dog. This animal pre-
sents an inviting chance for discussion
particularly to the sheep raiser. We
have looked in vain for some figures to
show what the canine population of the
country is. 1t is safe enough to say tina,
there are more dogs in the country than
there are sheep, cattle, horses and mules
There is a very remarkable point about
this dog population that must not be over.
looked. The poorer man is the greater
his success in dog breeding. The man
who has the least for the support of his
family, always seems 10 show the great.
est enterprise in the production of ours
Now if the dog is such an important fac.
tor in civilization, it may be we'll to ask
what are his good qualities and what are
his bad ones. We go in for improvement
of live. stock. If the dog is an important
aid in diversified farming, we wish to
give him lift. a dog in good condition,
mental and physical, will eat as much as
man. Dogs have about the best health
of any living creatures, SO it is safe to say
that they are generally in good condition.
The food eaten by dogs, if it could be
turned into hard cash, would give educa-
tion 10 thousands of ignorant persons or
provide food for numberless hungry NOR.
tails. Now, what return does the dog
make for his food? There is nothing
about him that you can sell. We are
speaking of the ordinary cur-the species
that comprise 90! per cent. of all dogs.
His hide is made into gloves now aud
then, but the raising of dogs for leather
would hardly be profitable occupation.
The only possible excuse that can be
urged in the favor of the dog is the pro.
lection he gives as watch dog, the aid
he gives to the stock. raiser, or the COM
pany he gives by his presence or exam
Pile. There are some excellent watch
dogs. They have been trained carefully.
For every dog that is of any value for
Watching" however, there are five hun
dred that are good for nothing. A savage
bull dog will defend his masters property.
The worst of the watch.d dog business is
that the animal can not be relied upon
to distinguish between friend and foe.
We know of few instances where dogs
have held burglar by the throat till
some man came to the rescue. Such
dogs are found mostly in dime novels.
We know of many instances where dogs
have attacked children, ladies and harm.
less visitors, oftentimes doing great dam
ago. A single mad dog in neighbor-
hood can do so much harm in an hour
that all his race could hardly make up
for it in year. There are dogs that do
excellent work as stock herders. We
have seen dog drive flock of sheep as
carefully and as well as any mau could
have done. Such q dog is valuable to
any farmer-may their tribe increase.
But how many such dogs can you find in
the country? One out of every hundred
is about the proportion. For the good
that the one dog does, the other ninety
nine roll up an amount of mischief that
is appalling. The stock raiser is the best
friend of good dog, but he is the worst
foe the bad dog can possibly have. Dogs
take delight in worrying colts and chas.
ing calves and hogs. But their great
delight is in killing sheep. The figures
which represent the value of sheep killed
by dogs are surprising. We have, in
this section, one of the best sheep coun.
tries imaginable. The advantages of
climate aud soil are about counter
balanced by The immense number OF dogs.
It is question if sheep raising can be
very pro6tably carried on in sections
where savage dogs ale numerous. All
this damage is done by the worthless
dogs. Good stock dogs will not kill sheep
and good watch dogs have other business.
1t is quite evident that the dog question
must sooner or later be settled. 1t does
not seem right that an animal capable of
doing so much mischief should be permit
ted to increase and continue its depreda-
tions. Perhaps a heavy license would
aid in the matter. The owners of really
valuable dogs would be willing to pay for
them were they sure that the worthless
ours could do no damage. There are
plenty of men who long for chance to
do something for the good of The country.
Here is golden opportunity. Organize
crusade against these worthless curs.-
Livestock Journal