Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-03-25
Thieving From Farmers.

The amount of produce stolen from
farmers of this country each year il as
tonlshing. The merchant and the
banker keeps everything behind stout
locks and bolts, and have an inventory
of their stock, so they would know if
they were robbed, but farmers are
neither protected by bolts or bars, nor
do they know when robbed in small
way, not having an inventory of their
numerous articles of produce There is
not one farm granary in the country
out of a hundred that is kept locked,
and those that are locked may be pried
open by skillful hand in few minutes,
and after several bushels of grain are
removed, the staples may be driven
back into their places again and the
granary has the same appearance as
before the theft occurred. There are
numerous people in large cities who
live entirely upon produce stolen from
farmers. They become so bold by years
of experience that the drive out at night
to the granaries and chicken roosts in
circuit of twenty miles. with as much
confidence, and as little fears of detec-
ton, as though the whole territory was
their personal property Thefts of
poultry most frequently occur The
farmer about Rochester, n. Y, who
succeeds in raising and marketing his
turkeys and other fowls without loss by
theft, considers himself remarkably for
tunate. 1t is difficult TO imagine the
feelings of those who have nursed
flock of so or 100 chickens and turkeys
through the perils of babyhood to full
development, and find as Thanksgiving
approaches that every fowl has been
carried off by thieving vagabonds the
night previous.
Farmers are usually poorly protected,
and unable to combat with thieves in
case they discover them at their work
| remember case where two men with
wagon were discovered loading wheat
in the wagon at the dead of the night
from farmers granary. The farmer
discovered them by the barking of his
dog, and all hands were aroused to
rescue the property, and still the thieves
escaped with their plumber Farmers
are isolated and cannot depend upon
any one but themselves for help in ease
of robberies. Therefore, every farmer
should be protected by a good double
tOdtltu Will lttAth-
shot if nothing better can be provided.
An order to halt given behind a load II
buckshot is always received with respcc'
What chance has man just aroused
from slumber to battle successfully with
wide-awake thieves, who are armed and
desperate.
A lady near our fruit farm, who has
had her chickens stolen successfully for
three seasons, reports that she has invent
ed a burglar alarm for her chicken coop.
which consists of noisy dog confined
in comfortable quarters in the henncry.
She is confident that any attempt to
modest the chickens win be rendered
fruitless by the barking of the dog. A
good dog is certainly good defense for
the farmer at night. Usually such dogs
are confined where they cannot be of
much use. A dog should have comfort
able quarters where he can be free to
roam about at his pleasure. Dogs have
faculty of sleeping with both ears open,
and of being able to scent the approach
of the marauder at great distance.
Captured burglars have stated that there
was nothing they feared more than
barking dog, no matter how small 1t
is not, therefore, necessary to have
fierce dog, but small one, who will
bark necessarily at the approach Of
danger.