Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1888-11-30
AMATEUR FARMING.

It is curious how great men dll-
fer about little things. Sir Walter
Scott liked little dogs. | don't. A
dog is supposed to be necessary on
an amateur Farm. He keeps the
amateur COW out of the amateur
garden and teaches the amateur
hog to know its place. Az least
the ideal amateur dog is supposed
to do all this for the amatuer farm
er, besides biting a sample out oil
every obtrusive amatuer tramp VINO
comes along.
My various dogs Dever would DO
any of these useful things. lie was
either so cOwaidly that he would
run when the COW charged at him
with her head down, or he seemed
to think the COW and the hog had
the run of the garden anyhow, and
then he wou'd ron and gambol and
bark joyodsly, aud aid them s''sk'S
IN trampiDg every living thing ia
to the moist and fruitful earth.
A vlllaiDoOs DetrOiter, whom l
hone some time to meet in a da' X
alley when bave a stodt walking
cane in my hand, sold dog TO me-
lie said be was Just the animal for
a country place. No burglars would
come around while that dog was
on guard. The animal was war
ranted to be part balldOg, part mas
til. with a strain of bloodhound
running through his composition.
"He looks rather formidable" |
said, "and the price is pretty high
"Well, It doesn't pay to have a
cheap dog around the house.
You want the best. You wouldn't
be satisfied with a shoddy dog"
But he looks so surly"
"Oh, he looks surly-I admit
that. But he's as kind as a kitten
when you get to know him, and
when he knows YOU
'"Well, | don't know about that
Seems to me I'd be afraid to lead
that dog home unless he was at
tached to an iron rod so that
could keep him at a distance"
"Oh, that's all right. III fix that
for YOU. III take the dog to your
place aud chain him up. You feed
him for a few days till he gets tC
know YOU. Then have the children
feed him for while till be knows
them, then everything's lovely
You let him loose and after that
hell stay round the place, and you
can't even make him grOwl at any
of YOU. But he'll keep the place
clear of tramps, you can bet your
boots on that"
SO the dog was chained up al
the stable. We riveted the chair
to the stable so that if he went
cavooting round the place he would
have to drag the sta BILE round Will
him, and that, | thought would
soon tire ont even the strongest Of
dogs.
That night / walked home. The
horse had got out OF the field a
couple of days before and had gone
off visiting somewhere, aud | got
down town and back on foot those
DAYS. When / reached the place
l saw the dog sitting in the middle
of the lawn with a bit of broken
chain attached to his collar. From
the expession on his face saw he
imagined that he, and not |, owned
the place. | spoke some endearlng
words to him, but the moment
put my hand to the gate latch he
bounded down there with a per-
fectly hideOus snarl, that showed
his tusks and his general opinion
of me. retired to the middle OF
the road.
There was a deserted, haunted
house appearance about my subur'
ban residence that appalled, me-
Had the brute got away with the
whole family as well as the hired
man? 1t certainly looked that way
| walked up and down the front
of the place, and the dog walked
up and down with me, but happily
kept inside tue fence.
shouted myself hOarse for the
hired man, but there was no answer
Finally the servant girl appeared
on the balcony of the tower and,
making a speaking tube OF heI
hands-the house stands well back
from the road-yelled some inform
alton TO me. The house, learned
was locked up and the only way to
get in at that moment was down
TIE chimney. The dog had kept
them IN sieged since II o'clock in
the morning. fIe bad kept out the
grocery wagon. the butchers cart
| md tIa ;oa,nan ITa had cnuruiptp