The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-12-01

puppies are always plenty and to be
had for the asking their wants in this
line. are supplied, and the puppy
grows into the heart of his young mas
ter while he is growing into homely,
worthless cur. As we live, we natu-
rally love also to 'let live." It seems
a cruelty to deprive an animal Of it's
life, though it is comparatively nuis-
ance, and except it become menace
to the neighborhood, it goes at liberty
and runs at large.
Where the pure bred classes of Ca
mines are kept and best known, their
valuable qualities and characteristics
are at once recognized, and it is such
dogs that farmers stand greatly in
need of. But they are altogether too
few. The farm dog should be one
that is by nature, or that can readily
be trained, to be useful. He should
have no knowledge of the world be-
yond his own home. He should be
we'll fed and we'll cared for, and should
be treated considerably and kindly,
nor should imposition upon him be al
lowed at any time. Dog nature is q
sensitive and very affectionate nature,
and is deserving of respect. He is
the better for all the petting he gets
at the hands of all the family, and
praise of him is never i'll bestowed.
He will invariably repay it with inter.
est by making additional effort to
please in the very next task that is
either set him to do, or that is self
imposed. He is never laggard, but,
if the dog we bear in mind, he is al
ways seeking out something to busy
himself about that he knows will be
approved by his master.
"Ben" is one of those cross-breed
dogs that have, as class, been con-
demned. Yet he is of fairly good
parentage, for it is known that his
mother was Scotch terrier, bnt upon
the other side nothing definite or par
ticularly encouraging is known. He
is very small and slender, but he has
the spirit and the belief in his own
powers of q mastiff. He knows moth
ing of fear, and no enemy has ever
daunted his courage. He is 'invalua-
BILE wherever he undertakes to render
assistance. In the poultry yard he is
perfect safeguard, and he dispatches
every skunk, weasel and rat that ever
dares put in an appearance. he will
trudge through the cornfelds with his
master, the day long, disposing Of
gophers, and he kills great numbers
of them. It is the steady worker that
accomplishes most, and Ben persist
emily tracks them to their death. He
enjoys his work, and the farm gives
proof of the value of his by the lesser
and lesser numbers of these cornfeld
pests year by year. In handling swine
he again proves himself invaluable.
He is growing gray in service, having
served as farm helper for. nearly nine
years. The bright tan of his head has
become so plentifully sprinkled with
gray hairs as to have made him look
venerable. Still he appears to be as
young as ever, and any slight ailment
is anxiously watched and locked to by
the family. The character of this mon.
grel is worthy of perpetuation, though
not advocating the perpetuity of any
race of mongrels, whether of high or
low degree in the scale of life.
We should be glad to see better
class of farm dogs kept than we find,
and it lies largely in the hands Of the
farmers to better this condition of sf-
fairs. Valuable property is yearly
destroyed by this rowing, worthless
element. The "nobody's dogs" are an
ill-conditioned, starved race, and they
are countless. And it is safe to say
that the majority of farm dogs are of
little, if any more, value than the dog
that drifts from place to place and sim
ply exists.-Nellie Hawks, in the
Epitomist.