Domestic Animals Part 28

This animal, of which we give a beautiful portrait on the next page, of the long-haired Scottish breed, belongs to the same family as the Newfoundland and Poodle, which embraces the most intelligent and useful of the canine species. There are two cla.s.ses of these dogs, which differ widely in their size and characteristics.

The larger is of great size and courage, and when protected by a stout leather collar studded with spikes, is a full match for the wolf. These are used by the Spanish and Mexican shepherds, on their wild sierras, as effective guards against the attacks of all marauders, and are essentially the same race as the far-famed dogs of Mount St. Bernard.

They are not sufficiently gentle for guides, and the shepherds who employ them rely on some well-trained wethers or goats to lead the flock at their call. Some have been imported into this country, but on account of their headstrong and ferocious character, and occasional depredations upon the flocks, they have been found unsuited to our wants, except on the borders of the wilderness.

The Colley or Scottish sheep-dog, the English, and those extensively used upon the continent, differ much in their form and appearance, but agree in their intelligence, docility, and usefulness. They are of medium size, with a sharp nose, broad forehead, and small upright ear; they are both s.h.a.ggy and smooth-haired, with a bushy tail, and much hair about the neck; variously colored, though more frequently inclined to black or darkly spotted and gray; and one branch of the family is entirely dest.i.tute of a tail. They possess an instinctive sagacity for the management of sheep; and in company with a well-trained dog, under the direction of the shepherd, they soon become entirely competent to the control of the flock. They perceive his wishes by a word or sign, and with almost the speed of the greyhound, dart off to execute them.

Accounts of their performances have been frequently related, which seem almost incredible to those unacquainted with their peculiar character.

The following anecdote, often told by the gifted poet, Mr. James Hogg, more generally known by the soubriquet of the Ettrick Shepherd, will show their capacity more fully than any description.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 38.

Shepherd's Dog]

"On one night, a large flock of lambs that were under the Ettrick Shepherd's care, frightened by something, scampered away in three different directions across the hills, in spite of all that he could do to keep them together. 'Sirrah,' said the shepherd, 'they're a' awa!' It was too dark for the dog and his master to see each other at any considerable distance, but Sirrah understood him, and set off after the fugitives. The night pa.s.sed on, and Hogg and his a.s.sistant traversed every neighboring hill in anxious but fruitless search for the lambs; but he could hear nothing of them nor of the dog, and he was returning to his master with the doleful intelligence that he had lost all his lambs. 'On our way home, however,' says he, 'we discovered a lot of lambs at the bottom of a deep ravine called the Flesh Cleuch, and the indefatigable Sirrah standing in front of them, looking round for some relief, but still true to his charge. We concluded that it was one of the divisions which Sirrah had been unable to manage, until he came to that commanding situation. But what was our astonishment when we discovered that not one lamb of the flock was missing! How he had got all the divisions collected in the dark, is beyond my comprehension. The charge was left entirely to himself from midnight until the rising sun; and, if all the shepherds in the forest had been there to have a.s.sisted him, they could not have effected it with greater prompt.i.tude. All that I can say is, that I never felt so grateful to any creature under the sun as I did to my honest Sirrah that morning.'"

They are quiet and good-natured, never inclined to roam or neglect their duties, and as little disposed to injure the animals intrusted to their keeping. They have almost the intelligence of the shepherd in discerning the vagaries of the flock, and ten times his efficiency in driving it.

No extensive sheep-walks, unless closely hemmed in by impa.s.sable fences, should be without one or more of these useful animals.

The Drover's Dog.

This animal is shown in the annexed figure. He is closely allied to the sheep-dog, from which he derives all his intelligence and capacity, differing only in being somewhat larger and heavier, which is essential to his controlling the st.u.r.dier bullocks under his charge. His additional size is acquired by crossing with some of the stouter races, such as the Newfoundland or the pointer, and even the bull-dog and large s.h.a.ggy terrier have sometimes been resorted to for a strain of that indomitable courage and game, which is frequently requisite to the proper discharge of his duties. He requires more training than the sheep-dog, as his peculiar instincts are rather to the management of the flock than the herd; but when fairly broken in, he is equally expert in its management. The drover's dog may also be useful for watching, if crossed with a reference to this object, which the sheep-dog seldom is.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 39.

Drover's Dog.]

The Terrier.

This, in addition to the foregoing, is the only dog necessary to the farm. He is needed princ.i.p.ally for his great sagacity and indefatigable perseverance in exterminating rats and other vermin, that frequently congregate in swarms around the farmer's premises, producing such an aggregate of annoyance and devastation. Other dogs may occasionally be good ratters, but the terrier takes to them from instinct, as the Newfoundland does to the water, or the sheep-dog to his flock. He has great ingenuity and activity in ferreting out and capturing his prey, and whenever a fair opportunity is afforded, he seldom fails of success.

The famous English terrier, Billy, on two occasions, killed 100 rats in a ring at each time, in an average of less than six and a half minutes.

The terrier is usually below the medium size, but sometimes fully comes up to or even exceeds it. He is smooth-haired or rough according to the breed, of which there are several, each claiming to be equally pure.

Besides his capacity for the destruction of small game, his innate love for the sport renders him a valuable a.s.sistant in keeping off vagrant cattle from the premises; and his quick ear, habitual watchfulness, and prompt courage, fully qualify him, to the extent of his size, for an excellent watch-dog.

The fancy of country residents may incline them to keep a variety of other dogs than are herein enumerated, some of which, with good training, can be made partial a.s.sistants to their masters. But it is unnecessary to specify the various breeds that may possibly be of some use on the farm, as the slight crossing they will be likely to have, equally with their opportunities and the attention bestowed upon them, will serve materially to develop or obscure their peculiar instincts.

The Spaniel family and its crosses will be found to combine the greatest intelligence, fidelity, and apt.i.tude to learn; the hound has the keenest scent and greatest endurance in the pursuit of game; while the bull-dog has the most courage, sullen ferocity, and strength. Each may occasionally be wanted for a strain of blood for some particular objects; and this is especially necessary from the bull-dog in the management of refractory cattle, or to give the terrier greater stoutness and courage.

The absurd custom of keeping from one to a dozen dogs, untrained for any valuable purpose, or supernumeraries even if capable of rendering occasional service, ought to be abandoned by every rational man. Besides the great annual cost, the danger of communicating rabies or madness is sufficient to justify a legal restraint on their numbers. The sad havoc they commit on the flocks, demands the extermination by law of every dog that is guilty, whether

Mongrel, puppy, whelp, or hound, Or cur of low degree.

And even if it includes the _fides Achates_, or parlor companions,

Tray, Blanche, and Sweetheart,

the work of extirpation should proceed, to the extent of curtailing this branch of farm-stock to its wholesome and legitimate proportions.

CHAPTER IX.

POULTRY.

Choice varieties of fowls add a pleasant feature to the farm premises.

They engage the attention and sympathy of the juvenile farmers, and the time bestowed in the poultry yard keeps them from mischief: it is an agreeable and salutary relief from toil and study, and elicits the taste, the judgment, and the kindlier feelings of humanity, which are to be matured in the future accomplished breeder. When properly managed, poultry are a source of considerable profit, yielding more for the food they consume, than any other stock, although their value is not often considered. The agricultural statistics of the United States, for 1839, give us over $12,000,000 in poultry, and it probably exceeds $15,000,000 at the present time. It is estimated by McQueen, that the poultry of England exceeds $40,000,000, and yet McCulloch says she imports 60,000,000 eggs annually from France, (McQueen states it at near 70,000,000;) and from other parts of the continent, 25,000,000; besides 80,000,000 imported from Ireland. Poultry, then, ceases to be an unimportant object of agricultural attention, and a.s.sumes its appropriate place among the other staples of the farmer.

Hens

Are the most numerous and profitable, and the most generally useful of the feathered tribe. The hen is peculiarly an egg-producing bird. She has the same predisposition for laying, that the cow has for secreting milk. Some breeds are better adapted for this object than others: but in all that have ever come within our notice, the proper food and circ.u.mstances are alone wanting, to produce a reasonable quant.i.ty of eggs.

The _egg_ consists of three distinct parts; the sh.e.l.l, the white, and the yolk. A good-sized egg will weigh 1,000 grains, of which about 107 are sh.e.l.l, 604 are white, and 289 are yolk. Of the sh.e.l.l, 97 per cent.

is carbonate of lime, 1 per cent. phosphate of lime and magnesia, and 2 per cent. alb.u.men. The white consists of 12 per cent. of alb.u.men, 2.7 of mucus, 0.3 of salts, and 85 of water. The yolk has about 17.4 per cent.

of alb.u.men, 28.6 of yellow oil, 54 of water, with a trace of sulphur and phosphorus.

The foregoing are the const.i.tuents of eggs, which have been formed when the bird has free access to the various articles which const.i.tute her natural food. But they vary with circ.u.mstances. When full-fed and denied all access to lime, she will form an egg without the sh.e.l.l, and deliver it enclosed in the membrane or sack which always surrounds the white, when covered by the sh.e.l.l. When scantily fed, they will frequently lay; but from a deficiency of nutriment, the egg will be meager and watery, and possess but a small portion of the nutritious qualities peculiar to them.

To produce the largest number of good eggs, several conditions are important; and they must especially have an abundance of the right kind of food. This is the most readily obtained in part from animal food. In warm weather, when they have a free range, they can generally supply their wants in the abundance of insects, earth-worms, and other animal matters within their reach. The large proportion of alb.u.men contained in their eggs, requires that much of their food should be highly nitrogenized, and when they cannot procure this in animal matter, it must be given in grains containing it.

If to the usual qualities of hens, a breed of peculiar elegance, of graceful form, and beautiful plumage, be added, together with entire adaptation to the economical purposes required, good layers and good carca.s.s, we have a combination of utility, luxury, and taste in this bird, which should commend them as general favorites. They can everywhere be kept with advantage, except in dense cities. A hen that costs a shilling or two, if provided with a suitable range, will consume 30 or 40 cents worth of food, and produce from 80 to 150 eggs per annum, worth three or four times the cost of feed and attention.

The Food

Of hens may consist of different kinds of grain, either broken, ground, or cooked; roots, and especially boiled potatoes, are nutritious and economical; green herbage as clover and most of the gra.s.ses, chickweed, lettuce, cabbage, &c., will supply them with much of their food, if fresh and tender.

Fig. 40, is a Food fountain. The grain is placed in the hopper, which is closely covered, and the grain falls into the bottom below. It is accessible on four sides by spring doors, which are thrown open by the weight of the fowl on the connecting spring. One is shown as opened by the fowl in stepping up to feed. This is a protection against dirt and vermin.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 40.

Food Fountain.]

Though not absolutely essential to them, yet nothing contributes so much to their laying, as unsalted, animal food. This is a natural aliment, as is shown by the avidity with which they pounce on every fly, insect, or earth-worm which comes within their reach. It would not of course pay to supply them with valuable flesh, but the blood and offal of the slaughter-houses, refuse meat of all kinds, and especially the sc.r.a.ps or cracklings to be had at the inciters' shops, after soaking for a few hours in warm water, is one of the best and most economical kinds of food. Such with boiled meal is a very fattening food. Grain is at all times best for them when cooked, as they will lay more, fatten quicker, and eat much less when fed to them in this state; and it may be thus used unground, with the same advantage to the fowls as if first crushed, as their digestive organs are certain to extract the whole nutriment.

All grain is good for them, including millet, rice, the oleaginous seeds, as the sun-flower, flax, hemp, &c. It is always better to afford them a variety of grains where they can procure them at their option, and select as their appet.i.te craves.

They are also fond of milk, and especially when it has become curdled; and indeed scarcely any edible escapes their notice. They carefully pick up most of the waste garbage around the premises, and glean much of their subsistence from what would otherwise become offensive; and by their destruction of innumerable insects and worms, they render great a.s.sistance to the gardener. Of course their ever-busy propensity for scratching, is indiscriminately indulged just after the seeds have been sown and while the plants are young, which renders it necessary that they be confined in some close yard for a time; yet this should be as capacious as possible.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 41.

Water Fountain.]

Water is placed in the cask as represented in the Fig., and it is then closely stopped, except an opening through a tube leading into a vessel below. As the water is exhausted from this, it descends from the cask above, and a supply is thus at all times within reach of the poultry.

Their food is better when given to them warm, not hot, and there should always be a supply before them to prevent gorging. It is better to be placed on shelves or suspended boxes or hoppers, which are variously and cheaply constructed, to keep it clean and out of the reach of rats.

Besides their food, hens ought to be at all times abundantly supplied with clean water, egg or pounded oyster sh.e.l.ls, old mortar or slacked lime. If not allowed to run at large, where they can help themselves, they must also be furnished with gravel to a.s.sist their digestion; and a box or bed of ashes, sand, and dust, is equally essential to roll in for the purpose of ridding themselves of vermin.