and
stables, every evening. But still the rats increased, and they became
unendurable. They got into the grain-mows, where they burrowed, and
brought forth with a fecundity second only to the frogs of Egypt. They
gnawed into the granaries. They dug into the dairy. They entered the
meat barrels. They carried off the eggs from the hen-nests. They stole
away, and devoured, the young ducks, and chickens. They literally came
into the "kneading troughs" of the kitchen. Oh! the rats were
intolerable! Traps were no use. Arsenic was innocuous--they wouldn't
touch it. Opportunity favored us, and we got two high-bred, smooth,
English terriers--a dog, and a slut. Then commenced such a slaughter as
we seldom see. The rats had got bold. The dogs caught them daily by
dozens, as they came out from their haunts, fearless of evil, as before.
As they grew more shy, their holes were watched, and every morning dead
rats were found about the premises. The dogs, during the day, pointed
out their holes. Planks were removed, nests were found, and the rats,
young and old, killed, _instanter_. Hundreds on hundreds were
slaughtered, in the first few weeks; and in a short time, the place was
mostly rid of them, until enough only are left to keep the dogs "in
play," and to show that in spite of all precaution, they will harbor
wherever there is a thing to eat, and a possible place of covert for
them to burrow.

To have the terrier in full perfection, it is important that the breed
be _pure_. We are so prone to mix up everything we get, in this country,
that it is sometimes difficult to get anything exactly as it should be;
but a little care will provide us, in this particular. He should be
properly trained, too, when young. That is, to mind what is said to him.
His intelligence will be equal to all your wants in the _dog_-line; but
he should not be _fooled_ with. His instincts are _sure_. And, with a
good education, the terrier will prove all you need in a farm, and a
watch-dog. We speak from long experience, and observation.

[Illustration: THE SHEPHERD DOG.]

The shepherd dog is another useful--almost indispensable--creature, on
the sheep, or dairy farm. This cut is an accurate representation of the
finest of the breed. To the flock-master, he saves a world of labor, in
driving and gathering the flocks together, or from one field, or place,
to another. To the sheep-drover, also, he is worth a man, at least; and
in many cases, can do with a fl