1 FEBRUARY 1952, Page 13

Sheep-Worrying

When the dog saw me he veered off across the field. I was puzzled at his behaviour, but when I went on I discovered a flock of sheep crowding in a corner. So many frightened creatures put fear into the air itself. The story of the dog's guilt was there—a few strands of wool on the well-trodden ground. The sheep-worrying fever does not come on dogs so early in the season as a rule. The flock still panted, and I wondered if the experience would tell at lambing time. Farmers round about are fairly tolerant. If they catch a dog that has been worrying ewes, they lock him up and inform the police. Sometimes, of course, the devastation strains a man's patience, and he shoots the raider and informs no one.