ON THE ACailCULTURE OF THE COUNTY OF SUTHERLAND. 65 



Sutherland consist of Alpine plants, wliicli the Merino sheep 

 dislike, "the same quantity of Sutherland n-round will keep 

 oOO Cheviots that will maintain 100 Merinos, and that with 

 one-half the care, and one-third part of the risk in winter." 



It has been seen that by 1820 the Cheviot breed had a 

 powerful hold in Sutherland. They continued gradually to 

 strengthen that hold until they had, by 1830 or 1835, appropri- 

 ated to themselves almost the whole of the. grazing regions of 

 the county. The following table shows the number of sheep in 

 Sutherland in various years since 1808 : — 



The number returned last year was 234,586, or 25,173 more 

 than were estimated to be in the county when this year's re- 

 turns were collected. Last winter (1878-79) is regarded gener- 

 ally as perhaps the most disastrous in the present century to 

 Sutherland sheep-farmers. The county lay bound up in snow 

 for nearly four months, and so thick and close was the covering 

 all over, that even tlie stronger sheep could not, except in some 

 parts, make their way to the heath and trasses. In addition to 

 entailing an enormous outlay for hand-feeding with hay and 

 other material, the stormy winter caused imprecedented losses 

 by death among botli old sheep and lambs. If not entirely, 

 there is no doubt that the decrease since last year must be 

 mainly attributed to deaths caused by the severe winter. Com- 

 pared with last year, the Board of Trade Returns show a de- 

 ficiency in the crop of lambs of about one-third, or 21,539 head, 

 which is due almost wholly to the stormy weather in winter and 

 spring. All private estimates represent the loss among lambs 

 as considerably greater than one-third; and there is too good 

 reason to believe that it has really turned out to be so. By 

 competent authorities it is estimated that between the mark- 

 ing of the lambs in spring and their weanmg in July and 

 August, over 1500 lambs had died in the county; so that the 

 year's crop of lambs in Sutherland would number only about 

 38,000. Taking the deficiency caused in the crop of lambs hy 

 the exceptionally severe winter and spring at 21,539, there 



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