122 ox THE CHEVIOT BEEED OF SHEEP. 



niunber of farms, and the tendeucy is to come to a money wage. 

 Under both systems the shepherd has a house provided, with a 

 cow's grass, ground for potatoes, and 65 stones of meal, and, 

 where paid in money, he receives from £30 to £33 ; wlnle in 

 the other instance, he pockets as a rule the proceeds of his pack 

 clear of expenses. 



In the east border chstrict, where rents range about 8s. 

 per head, and where there has not perhaps been the same rise 

 as in the west country, the system of management differs in 

 one or two important respects from that just described. The 

 practice here adopted is no doubt the older of the two, and 

 at one time west country farmers followed it ; but, as has been 

 indicated, it is now conlined to a comparatively small area. In 

 tlie first place, the east border man cloes not allow all ages of 

 sheep to go together, but keeps one age grazing upon one part 

 and a second age upon another, shifting the stock, as a rule, 

 once every year. This, it is said, is necessary in order to pre- 

 vent " pining," a disease which is also pretty common in the 

 west country, where a change of food for a short tune is gene- 

 rally found effectual in making the sheep thrive. Then, no 

 lambs are taken from the gimmers, which consequently go eild. 

 The wether lambs are not sold, but are kept and put on a part 

 of the farm retained as a wether hirsel, and the draft ewes are 

 put away at five-year old. In consequence of no lambs being 

 taken from the gimmers and of the ewes being sold at the age 

 mentioned, there are few ewe lambs to sell ; and the revenue of 

 the farm is therefore altogether dependent upon the wool, and 

 the sale of the cast ewes and three-year old wethers. 



In this district the time of speaniug is also earlier, taking 

 place about the middle of July. The reason of this it is difficult 

 to conjecture, though it is not impossible that the date may 

 never have been changed since the time wdien it w^as xisual to 

 make ewe-milk cheese. The lambs after being speaned are put 

 to a bit of grazing called " summering ground," kept specially 

 for this purpose. Tlie size of the farms on the east borders is 

 very similar to that connnon in the west country. 



Throughout the Highland counties there is not the same 

 uniformity in the method of farming as in the two districts 

 already referred to. In the counties of Sutherland and Eoss 

 the practice is not mihke that of the east borders, a cir- 

 cumstance that may be accounted for by the fact, that it was 

 by men from the latter district that Che\dot farming was 

 introduced into these locahties. There, of course, as in the 

 other Highland counties, a most costly feature in the man- 

 agement is, the necessity of wintering part of the stock away 

 from the farm. Some years ago, the expenses attending this 

 were comparatively trifiing, but since tlie farmers, who formerly 



