ON THE CHEVIOT BREED OF SHEEl'. 127 



The points of a Clieviot slieep should l)e, a deep well-s])run^ 

 rib ; its coat good in quality, thick and free from " kenip " hair, 

 and filling the hand well ; its head, while not too heavy, should 

 be prominent and broad, well set off" by a bright dark eye and 

 erect cars <>f moderate length, and covered (like its legs) with 

 clean hard white hair ; its neck strong and ])retty well kejit up ; 

 its chest deep and wide ; its shoulders lying well back ; its back 

 and loins short, firm, and broad ; its quarter long and level ; its 

 thigh full; its tail broad and rough ; its legs flat and clean, with 

 well-developed joints ; and its step free and active. The deterior- 

 ation in the breed, of which so much has been heard, has been 

 caused by sheep being brought out too long in the neck, and with 

 high thin faces, which could not denote anything but diminished 

 hardiness of constitution. Too little attention has ])een given to 

 the imp(U'tauce of the wool being thick and good in quality, and 

 there has also been a want of observation in not cultivating the 

 strain of sheep that have come best through severe weather in 

 winter and spring. In order to remedy these defects it is neces- 

 sary that care be taken to have the ribs well developed, and that 

 the fleece be always taken account of. Another point that ought 

 never to be lost sight of is to breed from sheep possessed of good 

 milking qualities. As a rule, the breeder should never keep on 

 a badly nursed lamb as a tup ; but, at the same time, were this 

 rule followed too closely, injustice might be done to a ginmier, 

 a ewe that had twins, or an animal that had met with some 

 slight accident; and it is, therefore, better in every case to 

 act only on personal observation as to which strain are good 

 milkers. 



In the tup trade, within the last few months, there has been 

 one feature which cannot be regarded as other than unfortunate 

 and unsatisfactory, — to make it a point in the selection of tups 

 tliat they should be as ugly and ungainly as are to be had, with- 

 out any reference to the modification of the breed in the direction 

 just indicated. Another and very serious mistake often made is 

 the supposition that it is the size of the sheep that has produced 

 their softness, and that a tup cannot be had too small, it being 

 quite forgotten that it was the want of good ribs and a looseness in 

 fleece that was the cause of the deterioration, and that diminutive 

 animals, unless free from these defects, cannot be hardy. The 

 precise syste^n most likely Uj give success in breeding must he 

 ascertained by every breeder for himself, as personal oliservation 

 is all-important; but there are one or two general principles that 

 must in every case be kept in mind. Among those principles are 

 heredity, variability, and selection ; the first, a principle which 

 necessitates careful in-and-in breeding, and the second being 

 necessary to afford scope for selection. To a certain extent, as 

 hn'' hopn indioatpd, in-and-in breeding is indispensable, though. 



