THE BORDEK LEICESTER BREED OF SHEEP. 271 



taken to secure the purity of blood, is not inclined to go further 

 back than 1802. In that year, his Lordship states, the iMertoun 

 flock was begun by his grandfather, Mr Hugh Scott of Harden. 

 The first purchases made were from Mr Waddell of Mousin, Bel- 

 ford, Mr Burn of Millfield, and Mr Robson, and to these he soon 

 afterwards added a number of ewes from Mr Jobson of Cliil- 

 lingham, Xewtoun. The early rams were from the CuUeys, to 

 whom as much as 100 guineas were paid for their hire for a 

 season ; while other strains were subsequently introduced from 

 Mr Iiiddell, Grahamslaw ; Mr Compton of Xew Learmonth ; 

 Mr Marshall, Heatherslaw ; Mr Dunning, Xewlands ; Mr Smith, 

 Old. Learmonth ; and Mr Taylor, Bresson. Since the flock was 

 thus made up, no change has taken place in its constitution. 



Some sheep, it is true, were afterwards taken from Mr 

 Dunning, and from Mr Thompson, Haymount ; and when 

 Andrew Baterson went as shepherd to Mertoun in 1856, his 

 small pack of thirteen were added to the breeding stock. These 

 additions, however, did not interfere with the purity of the 

 flock, as all the animals were clearly of Bakewell descent, Bater- 

 son's pack being of the Haymount breed, which in turn were 

 descended from Compton blood through the Heatherslaw sheep. 

 For the last twenty-four years no strange blood has been intro- 

 duced, for though once or twice ewes and rams have been bought 

 they have not been used in the flock or retained, all the rams 

 used having been bred on the ground. If there has been one 

 sheep more than another that has given the Mertoun stock the 

 character that has made them so popular, it was perhaps a ram 

 added to the flock about the year 1856. This animal was bred 

 at Haymount, from which place he w^as first sold to go into 

 Northumberland. When there, however, he was heard of at 

 Mertoun, and soon afterwards he was bought for Lord Bolwarth, 

 in whose jjossession he afterwards remained, doing good service 

 in developing individuality of type among the stock. 



The ]\Iellendean flock has not been so long in existence as Lord 

 I'olwarth's ; but it, also, has a historical interest attached to it. 

 The farm which has given its name to this stock was entered 

 by the late Mr Thomas Stark more than forty years ag».). Im- 

 mediately after tlie lease was begun a number of sheep were 

 ])urchased from Compton, and tlie foundation (»f the flock thus 

 hiid. In the develo])nient of this stock, one of the most gene- 

 rally interesting features is the way in whicli there was intro- 

 duced the celebrated AN'i'Hington strain — a strain which, up to 

 the present time, has produced some most valuable animals, as, 

 for example, " (irand Duke," the animal that figured so well in 

 the Highland Society's yard two years ago. By this family, the 

 Mellendean sheep were connected with the small but rather 

 celebrated flock, of which 'Mr Wilson, late of I'^ilinnton ]\Iains, 



