CATTLE OR SHEEP TOGETHER OR SEPARATELY. 235 



TDeing carried off by the " tremor " or " trembling," — a disease 

 which, in the beginning of a cold dry season, often causes heavy 

 loss to the sheep-farmer. At the same time the cattle are often 

 benefited by visiting the sheep domains, and that without 

 inflicting any injury on the latter. 



There is a kind of coarse grass, known as stool bent, Junciis 

 sq^iiarrosus (Bruchrach in Gaelic), the earliest, I believe, of all 

 •our mountain grasses, wdiich affords favourite feeding to the 

 ■deer ; but sheep do not appear to relish it. Cattle are, hov/ever, 

 very fond of it, and are known to climb considerable heights in 

 order to get at it, in the very beginning of the month of April. 

 Where it prevails to a considerable extent, as it very often does 

 on the description of farm specially before us, it is true economy 

 to send young cattle to eat it in its young and succulent state ; 

 for, once it approaches maturity, no animal will eat it. There 

 is a plant commonly known as " deer's grass," Scirjms cces2)itosiis 

 above mentioned, much finer in the stalk than the first men- 

 tioned, which is no favourite with sheep, but which, in the 

 months of May and June, affords excellent pasture to young 

 cattle, and on which I have observed horses regaining condition 

 very fast after the exhaustion of spring. Towards the middle 

 of July it becomes dry and withered at the top ; but, if kept 

 well cropped, it yields considerable nourishment throughout 

 autumn, and in severe winters is greedily eaten by sheep as well 

 as by cattle. Large extents of it are found on many liills, and 

 these will unquestionably pasture black cattle, without diminish- 

 ing the supplies of the sheep; in reality, it increases them 

 considerably. The same remarks apply to Carex iinerviSy and 

 those of its class. 



But the most important grass of any, in deciding the question, 

 is the Juncus articidatus already mentioned, known in diflerent 

 counties as sprots, sj'trits, spretts, and spratts, to be found in large 

 quantities on southern, but more especially on northern farms. 

 It does not gi'ow on pure mossy or on absolutely poor soil. It 

 requires some earth to nourish it, and above all, wet soil. Un- 

 fortunately, in the undrained state of many of our straths, it is 

 found to cover extensive tracts of level land, capable, if dried, of 

 yielding far better product. Again, on every hillside, where 

 there are horizontal shelves or ridges, as is almost universally 

 the case, the streams lodge a considerable quantity of stones 

 and gravel, which are swept down the steep runs, and rest on 

 every shelf or partial level. The stream, instead of flowing 

 straight downwards, spreads itself widely through this gathering 

 of stones, and overflows a considerable extent of ground below. 

 In this wet gi'ound the sprats invariably spring up, and often 

 nourish luxuriantly. It is impossible to state, with any approach 

 >to accuracy, what the extent of spruit y [/round thnnighout the 



