208 THE BLACKFACED BREED OF SHEEP. 



THE BLACKFACED BREED OF SHEEP. 



By Alexander Macdonald, Sub-Editor, North British Agriculturist, 



Edinburgh. 



[Premium Five Sovereigns.] 



Introductory. 



Beyond vague tradition, we have no reliable indication of the 

 origin of the blackfaced or heath breed of sheep. It is a 

 common belief in Scotland that it is not indigenous to Britain, 

 and many circumstances tend to confirm this opinion. Dr 

 Walker, who is acknowledged to ha^^e been a high authority on 

 the subject, supposes that it is of foreign origin, and that the 

 forest of Ettrick vv^as selected as its first locality in Scotland. 

 He mentions that a flock of some 5000 sheep was imported by 

 one of the Scottish kings for the use of the royal household, 

 and from that stock the whole of the blackfaced race, it is 

 supposed, succeeded. The opinions of other writers, however, 

 combined with the natural character of the breed, indulge the 

 belief that there is some truth in the conjecture that it 

 originated among the mountains of Cumberland, Westmoreland, 

 and Lancashire, and that it was introduced into Scotland at an 

 early date. Some people hold, on the other hand, that the 

 blackfaced sheep originated among, and were the earlier 

 inhabitants of, the mountainous parts of the south of Scotland. 

 There is no breed of sheep existing in Britain at the present 

 time to which this breed bears much resemblance, and this, 

 coupled with the fact that the only similar sheep known is 

 Wallachian, goes to support Dr Walker's argument. 



The comparatively valueless character of the fleece, as well 

 as the whole figure and general independent bearing of the 

 blackfaced sheep, suggests, or in fact points it out, as the native 

 of a high and stormy region. This peculiarity, says a writer, 

 may in all probability have been derived from the character of 

 the hills where the breed originated. The influence of the soil 

 and climate on the covering of animals is well known, and has 

 been strikingly exemplified in the natural history of the sheep in 

 this and other countries. A humid atmosphere has the effect of 

 lengthening the covering of sheep as well as of other animals. 

 The cattle in the west coast have, as a rule, longer hair than 

 those of the east, because of the dampness of the atmosphere. 

 The depth and quality of the soil are also supposed to exercise 

 a considerable influence on the growth and character of the 

 wool and general development of the sheep. 



