240 THE BLACKFACED BREED OF SHEEP. 



of the sheep with the " wheely " horns, so EashioDable [ifc one 

 time ; there almost invariably was found a hoUovvness between 

 the eves, which in turn indicated a certain slenderness of bone 

 and delicacy of constitution. In regard to the development of 

 the breed, it is only necessary to add that just in proportion as 

 the practice of shedding ewes to select tups spreads, so will the 

 maintenance of a good type be made the more certain. Any 

 change in the breed which would in the smallest affect its 

 hardiness is to be strongly guarded against ; but there is little 

 fears of tliis, or its powers of endurance being affected, so long 

 as width of chest is made the chief point in the shape of the 

 animal There can be no doubt of the future of the blackfaced 

 sheep. It has carried a high character ; its friends include 

 many of the nobility of the country, whose purchases at the lead- 

 ing sale rings give an impetus to breeding; it has, in fact, 

 become of paramount importance in relation to the- pastoral 

 resources of the country. 



NOTE BY THE EDITOR. 



In the two preceding papers on blackfaced sheep, no allusion has been 

 made to the importance of grazing cattle on the ground. I myself, from an 

 experience of over thirty-three years, am quite confident that not only are 

 sheep very much more healthy, but a greater number can be kept on a farm 

 when cattle are grazed on the rough coarse grass. My system is to put a 

 considerable stock of cattle on to the ground in the end of May or beginning 

 of June, and I have them herded by a boy, who is directed l;>y the manager 

 from time to time where to keep them, and I take them off the end of 

 August. When I first took my present farm, no cattle had been on it for 

 some years, the sheep were very unhealthy, and the death-rate, chiefly from 

 trembhng or louping-ill, enormous. Now the deaths are very few, and 

 trembling has all but ceased. I have letters from sheep farmers of great 

 experience on the subject. A well-known farmer in Ross-shire WTites — 

 " I have had plenty of experience of this both with myself and others. I 

 beheve that the heavy tramping of cattle, where they don't cut the ground 

 too much, helps to firm the ground and sweeten the grass. Fou can 

 scarcely go wrong in putting a good many cattle along with sheep from 

 March till the middle of August." He adds — " I can also corroborate your 

 remarks as regards trembling." 



A very skilful manager of both sheep and cattle in Perthshire, who is 

 very successful in the prize rings, writes — " The grazing of cattle along with 

 sheep is what I have advocated for a number of years. In a large tract of 

 woodland here the sheep have always wintered better, and quite as many 

 of them, since I summered cattle in it, and the rough grass on the hill has 

 been much greater benefit to the sheep since I began to graze cattle on it." 

 He adds — " I am often surprised the farmers on the upper farm here do not 

 graze more cattle, and as a result, their sheep are deteriorating very much." 



In those days of cheap wool and agricultural depression, surely the sheep 

 farmers should not throw away a chance of adding to their farm receipts, 

 and at the same time improving the health and quality of their sheep. 



