SCOTCH HILL SHEEP. 255 



" Spret," Jn/iicus articulatus, is the only other rush lliat is a 

 valuable food on hills. It gets the name " avticidatus " from a 

 false joint that is to be seen every here and there in its upright 

 hollow leaves. It is not evergreen, unless in very mild open 

 winters, when the young shoots or " pods " have been found 

 growing the whole season through. The plant is essentially one 

 belonging to a moist or even wet, but not a pure, moss soil The 

 young shoots push up in spring, or, as I have said, even in winter 

 whenever the weather is mild enough to encourage growth, like 

 as many little green darning needles, from thick woody under- 

 ground stems, which often run pretty close to the surface. 

 Sheep begin to pull and eat these as soon as they are long 

 enough to get hold of ; and on such land (which is usually 

 sto2ked with the Cheviot breed) sheep do well, and have a large 

 number of lambs, if the spret is to be had early in spring, in 

 March ; while they are sure to do badly if it is a month later. 

 When a little more developed, cattle, like sheep, eat it and thrive 

 well. Both, however, leave it off to a great extent as the plant 

 matures with the advancing summer. If cut about the end of 

 July or in August,' when coming into flower, it makes excellent 

 hay for cattle, though too coarse for sheep as a rule ; it is 

 much valued for making hay-tea for cows after calving in 

 spring. Strong well-grown spret makes the best of thatch for 

 hay-stacks in a hill district. Put on green, it lies down flat, and 

 will remain good for two years. It has the great advantage over 

 straw, that rooks and others birds, on the look-out for grain, don't 

 scrape it off' and destroy the roof. The great disadvantage of 

 really first-rate spret land is, that it grows spret far too luxuri- 

 antlv, to the exclusion of almost all else. In such a case, the stage 

 is soon passed at which cattle and sheep eat it, and it is too 

 coarse for hay when that time comes. Finally, it falls down as 

 autumn advances, or with the first cover of snow, and there rots, 

 destroying every other green plant, and being itself of no use for 

 eight or nine months of the year. The usual remedy is to surface 

 drain thoroughly, and see that the drains keep constantly running 

 by frequent cleaning, which is no easy matter, as the roots of 

 strong spret iu a very few years will quite choke an ordinary 

 drain. There is no doubt but deep draining gives by far the 

 best result on such land, but then the extra cost puts it quite 

 out of the question in ninety-nine cases out of the liundred. 

 There is this, however, to say for it, that if deep draining will not 

 pay on the best quality of spret land, it need not be attempted 

 on any other description of hill pasture. Draining weakens 

 generally the growth of spret, and not only improves the quality 

 of what remains, but allows fine grasses, principally Fescues and 

 Poas, to come up. The grt)wth which is not eaten off' in summer 

 remains standing, and is then of some use as foggagc in winter. 



