168 THE BREEDS OF LIVE-STOCK 



several of the Islands. There are no trees nor shrubs 

 on the Islands, the surface being a succession of hills of 

 rock formation with peat and decayed vegetable matter 

 in the basins and a light covering of soil on which heather 

 and scanty grass grow, affording the only pasturage for 

 the ponies. 



Although far to the north, the climate is greatly moder- 

 ated by the surrounding waters of the Gulf Stream. There 

 is consequently much mist and precipitation of moisture, 

 that accounts largely for the Shetland's very long, fine 

 hair, which in wet weather mats and is almost waterproof. 

 This heavy coat is the Shetland's only protection against 

 the inclement weather, as it is not housed, but is born, 

 lives and dies in the fields, the hillsides and stone walls 

 being the only shelter from the winds that are constantly 

 blowing, and which in winter are very penetrating. 



197. History of the Shetland pony. Ponies have 

 been known in the Shetland islands from the earliest 

 times of which there is record. From the finding of the 

 Bressay stone recently, there appears to be good evidence 

 that they were there prior to the Norwegian invasion in 

 872. According to some early writers, the Scandinavian 

 invaders introduced the foundation stock prior to the 

 fifteenth century. 



The government returns for 1891 gave the number of 

 horses, which included ponies, in the Islands as 4803, 

 but because of the demand of recent years the ponies are 

 steadily decreasing. While on a tour of the Islands in 

 1906, the writer made a careful estimate of the number 

 of ponies, and could not account for over 4000 of all 

 ages and sexes, and he doubts whether there are much 

 over 400 foals produced on the Islands annually. In 

 America there have been registered in the stud-book 



