382 THE BREEDS OF LIVE-STOCK 



which extends from the angle of the jaw almost to the 

 brisket. This breed is considered to be valuable in warm 

 climates for its mutton. 



472. Black-face Highland sheep. By John A. Craig. 

 This mountain breed of sheep is most commonly 

 called " Black-Face," although in the effort to be more 



specific it is frequently re- 

 ferred to as the " Scotch 

 Black-Face" or the Black- 

 Face Highland. It is of me- 

 dium size, with a bold, 

 commanding appearance, 

 added to somewhat by the 

 fact that both the ewes and 

 the rams have horns. The 



Jta. 77. - Woolless sheep. faCe ' S m ttled Or Speckled, 



the fleece long in fiber and 



somewhat coarse. The chief point of merit is its thrifti- 

 ness under conditions that would result in the extinction 

 of almost any other breed of sheep. The mature sheep 

 of this breed are very hardy and easily sustained. They 

 subsist largely on heather and on the roughest kind of 

 land, and withstand extreme exposure during severe 

 storms. The newly born lambs share in this strength of 

 constitution, and they are singularly equipped to undergo 

 exposure by having a short, tight fleece cover them from 

 heel to ear as soon as born. 



The Black-Face may justly claim to be one of the 

 oldest breeds of Great Britain ; and being so, their early 

 history is little known. It is commonly thought that they 

 are the original stock of the country. The very earliest 

 mention of these sheep is by a writer, Hector Boethius, 

 born in 1470, who says that until the introduction of the 



