HABITS OF HILL SHEEP 545 



away a little earlier than formerly, to suit the English trade, 

 for which they are wanted to lamb early next year. Com- 

 mence winter dipping. 



October (mostly in the \st and 2nd weeks). Winter dipping 

 to be done in dry weather and in the middle of the day, to 

 avert the evil consequences of frost following at night before 

 the sheep get dry at the skin. 



November 1st. Kiel stock sheep with the mark of the 

 farm, and send off the hoggs (recently dipped) to winter on 

 grass. Some get them off a little earlier if possible. In 

 stormy weather the kieling is delayed till after the hoggs 

 are away. 



November ijth to 24^. The rams go out to the ewes on 

 the hills, and must be daily seen to be attending to their work. 

 To clip the tails and in some cases the insides of the thighs of 

 Blackface ewes before they go to the ram greatly reduces the 

 number of tup-eild sheep as much as 75 per cent, on some 

 farms. The work is done by a shepherd with four cuts of 

 the shears while the sheep stands between his legs a cut on 

 each side of the tail and one on each thigh. Long-wool rams 

 that have been well fed and tenderly reared should be fed by 

 the shepherd with I Ib. or so of oats as he goes his round, to 

 prevent them losing condition too rapidly. 



December. Disturb sheep as little as possible, but watch 

 carefully that the rams are doing their duty. 



HABITS OF MOUNTAIN SHEEP, SHEPHERDING, AND 

 SHELTER 



The daily duty of the hill shepherd is to see that the 

 sheep travel freely over the ground to which they belong, to 

 get a variety of food, as, if allowed to become lazy, some 

 of them tend to lie on the sweetest patches and make the 

 grass foul, while they do badly themselves. Mountain 

 sheep naturally lie at night on the heights, unless they be 

 driven in by bad weather ; and good shepherding encourages 

 the sheep to follow their healthy instincts. In winter, 

 between October and March, they get up during the long 

 nights to feed and change their quarters. If the night be 

 fine, they spread out and may go further up the hill, but, if 

 snow or storm threatens, they turn down to natural or arti- 



2 M 



