SHELTER STEALS 547 



his flock twice daily if he be up, as anxious shepherds usually 

 are, before the sheep move in the early morning. Those that 

 specially need attention are the ones that tend to lag behind 

 when he is late. From August till November 22nd, when 

 the rams go out, sheep should be kept to the higher parts of 

 the land, so that the exposed places may be utilised as much as 

 possible before the storms of winter set in, and meanwhile the 

 low pasture is allowed to rest, and clean, and accumulate winter 

 food. There the stock will be much confined by succeeding 

 storms. During a stormy autumn it is a test of the shep- 

 herd's skill to determine to what extent it is necessary to let 

 his sheep come down, to prevent their losing condition and 

 becoming difficult to winter. With the least indication of 

 snow, sheep are brought to an "innerly" shelter during the 

 night, and to a place of safety to feed by day. The best shelters 

 from cold winds are those formed naturally by the inequalities 

 of the surface of the ground, as rocky knolls, ravines, and 

 other hollows. Natural shelters may sometimes be improved 

 by a few yards of stone dyke (5 feet high) connecting pro- 

 minent boulders, or projecting from a boundary fence, on 

 exposed hills. The best shelter from snow, the chief danger, 

 is a small plantation surrounded by a dry-stone dyke. The 

 double fence stops the snowdrift and the formation of deep 

 wreaths, which settle in the lee of a stone wall and cover the 

 sheep which naturally go there for shelter. Sheep have not 

 the instinct or sense to avoid a sheltered hollow where snow 

 is sure to collect to cover them. Circular " stells " made of 

 dry-stone walls are more generally available, the size being 

 regulated by the number of sheep in the heft. A " round," 

 30 feet in diameter, will accommodate 160 sheep. The 

 circular form rarely permits of the settlement of snow inside, 

 for, during a snowdrift the whirl of wind that generally pre- 

 vails within raises and carries it over the wall. In the case of 

 a heavy fall of snow without wind, the sheep moving round 

 keep the snow underfoot. 



Snow stells should be located on dry ground on the lower 

 parts of the hirsels, one on each, where sheep naturally resort 

 in winter. No hollow in which deep snow might lodge 

 should intervene between a stell and a feeding ground so 

 exposed that the snow is likely to be sufficiently blown to 

 permit of the sheep working as soon as the wind goes down. 



