OHAPTEE XX. 



THE BLACK-FACED OR SCOTCH MOUNTAIN SHEEP. 



HEBE can be no doubt this is the oldest variety of the 

 fleecy tribe extant in Scotland, though its origin is 

 somewhat obscure. For several centuries prior 

 to the eighteenth, the character of the Scotch 

 sheep were more uniform than afterwards. On almost every 

 holding — and there were many in those days — a small flock was 

 kept, herded and folded near the homestead, the mountains 

 being then overrun by wolves and foxes. These ancient sheep 

 were designated the " dun faces," from the brown or tawny 

 colour of the hair on their face and legs. The fore-quarters 

 were singularly light, the neck long and often low set, the tail 

 very long, the face " dossy," wool short but fine, horns by no 

 means common, feeding and developing properties deficient, 

 symmetry wanting, and maximum weight far below that of the 

 Scotch sheep of after years. From these animals which are not 

 yet extinct in Scotland, we are inclined to think that the black- 

 faced sheep mainly sprung. True, some tradition says that the 

 black-faced sheep were introduced into Scotland to the Ettrick 

 Forest from a foreign land, several centuries ago, by one of the 

 Scottish kings ; the inference being that from this royal flock 

 the breed spread gradually over the country, eclipsing the native 

 type. While this hypothesis gains credence in certain quarters, 

 others assert — and we confess to have a slight leaning with them 

 — that the Scotch mountain or black-faced sheep of the present 

 day owe their origin to the ancient dun faces, and that they 

 have been improved by breeding from carefully and judiciously 

 selected specimens to an extent which renders the features of 



