CHETIOT SHEEP. 393 



down as one of the luxuries of life. It lias always been a nice 

 point whether this or the black-faced is the finer, and we recall 

 an incident which occurred many years ago ; in which the father 

 of the present writer bore a part. He was a great enthusiast in 

 black-faced sheep, and having the honour to be a special 

 favourite with Sir Walter Scott, and an occasional guest at his 

 table, begged his acceptance of a few wedders to convince him of 

 the superiority of the black-faced mutton to the Cheviot, of 

 which Sir Walter was in the habit of keeping, what is called in 

 Scotland, a pot-flock. Sir Walter accepted them on condition 

 that he would dine with him, along with a few friends, to test 

 their respective merits, when a saddle of each should be pre- 

 sented, having received the same advantages of the culinary art. 

 The verdict was in favour of the Cheviot, to the infinite delight 

 of the great poet and novelist. Dissenting, however, from this 

 judgment, we venture to remark that the quality of both depends 

 very much on the feeding. For delicacy of flavour, we never 

 tasted any mutton equal to that of a yeld young ewe or gimmer 

 of either breed that happened to get fat on its native pasture. 



In taking leave of the subject, it may be stated, without fear 

 of contradiction that no animal has conduced so much to the 

 prosperity of the Scottish farmer as the Cheviot sheep, and more 

 especially to those who have engaged exclusively in hill farming. 

 This may be partly attributable to the fact that stock farming is 

 generally embarked in by men of capital, as it involves a con- 

 siderable immediate outlay, and the farm being usually large, 

 competition for them is necessarily limited ; whereas arable 

 farms are competed for by men who have made money in other 

 walks of life, and the demand being greater than the supply, 

 rents have in many cases become exorbitant. Stock farmers are, 

 besides, not nearly so much influenced by the weather, and their 

 expenses are nothing in comparison. The practical working of 

 the stock farm is managed by a few shepherds, a class of men in 

 the rural districts of Scotland distinguished for great moral 

 worth and simplicity of character. They receive their wages in 

 the grazing of one or more cows and a certain number of sheep. 

 They are thus small capitalists, and their interests are identical 

 with their masters. In arable farming, a very serious increase 

 has of late years arisen in the expense of cultivation, not only by 



