171 



SHEEP FARMING ON THE BOEDER 



The sheep possesses all the virtues. Those whose lot is 

 cast in the hills of the Scottish Border (as is the case of 

 the writer) will know how to pity the poor sheep who 

 have to find their food on the hills from December to the 

 month of May — hills which are sometimes deep in' snow, 

 and which at best grow browner and deader day by day, 

 often till June is reached. 



Yet the sheep work on, often doing with no other 

 food than they can pick for themselves, or, perhaps, a 

 little hay at the best. This is in what is considered a good 

 winter. But generally, in the course of these months the 

 monotony is broken by storms of snow or wind — or both 

 united— which produce terrible suffering to the poor 

 animals, and to their masters. 



My great-grandfather, who lived on the same farm as 

 we do, kept minute diaries of these things, and from these, 

 as well as from the stories of the ' Ettrick Shepherd,' I 

 have got my information. 



The first big storm recorded is that known as the 

 ' Thirteen Drifty Days.' It was about 1672, and must 

 have occurred soon after sheep farms were set going on 

 the Border. Now, a steady fall of snow, unless it reaches 

 a great depth, is not a very great misfortune, as the sheep 

 scrape away on the steep hillsides with more or less 

 pluck (if you watch them you see a marvellous difference 

 in degree), and they manage to get enough to live on, as 

 the grass is always fresh beneath the snow. 



But if a wind gets up and drift sets in, one sits by 



