'9O SHEEP : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



many years, after making this cross, " he sold more tups 

 than one-half of the hill farmers put together." 



This then appears to have been the origin of the modern 

 Cheviot. Sir John Sinclair described them in 1792 as a fine- 

 woolled breed, and appears to have named them. In a foot- 

 note to Mr. Archibald's article on Cheviot sheep, it is stated 

 that on the establishment of the British Wool Society in 1791 

 by the late Sir John Sinclair and other noblemen and gentle- 

 men, several delegates were appointed to visit the principal 

 sheep districts of England and Scotland to examine the 

 different breeds, and report upon their merits. During these 

 investigations a breed was discovered on the borders of Eng- 

 land and Scotland which Sir John considered well suited for 

 being bred and reared in Highland districts. They were 

 White-faced, and from their length were called "the Long 

 sheep," in contradistinction to the Short or Black-faced 

 breed. "To these sheep Sir John gave the name of the Cheviot 

 breed." From 1800 to 1860 the Cheviot sheep were more and 

 more on the ascendant, and the Black-faces disappeared from 

 nearly all the best farms in the south of Scotland, except in 

 the mountainous districts of Ayrshire and Lanarkshire, and 

 even in these regions their grazings were encroached upon. 

 Since 1860, as already mentioned, the tide has again turned in 

 favour of the hardy Black-faced sheep. On the lower and 

 grassy slopes of the mountains the Cheviot sheep maintains 

 his position ; but on the higher and less accessible tracts, 

 where heather takes the place of grass, the Black-faced breed 

 is best. The points of a good Cheviot sheep are in many 

 respects similar to those of other good breeds. Omitting those 

 carcase points which may be supposed to be secured by all 

 breeders, the coat should be good in quality, thick, and free 

 from "^kemp" hair, and fill the hand well. The head, while 

 not too heavy, should be bold and broad, well set off by a 

 bright dark eye, and erect ears of moderate length, covered 

 with clean, hard, white hair. The nose is Roman in type, the 

 skin around the mouth black ; and both sexes are hornless. I 



