148 



black- faced sheep known in any of the counties north 

 of the friths of Forth and Clyde. Some small white- 

 faced sheep and goats, with some few horned cattle 

 of an inferior size, and little horses, were all that the 

 Highland counties produced in those times, and from 

 such stock the rents could be but trifling. The first 

 of these black-faced sheep were introduced into the 

 counties of Dunbarton and Argyle, in the year 17<57> 

 by a shepherd from the south of Scotland, named 

 Thomas Harkness, who came to, and settled in the 

 district of Cowal, Argyleshire, who then only brought 

 a small flock of this kind of sheep. This man proved 

 careful and industrious, and was of course encourag- 

 ed by the proprietors of land. He added to his 

 flocks to that degree, that he was enabled to pur- 

 chase free lands in that same division of Cowal, to 

 the amount of L.l6,000; this is a very hilly and 

 small part of the county of Argyle, and is much ex- 

 posed to storms in winter, .particularly snow ; since 

 the above time, this district alone contains and grazes 

 no fewer than 78,000 of these sheep, a good proof 

 that they have been found profitable. 



It will be seen by an article in a recent number of 

 the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture of the Highland 

 Society of Scotland, published by Mr. Blackwood, 

 Edinburgh, that the improving the breed of sheep to 

 produce finer wool has been attended with serious loss 

 to the sheep farmer, as the sheep is rendered more 

 tender in the constitution, and not near so hardy 

 and healthy as the old breed. 



