IQ4 SHEEP : BREEDS AND MANAGEMENT. 



and is rented at ^"990. As already pointed out, a farm sup- 

 porting 2,000 ewes would carry a total sheep stock of about 

 6,000, and might be 30,000 to 40,000 acres in extent. Probably 

 the largest extent of land held at one time in a single tenancy 

 was 150,000 acres under the occupation of Messrs. Donald and 

 William Mackay (father and son). These gentlemen were 

 considered to be the most extensive farmers in the United 

 Kingdom. Although Cheviot sheep are said to be almost 

 universal in Sutherlandshire, there has been a disposition of 

 late years to return to the older Black-faced breed, chiefly on 

 account of the severity of the winters. The deterioration of 

 the pastures is a cause of much anxiety, due apparently to 

 continued grazing without making the necessary return in the 

 form of phosphates. It is also alleged to be due to sporting 

 tenants interfering with the proper burning of the hill ground, 

 and to the greater severity of the seasons during recent years. 

 The simplicity of the feeding, the absence of artificial fer- 

 tilisers, and the rudimentary character of the buildings, the 

 fixed character of the management, and the vast extent of 

 the holdings are unfavourable to the application of what is 

 generally called science to such a pursuit as this. It bears a 

 strong resemblance to Australian sheep farming, where inspec- 

 tion, change of pasturage, marking, washing, clipping, lamb- 

 ing, and watering constitute the chief occupations of the 

 shepherds. The master is, indeed, more a capitalist with 

 money invested in sheep than a farmer in our sense of the 

 word, and the details of management are chiefly left to the 

 shepherds. No more intelligent and trustworthy class exists 

 than this, and the Collie dogs are only second in importance. 

 The extraordinary sagacity of these dogs has often been 

 illustrated, and the manner in which they watch and marshal 

 the flocks is admirable. 



