214 SHEEP 



sheep dropped ten lambs at one birth. This would have bothered 

 the exactors of the "firstlings" of a sheej), or sgreaball caethrach, 

 meaning sheep tribute. The average natural life of a sheep is 

 said to be nine years. Of old, in a Celtic establishment, when a 

 sheep was killed, certain perquisites, as on the occasion of killing 

 a cow, pertained to certain parties — some are, the head to the 

 horschoi/ (war-horse) ; neck to the gearran-keepcr (work-horse) ; 

 liver to the carpenter ; shoulder to the (uilrononier (this probably 

 in connection with "shoulder-blade" divination), this party was a 

 learned man, ecclesiastic or doctor, generally named sruth or 

 srulhan ; bag or pudding, prainnseag or haggis, to the icater- 

 cairier (this blood pudding was called " driseachan ") ; heart and 

 feet or trotters to the shepherd ; skin or pelt to the cook, etc., 

 etc., while the stomach formed the "rennet" or binid. In 

 reference to the astronomer's portion, it may be added here that 

 an ancient mode of divination, once practised in the Highlands, 

 Wales, and some parts of England, if not in Ireland, was by 

 inspecting the blade-bone of a sheep, or " Slinnearachd." An 

 instance of such divination, was on the occasion of Argyll making 

 an expedition to Lochaber, when his fate and that of eighteen 

 Campbell lairds was foretold by one MacMaran, Alasdair 

 MacColia winning the victory. An ancient Highlander, Donald 

 Macpherson, long resident in Chelsea, England, gave a long 

 account of this. A sheep should not be killed on a Friday, 

 caora bhronnach or well-fed sheep. 'I'o return to our wethers : 

 a proverb by the way is taken from the old French play of Ratelin, 

 and which Rabelais describes in his life of Gargantua, and which 

 we think worth giving here, viz., a woollen draper is brought 

 before a judge, who, pleading against a shepherd concerning 

 some sheep the latter — he alleged — had stolen from him, would 

 ever and anon digress from the point to speak of a piece of 

 cloth, which, he also alleged, his antagonist's attorney had likewise 

 robbed him of, which made the judge call out to the draper, and 

 bid him " return to his muttons." 



In the days of Alexander MacCoU (Macdonald), Highlanders 

 seem to have been subjected to a tax of a merk upon every head 

 of sheep they possessed, and he (Alexander), it was hoped, would 

 be the man to relieve them from this impost, as may be gathered 

 from the following lines : — 



Dia leat Alasdair-mhic-ChoIla, God be with you, Alexander MacColl, 



'S mor do thomad 'measg dhaoine. The great in stature among men, 



Gloir do Dhia u 'thighinn dh' Albainn, Blessed be He who sent you to Scot- 

 Cha phaigh sinn marc as a chaora. land, 



We shall no longer pay a merk each 

 sheep. 



Sinclair gives sheep as follows: — 1. Ewe, wedder tup lambs, 

 until weaned ; 2. Ewe, wedder tup hogs, until shorn ; 3. Gimmers, 

 dummons, tups, until shorn ; and 4. Old ewes, wedders, tups. 



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