BREEDS 237 



my man, they're a' awa' ! " The next moment 

 Sirrah had vanished in the mist. The next morn- 

 ing the 500 had been gathered in, and Sirrah was 

 mounting guard over them. '* How he had got 

 them all collected in the dark," says Hogg, " is 

 beyond my comprehension. If all the shepherds 

 in the forest had been there, they could not have 

 effected it with greater propriety." There is another 

 suggestive story where the master of a favourite 

 played off a practical joke on a friend who doubted 

 the dog's gifts. The friend went for a walk, and the 

 dog was ordered to ^* shepherd him." Shepherded 

 he was to such good purpose, by the great collie 

 jumping up before him and barking in his face, 

 that he was summarily herded back to the house. 



Height is no recommendation in a collie, and 

 the most handsome are of medium stature.^ The 

 small and well-shaped head, with the lofty brain, 

 is that of a thoughtful philosopher, and the ears 

 lying back in the hair of the neck, are cocked on 

 the slightest call to attention. Used to listen for 

 his master's whistle in the hill blasts, the hearing 

 is extraordinarily acute. His sturdy forelegs and 

 his whole body are thickly clothed and heavily 

 feathered against these blasts. Yet the hair on the 



^ I shall venture to differ from Mr. Shand here. I like my 

 collie big. So many collies nowadays are rather weedy. I agree 

 with what Mr. Shand says about the "lofty brain "—though the 

 fanciers scarcely encourage it, their type of collie not being very noble. 

 —Ed. 



