CHEYIOT SHEEP.] 



SHEEP, 



[cheviot sheep. 



have themselves adopted. In spite, however, 

 of the vigilance of the shepherd and the in- 

 stinct of the sheep, many of them often perish 

 beneath towering snow-drifts, and sometimes 

 whole flocks are lost. It often happens, that 

 when sufficient shelter cannot be obtained, the 

 flock crowd together for the purpose of mutual 

 warmth, and are soon covered with the snow. 

 If this does not occur, the lambs, unable to 

 endure the severity of the storm, perish y and 

 the mothers, bewildered, wander about seeking 

 their ofispring, till they themselves sink ex- 

 hausted with their efibrts and distress. With 

 but little food, sheep can remain for many days 

 buried beneath the snow ; but where this 

 cannot be obtained, the period of endurance 

 is proportioned to the strength of the animal's 

 constitution and the intensity of the cold. 

 One winter, a sheep, near Kendal, was buried 

 in the snow for thirty-three days and nights, 

 without the possibility of moving, and yet 

 survived ; and a sheep in Cumberland was 

 buried for thirty-eight days. When extri- 

 cated, it was found to have eaten the wool off" 

 both its shoulders, and its frame was reduced al- 

 most to a skeleton. By due attention, however, 

 it gradually recovered. The Cheviot has a white 

 face and legs, somewhat resembling the cover 

 of the hills during the greater period of winter ; 

 but the grand characteristic of the Cheviot 

 flocks is their extraordinary likeness to each 

 other, how many soever there may be. Their 

 imperfection is a narrowness of the back, ribs, 

 and shoulders, from which arises their incapa- 

 bility of carrying a large accumulation of 

 mutton. Judges, therefore, choose those with 

 iroad faces, because this, they think, is indi- 

 cative of a large bony development. In select- 

 ing lambs, or even sheep for fattening, the 

 hand of the grazier grasps the back-bone, over 

 the kidneys, and forms his judgment by its 

 broadness, whether it be sufficiently capacious 

 to carry the complement of flesh and fat which 

 he calculates should be put upon it. The 

 eyes of the Cheviot are small, prominent, and 

 lively. The body is long; the fore quarters 

 somewhat light; the legs clean, and small 

 turned ; the feet thin ; the wool close and fine, 

 but neither so soft nor so elastic as that of the 

 Southdown. It is also too thick lor combing. 

 The improvements in the sheep have added a 

 little to the breast and shoulders, without di- 

 718 



minishing the feeding qualities, or injuring 

 the wool. The neck and shoulders are fuller. 

 The breast has assumed greater prominency, 

 but is still narrow. The back retains its nar- 

 rowness ; but the fall behind the shoulders, 

 common in the old breeds, has been removed. 

 The ribs are flatter than either the Southdown 

 or the Highland. The animal combines fat 

 with muscle, and is, when well brought up, 

 covered internally with tallow. They are re- 

 markably hardy animals, and live on very poor 

 and stunted food growing on the mountains 

 of Northumberland. Their hardiness has in- 

 duced many of the Scotch farmers and breeders 

 to locate them on the Scottish mountains, 

 where, even on the hills of Sutheriandshire, 

 they are to be found successfully bred and 

 thriving. They have also an extensive range 

 on the Yorkshire hills. 



The Cheviot hills form a part of that ex- 

 tensive and lofty range wliich, commencing in 

 Galloway, runs through Northumberland, into 

 Cumberland and Westmoreland, to the extent 

 of from 150 to 200 miles. The majority of 

 their summits end in points, and form termi- 

 nations to a series of conically-shaped moun- 

 tains. The sides of these are covered with 

 smooth, short herbage, and have a considerable 

 degree of steepness ; whilst, at their bases, they 

 nearly join each other. With the exception 

 of the summits the soil is fertile. On these 

 hills the Cheviot mutton is reared, celebrated 

 for its tenderness, sweetness, and delicacy. 

 The sheep are now sometimes fatted at one 

 year old ; and the flesh, in appearance, has, 

 when well kept, a striking resemblance to the 

 Welsh mutton ; but it is more tender, and not 

 so high in flavour. The bags will weigh 

 14 lbs. or 15 lbs. per quarter ; and the two 

 shear-wethers will sometimes weigh as much 

 as 22 lbs. Instances are mentioned where 

 they liave been brought to weigh 25 lbs. per 

 quarter; but these are extreme cases. The 

 improvements of this breed have chiefly been 

 effected by a mixture of the Leicester blood. 

 This has been done with great caution, as the 

 Leicester is a tender and delicate sheep, not 

 well adapted to cold regions, such as the 

 snow-clad moors of Northumberland, of West- 

 moreland, and of Scotland. While a single 

 dash of Leicester, however, improves the 

 frame, lengthens the wool, and increases the 



