Welsh Sheep. 421 



winter, and the older wethers as well, before they go 

 to the butcher or gentlemen's parks in England to be 

 finished on grass. Among the smaller Welsh farmers 

 they only see turnips or hay occasionally. In fact, 

 they never take very kindly to turnips, from not 

 having eaten them in their youth, and they would 

 rather starve at a show than touch artificial food. 

 Like the Shetland sheep, they own no covering but 

 the sky. Many of their mountain haunts are little 

 better than large loose heaps of stones with patches of 

 coarse grass in the crevices. Others, on the contrary, 

 have good pasturage, at great heights, from 1500 to 

 1800 feet, and these are generally overstocked. Some 

 Caernarvonshire sheep-walks are 3000 feet above sea- 

 level, and are let at a rent proportioned to the quality 

 of the pasture, and not, as in some parts of Scotland, 

 according to the number of sheep kept. Several of 

 the tenants have rights of commonage for so many 

 head of sheep, but this is not generally to the flock- 

 master's advantage, as it often tempts him to put more 

 sheep on the already overstocked commons, and keeps 

 the poor animals in such a state of starvation that the 

 winter cuts them off by hundreds. 



At four years old the fat pure Welsh wethers 

 do not weigh much above 4olbs. dead weight, 

 and clip from i^lbs. to 2lbs. of washed wool. The 

 Blackface cross was tried, and brought an increase 

 both in size and wool, without any sacrifice of hardi- 

 ness ; but it was not persisted in, as the wool came 

 coarse, and the mutton rather yellow. Lord Penrhyn 

 has done much by crossing the Welsh with the Cheviot 

 ram, which is bought on the first day at Kelso Ram 

 Fair ; and on one of his lordship's mountain farms 

 they have thriven well at an altitude of 1 800 feet. 

 The Penrhyn Castle crosses are bred on the mountain 

 farms, and sent down to be weaned and wintered. 

 They then return to the mountain for three years, and 

 are brought down at their fourth winter and kept on 



