SHEEP. 



and yot a sheep is to be found that 

 will tliiivo even in the wildest part 

 of it. Their sliape is excellent, and 

 their fore quarters, in particular, are 

 di-stinsjuislied hy such justness of pro- 

 portion, as to he equal in height to 

 the hinder ones, which enables them 

 to pass over bo<rs and snows througii 

 which a shorter-legged animal could 

 not penetrate. They have a closer 

 lieece than the Tweeddale and Lei- 

 cester breeds, which keeps them 

 warmer in cold weather, and pre- 

 vents cither rain or snow from in- 

 coHUiioding theiri. They are excel- 

 lent ^^^o\v-travellers, and are accus- 

 tomed to procure their food by scra- 

 ping the snow off the ground with 

 their feet. They have never any 

 oilier food but the grass and natural 

 hay of their own fields, except when 

 it is proposed to fatten them. They 

 weigii from 12 to 18 pounds per quar- 

 ter, and their meat is fully equal to 

 any that the Highlands can produce.' 



" The wool is inferior to that of 

 the South Downs. It is not so fine 

 as before the attempted improvement 

 of the carcass ; and the use of it is 

 abandoned in the manufacture of fine 

 cloth. 



" There are many flocks of pure 

 Cheviots, but in the majority of the 

 (locks there is a cross of Leicester 

 blood. 



" The other breed of short-woolled 

 sheep which contend with the Che- 

 viots in number and value is the hlack- 

 faced Scots ; they extend from Lan- 

 cashire to the very north of Scotland. 

 The males are mostly horned, the 

 horns of a spiral form, but the fe- 

 males are frequently without horns. 

 'l"he faces and legs are always black 

 or mottled ; they are covered with 

 wool about the forehead and lower 

 jaw ; the fleece is long and some- 

 what coarse. The carcass is pecu- 

 liarly compact ; so much so, that on 

 account of the shortness, roundness, 

 firmness, and handsomeness of the 

 carcass, it is called the short sheep, 

 in opposition to the Cheviots, or lo7ig 

 sheep. The weight of the carcass 

 docs not differ materially from that of 

 the Cheviot, and the fleece weighs 



N N N 



about three pounds after it is washed. 

 These sheep have been improved by 

 selection, hut have derived little ad- 

 vantage from any of the crosses that 

 have been tried. 



"As these are the prevailing breeds 

 in the northern parts o{ the kingdom, 

 if not to the exclusion of the short 

 horns and the Leicesters, yet, being 

 far more numerous than they, it may 

 not be uninteresting to institute a 

 i)rief comparison of their respective 

 merits. The three important points 

 with respect to sheep in such locali- 

 ties are the weight and value of the 

 wool, the carcass, and the degree of 

 hardihood. 



" As to the wool there can be no 

 question. The weight of the indi- 

 vidual fleece may be somewhat, but 

 not a great deal, in favour of the 

 black-faced breed ; but in point of 

 value and the price which the wool 

 will obtain, the advantage is most 

 decidedly in favour of the Cheviots. 

 As to the carcass, the Cheviot is 

 ready for market a full twelvemonth 

 before the other. If so many sheep 

 cannot be kept on the same quantity 

 of ground, the quantity of meat that 

 can be produced is greater, and con- 

 sequently the profit of the farmer is 

 greater ; and as to hardihood, they 

 are both of them excellent breeds, 

 and it might be difficult to decide 

 which wool would most successfully 

 endure the hardships of a Highland 

 winter. The adjudication, on the 

 whole, is most decidedly in favour of 

 the Cheviot breed, with this excep- 

 tion, perhaps, that on the wildest of 

 the Grampian, or other similar hills, 

 the black-faced mountain sheep may 

 have the best chance of doing well ; 

 and the acknowledged fact is, that in 

 almost every northern district the 

 Cheviots are rapidly superseding the 

 native black-faced sheep. 



^^ Long-wooUed Sheep. — There is 

 much more similarity between the 

 varieties of the long-woolled sheep 

 than those of shorter fibre. The de- 

 ficiency of horns, the form of the 

 head, the expression of the counte- 

 nance, and the white faces and legs, 

 show that they had one common 



G97 



