CH. XXXV. BLACK-FACED SHEEP. 243 



down into a good shepherd ; and the border men 

 still form the most persevering and careful guard- 

 ians of the large flocks which now fill all the 

 northern mountains. 



In most parts the border sheep, the Cheviot at 

 least, have taken the place of the old black-faced 

 breed, being more profitable in wool, and growing 

 more quickly to a profitable size for the butcher. 

 I must own to having a strong prejudice in favour 

 of the picturesque little black-faced sheep, with 

 their long wool and horns. Nothing, too, can be 

 more adapted to our scenery than these animals ; 

 wild and active as goats, they scramble with the 

 sure foot of a chamois over the most impracticable- 

 looking rocks in search of some sheltered nook or 

 shelf where the grass is early and green, or for 

 refuge from any fancied danger. On the most 

 impassable -looking and perpendicular face of a 

 corrie, where there does not appear to be standing 

 room for a raven, the black-faced little fellows 

 wind their way in single file in search of favourite 

 spots of pasture. 



A sheep, though correctly enough designated an 

 animal " patiens injurise," is by no means without 

 abundance of instinct and sense. "Watchful to a 

 degree, they are a constant annoyance to the deer- 

 stalker, who loses many a shot by the object of his 



