26 



replacing local breeds so long as milk forms the main source of revenue of a 

 flock. 



Notwithstanding the bleakness of the winters, the practice of dropping 

 lambs in the early winter appears to be universal. This I take to be so be- 

 cause the rich summer feed of the mountains is needed for the production of 

 milk as soon as the lambs are weaned off. I very much suspect that the 

 rams run with the ewes the greater part of the year, although I had some 

 difficulty in ascertaining what was actually the practice in this direction. 

 One shepherd informed me that the rams were admitted to the flock in early 

 August ; that they stgyed there from two to two and a half months, but never 

 more than three months, and that the bulk of his lambs fell in December 

 and January. I asked him how it was that lambs appeared still to be falling 

 in April, the time of my visit. This he attributed to accident, or to ewes 

 having been missed earlier in the season. Another shepherd informed me 

 that the rams ran with the ewes from August to May of the following year ; 

 and, judging from the general irregularity of the lambing, I am inclined to 

 think this the general practice. I was told that very early lambs were 

 occasionally dropped in October from strong, well-fed ewes, whilst weaker 

 ewes dropped their lambs in spring ; but that, as a matter of current practice, 

 it was always sought to avoid spring lambing. 



The lambs are neither tailed nor castrated, and are sold to the butcher 

 when between two to two and a half months old, so that their mothers may 

 take their places in the milking sheds the sooner. At this age they dress 

 from 171bs. to 201bs. ; and from experience I can aver that the cutlet of a 

 Greek lamb is a little less than an average mouthful, although very sweet 

 withal. I was informed and could readily appreciate the fact that if 

 killed at a later age the flesh was inclined to be rank. Lambs that are kept 

 back for the replenishing of the flock are all weaned off when three months 

 old, in the interests of the milk supply. 



The milking of the ewes starts in February, when the bulk of the lambs 

 have been weaned off or disposed of. In order to facilitate milking operations 

 the wool of the tail and around the udder is clipped close, and in this con- 

 dition a flock of sheep present a most peculiar appearance. The milking 

 continues right up to August and September, the milk of these months being 

 very rich if not over-plentiful. The ewes are milked twice a day in rough 

 brushwood yards erected in the pastures. I was informed that 10 average 

 milkers (always men) could milk 800 to 900 sheep in an hour. For a ewe 

 new to the operation two men are needed to enforce the requisite docility. 

 The ewes are milked from behind and not from the side, as with cows. A 

 good ewe will yield about lib. of milk a day. The ewes' milk is made into 

 various forms of cheeses, which, when one has become acclimatised to them, 

 are not at all unpleasant. Butter apparently is made exclusively from 

 goit's milk. 



