470 THE COMPLETE GRAZIER. BOOK iv 



as regards the body, but the face of the Cheviot is white and all the 

 females as well as most of the males are hornless, while frequently 

 the horns found on the rams are more or less rudimentary. The wool 

 of the Cheviot is also much shorter and finer than that of the Black- 

 face. Unlike the Black-faces, Cheviots are generally washed before 

 being clipped. The clip of a good average flock will yield from 4 to 

 4| Ib. per head of washed wool. 



The popular type of Cheviot has passed through some mutations 

 within the last half century. From 30 to 40 years ago there was 

 a great rage for gaiety and style with a high thin face and a long 

 neck which latter feature is generally accompanied by a deficiency in 

 chest and in those days there was too little attention paid to the wool. 

 Of recent years the tendency has been to run upon a small sheep with a 

 small head, while the wool despite the low price of that article 

 received more than its due share of attention. But again the popular 

 t} r pe is being changed, and flock masters have come to realise the fact 

 that the most profitable sheep is one with a good square well-balanced 

 carcass of a medium size. There have also all along been two well- 

 recognised varieties of the breed, namely the West Country type and 

 the East Country type, which were so called on account of the locality 

 in which these separate varieties were mainly found. The West 

 Country type of Cheviot was distinguished by greater style, more promi- 

 nent head, and relatively larger body, the East Country type being 

 smaller in carcass, with closer wool and a less prominent head. 



The greatest exponent of the West Country type of Cheviots was 

 the late Mr. Jas. Brydon of Moodlaw and Kennelhead, whose show- 

 yard successes placed him far ahead of all competitors. His biennial 

 sales, which began in 1851 and ended in 1881, were always the 

 leading event in the Cheviot year. The highest price ever paid for 

 any of his rams was 185 guineas, which was given in 1867 by Mr. John 

 Miller, the present tenant of Scrabster in Caithness, for a very superior 

 ram. This price, it may be noted, is within 15s. of the highest price 

 ever paid in Scotland for a sheep of any breed, the highest price 

 on record for a Scotch sheep 195L having been paid by Messrs. 

 Clark, Oldhamstocks, in 1873, for a Border Leicester ram bred by 

 Lord Polwarth. 1 The most prominent exponent of the East Country 

 type of Cheviot sheep was the late Mr. Thomas Elliot, of Hindhope. 

 His sheep were of the type which is most in favour at the present time, 

 and nearly all the leading prize winners of to-day trace back to them. 



THE EXMOOR and the DARTMOOR. These derive their names from the 

 districts in the northern and western parts of Devonshire, where they are 

 chiefly found. They are among the few true survivors of the old forest 

 or mountain breeds of England. No doubt both breeds came from one 

 stock, though the Exmoors probably from having been less crossed 



1 This was true when written in 1893. Since then, however, in 1898, Lord Polwarth sold a 

 Border Leicester ram for 275, and Mr. David Buttar, of Corston, Coupar- Angus, a Shropshire 

 ram for 310 guineas. 



