THE CHEVIOT BREED. 



99 



cumstance in the case of this class of Sheep, in the more 

 mountain districts, when one lamb can be reared for each 

 ewe of the flock. It is thought to be well when eighteen or 

 nineteen lambs can be brought up for every twenty ewes. 



The time of shearing these Sheep is from the middle of 

 June to the beginning of July. The precise period is denoted 

 by the wool being fully grown, and separating readily from 

 the skin when pulled. The Sheep are first washed, which 

 is done by men standing in the pool, and washing each Sheep 

 separately, or more generally, when the flock is large, by 

 causing them to swim two or three times through the water 

 to the opposite bank. After being washed, they are kept as 

 much as possible on ground where they can be prevented from 

 rubbing on banks, or otherwise soiling their wool. In two 

 days, if there be no rain, they are shorn, but it is generally 

 thought better to wait seven or eight days, in which case the 

 unctuous secretion which protects the wool has again been 

 formed. As soon as each Sheep is shorn, it is usually marked 

 with a stamp dipped in boiling tar thickened with pitch. The 

 mark is made on different parts of the body, as the near 

 shoulder, the far shoulder, the near haunch, the far haunch, 

 so that the different kinds and ages of the Sheep may be 

 known at a glance. 



Soon after shearing the ewes, the lambs are weaned, which 

 is simply effected by a short separation of them from the 

 dams. The lambs are now, in the language of farmers, hog- 

 gets or hogs, under the respective denominations of tup-hogs, 

 wether-hogs, and ewe-hogs. The tup-hogs intended for use 

 upon the farm or sale, and such of the ewe-hogs as are designed 

 for receiving the male in the following year, are retained. 

 The remainder of the ewe-hogs, and all the wether-hogs, are 

 either now disposed of, or kept throughout the winter and 

 sold in the following year, either, as has been observed, pre- 

 vious to the period of shearing, when they are still hogs, or 

 after having lost their fleece, when they are dinmonts and 



