102 THE SHEEP. 



country, similarly situated with respect to climate, are the 

 Sheep kept so entirely exposed to the inclemencies of the 

 weather, without the shelter of pens and houses. The ab- 

 sence of Wolves is the cause of that freedom which is allowed 

 to these mountain flocks ; and the shepherds have been taught 

 by experience, that the animals may be exposed by night as 

 well as by day without harm. Were these Sheep managed 

 as in other parts of the Continent of Europe, penned and fed 

 in houses, and prevented from taking their natural food, the 

 mountains of the country could not maintain one-fourth part 

 of the present numbers. 



The great desiderata sought for in the elevated countries 

 of these mountain Sheep, are the supply of food and shelter 

 in winter. The essential food, when the ground is covered 

 with snow, is hay ; a field or more being formed, one of which 

 is mown annually. Rough boggy ground, producing the 

 rushes proper to the situation, as the sharp-flowered jointed 

 rush or sprit, is suited for yielding a kind of hay, which, 

 though coarse and comparatively innutritious, is eaten by 

 the Sheep in the absence of other food. Where irrigation 

 is practicable, watered meadows are sometimes constructed, 

 affording the cheapest and securest means of supplying pro- 

 vender in these elevated countries. In all cases a quantity 

 of hay is provided, which should be equal to three months' 

 consumption, at the rate of one and a half pound per day 

 to the breeding ewes, and one pound to the younger sheep. 

 When whins grow naturally, they are preserved, as affording 

 not only food but shelter. 



When the pastures consist of rough heath, it is common 

 to burn it at intervals of several years, in the early part of 

 spring. This, destroying the more shrubby stems, produces 

 an increased growth of the more tender shoots. 



Draining is held to be very important in the countries oc- 

 cupied by these Sheep. The drains are narrow open trenches, 

 a spade's breadth in width. They are carried along the flat 



