104 THE SHEEP. 



panied by winds, sometimes fill up all the hollows in a few 

 hours. These accidents occasionally occur, and so sudden 

 and violent is the storm, that whole flocks of Sheep are buried 

 under masses of snow. Nay, sometimes the shepherds 

 themselves, in their attempts to discover and save the scat- 

 tered flocks, are bewildered and suffocated in the tempest. 



It is regarded as of high importance, then, not only to 

 provide shelter against the piercing blasts of these elevated 

 countries, but to afford places of refuge to the stock in cases 

 of danger. Plantations of wood are always found to be be- 

 neficial in these mountain farms, and when the means exist 

 of rearing wood, may be formed with profit. They should be 

 of the size of not less than four or five acres, so that the trees 

 may shelter one another, and formed with salient angles, so 

 that the Sheep may have shelter from whatever point the 

 wind may blow. They are enclosed with stone walls, so that 

 the trees may be protected from the inroads of the Sheep. 

 The wild pine and spruce are found to be the best suited for 

 the purpose, though the larch will grow in situations more 

 elevated. But wood cannot always be cultivated in situa- 

 tions so bleak and exposed, and a simple substitute is adopted. 

 This is a small enclosure, termed a Stell, capable of contain- 

 ing a flock of Sheep. It consists of a dry-stone wall, six feet 

 high, and is usually circular, with a narrow opening, and 

 may be made of a size to contain 200 Sheep or more. Into 

 these places of refuge the Sheep are driven when occasion 

 requires. They are thus protected from danger, and a stack 

 of hay being placed at the entrance, or within the enclosure, 

 they may be fed during the continuance of the snow. A 

 sufficient number of these stells being placed in suitable 

 situations, there exist places of security, to which the Sheep 

 on different parts of the farm may be promptly conveyed. 



No words can convey to those who have never witnessed 

 the scene, an idea of the terrible effect of the winter storms 

 which ravage these alpine regions. In an amusing series of 

 Tales, by James Hogg, commonly known as the Etterick 



