CROSS-BRED SHEEP 405 



universal cereal. Potatoes are not general beyond a 

 small acreage for the use of the farm, and in a general 

 way the farming depends upon milk and sheep. As 

 a rule the sheep are bought off the hills to fatten ; 

 sometimes a Down ram will be used, and both the 

 ewes and lambs will be fattened together. 



The sheep are either cross-breds, which in local 

 parlance signifies the progeny of Blackfaced ewes and 

 a Border Leicester ram, or half-breds i.e. Cheviots 

 crossed with the Border Leicester ram. The half-breds 

 can be treated almost as a pure breed and crossed 

 again with the Border Leicester ram with success, this 

 being practically the only case in Great Britain where 

 a second cross attains any commercial success. As a 

 rule a first cross between two distinct breeds results in 

 offspring possessing a general conformity to a particular 

 type, with superior vigour and a quicker growth than 

 either of the parents, but further crosses result in 

 segregation into a motley group of mongrels, many of 

 which show distinct degeneration from the butcher's 

 point of view. For milk, Ayrshires are universally 

 employed ; a few only of the farmers raise cattle and 

 fatten them out for beef. Away from the railway the 

 milk is converted into cheese, and the south-west of 

 Scotland has mainly given itself up to the production 

 of Cheddar cheese. So thoroughly has the art been 

 learned that great rivalry prevails with Somerset for 

 the leadership of the market, and many were the 

 rejoicings we heard at the news just come to hand 

 that the Scottish cheese makers had carried off the bulk 

 of the prizes at the Dairy Show at the Agricultural 

 Hall. Nearly every farm breeds a few heavy horses, 

 this being the true Clydesdale country. 



The farming of Kirkcudbright struck us as fair 

 without being in any way exceptional ; the rainfall is 



