156 FIELD AND TERN. 



Marldown^ Cockburn of Sisterpatli (who was ouce 

 quite at the top of the tree), Calder of Kelloe Mains 

 (who gets Mr. Simpson^s of Court HilFs ewes); Chrisp 

 of Hawkhill, kc, and thus theperpetual interchange of 

 blood with all the crack flocks goes on. The Highland 

 Society, the Northumberland Society, and the Union 

 are the only local shows the breeders attend, and the 

 latter holds its spring show alternately at Kelso and 

 Coldstream in March, for those who have young 

 bulls and cart stallions, and two and three-year-old 

 cart colts and fillies, in the district. Independently 

 of their public sales, Yorkshire and Northumberland 

 are great customers, but the latter county is falling 

 into the radical English error of having their Leicesters 

 a little too fine. The Border breeders contend 

 that the big sheep are hardier than the small, and able 

 to live and thrive at a great height ; that near the foot 

 of the Cheviots the Leicester-Down and pure 

 Leicester (particularly the former) cannot live 

 in a storm, and require far more keeping up 

 before lambing. The very high feeders calculate 

 on five fleeces to the 2 stone or 481bs. for tup hoggs. 

 Some also dislike swedes for their tup hoggs, as they 

 are too nutritive, and apt to crook the pasterns, and 

 never give them to their ewes till after lambing, when 

 they are off to the grass. They generally begin w^ith 

 Skirving's Purple Tops, and have their hoggs on 

 them or Greystone and White Globe all the winter, 

 and the breeding ewes are put on the same by the 

 end of January. Australia is beginning to fancy the 



