SOCIAL AND ECONOMICAL ASPECTS 175 



covered two facts (may not our overmuch-abused deer 

 forests get some of the credit ?) first, that it is not 

 necessary to keep black-faced sheep till they are four 

 years old, but that they can be ' forced ' just as well 

 as the larger and heavier breeds and killed at eighteen 

 months old ; secondly, that when thus treated they 

 are as far superior to a Lincoln or Leicester year-old 

 hogg as a well-fed ox is to an aged cow. My readers 

 must not, however, misunderstand me. I do not for 

 a moment pretend that young black-faced mutton is 

 in respect of colour or flavour or gravy as good as 

 old ; but I do maintain that it is better than young 

 mutton of the coarser breeds, and has proved to be 

 popular from its not being necessary to hang the meat 

 so long before using it an important consideration 

 in many a household. 



The next attack on the system of deer forests was 

 made on behalf of small tenants, or ' crofters ' as they 

 are called in the Highlands. Those will be dealt with 

 when we come to consider as I now propose to do 

 the reports of the various public bodies which have 

 been appointed to investigate the subject. 



Allusion has already been made at the beginning of 

 these chapters to the Select Committee of the House 

 of Commons in 1872-73 on the Game Laws. This 

 Committee was composed of twenty-one members, 



