DOMESTIC BREEDS OF SHEEP. 39 



mature, and they are noted for their excellence of mutton and fine- 

 ness of wool. They are also very hardy, especially those that have 

 access to the seaweed. It is a strange thing that these sheep know 

 when the tide recedes even though they may be several miles inland. 

 There is an old legend that is still credited to a certain extent upon 

 these islands to the effect that there is a worm in the sheep's foot 

 that turns as the tide recedes. 



Not all individuals have horns, but this type is preferred. The 

 tail is short and pointed at the end. In color they may be black, 

 white, brown, or almost any combination of these. The average 

 weight of fleece is about 2\ pounds. The sheep are never shorn, but 

 in the spring the wool loosens from natural causes and rises up through 

 the coat of hair that also covers the animal. The sheep are driven 

 into "crues," or "punds," as they are called, about once a week, 

 from May 15 to the last of June, and "plucked." There may be 

 more than a week's difference in the loosening of the wool on the 

 sides from that on the back. The plucking process causes no pain 

 and is much superior to shearing in the case of these sheep. The 

 latter process would remove the hair which acts as a protection to 

 the animal and which would be objectionable in the wool. Shearing 

 would also result in the cutting of the new wool, another undesir- 

 able feature. 



The fleeces of these sheep are used in the manufacture of hosiery 

 and for the famous Shetland shawls. 



A great deal of crossing, involving Black-faced Highland, Lei- 

 cester, and Cheviot blood, has taken place upon the islands, and there 

 is danger of the breed being crossed out of existence. 



Wm. Cooper & Nephews made an importation of 17 head of Shet- 

 lands for W. W. Burch, of Michigan. R. S. Blastock, while pur- 

 chasing sheep in England in 1910 for Mr. L. V. Harkness, of Ken- 

 tucky, was presented with three ewes and a ram. These were taken 

 to the Walnut Hall estate at Donerail, and they are slowly increas- 

 ing in numbers. 



The specimens brought to this country were largely black and 

 brown, with occasional white markings. They are deer-like in appear- 

 ance and are very timid, it being very difficult to closely approach 

 them. They make a beautiful sight in a park and are suitable only 

 for such purposes in America. They have fittingly been called a 



"toy" sheep. 



THE LEICESTER. 



Even though the English Leicester does not exist in the United 

 States in the pure form, any treatise upon the breeds of sheep would 

 be incomplete without reference to this one. They were one of the 

 first of the modern improved breeds of live stock, and the influence 

 the Leicester has had in developing the other breeds is almost incom- 



