CHAPTEE XXI 



BRITISH BREEDS NOT WIDELY DISTRIBUTED IN 

 THE UNITED STATES 



THE SCOTCH BLACKFACE HIGHLAND 



History. — The Scotch Blackface Highland, or the Blackface as 



breeders frequently call it, is a mountain breed, native to the High- 

 lands of Scotland. Its origin cannot be definitely traced, and as 

 for the methods used in improving it, Usher says : " The prob- 

 ability is that they were allowed for ages to pick up a precarious 

 subsistence as best they could, and multiply and replenish the earth 

 according to their own natural instincts. No doubt it (improve- 

 ment) was brought about gradually by men of intelligence and 

 judgment, in careful selection . . . but as Blackfaced flocks occu- 

 pied wide tracts of country where fencing was unknown, the benefits 

 of such selection were often, in a measure, lost by the tups (rams) 

 being put to them indiscriminately" (Fig. 113). 



Description. — The Blackface is a wild, active, small sheep with 

 black or mottled face and legs. In case of mottled markings, the 

 spots should be quite distinct, thus leaving the face and legs free 

 from tinges of gray. There should be no wool on the head or on 

 the legs below the knees and hocks. The wool is coarse, wavy, 

 and loose, and when of twelve months' growth, hangs down almost 

 to the ground. Ewe fleeces weigh from four to five pounds, and 

 two-year-old wether fleeces as much as seven pounds. The make-up 

 of the Blackface suggests its adaptability to the difficulties it must 

 encounter in its mountain home. The body is short and muscular 

 with the shoulders high and " formed for freedom of action." The 

 nose is broad and prominent; the eyes are bold and flashing; in 

 rams, the horns are large, taking one or more spiral turns, accord- 

 ing to age; in ewes, they are small, flattened and curved, but not 

 spirally formed. The tail is short, reaching only to the hocks, and 

 it is customary among breeders to leave it undocked. 



Properties. — The Blackface is the hardiest of the mountain 

 breeds and it thrives best on pastures which require much travelling 

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