124 NATURE AND WOODCRAFT. 



this was the more remarkable before the en- 

 closure of the Commons, when only a stream, 

 a ridge of rock, or a heather brae formed a 

 nominal boundary. Now hundreds of miles of 

 wire fence stretches its dividing influence over 

 the wild fells, and is the means of destroying 

 great numbers of grouse. One of the pro- 

 visions for localizing sheep upon their own 

 " Lot " is as follows. When a retiring tenant, 

 is leaving his farm, he is allowed to sell or 

 take with hirn, say, three-fourths of his flock 

 of two thousand sheep ; but the remaining five 

 hundred must be left on the old ground. It 

 is imperative upon the retiring farmer that this 

 nucleus be left, though sometimes the whole 

 flock is taken by the incoming tenant, and so 

 remains. In any case he must purchase the 

 number to be left upon the " heaf " at a valu- 

 ation by one of the dalesmen or respectable 

 yeomen, mutually agreed upon by the landlord 

 and himself. 



In each parish there still exists at some 

 farm a Shepherds Guide, setting forth the tar 

 marks, smits, and ear-slits, peculiar to the 

 sheep of each farm in the township. This 

 book is in the keeping of some responsible 



