1850. 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
4f 
of the Leicester. In, all that regards size, form and 
contour, they are superior to the old breed; but the 
wool has become coarser and longer.” 
Count de Gourcy, a French gentleman who made 
a tour through England and Scotland in 1840, thus 
speaks of the Cheviot sheep which he saw on the 
mountains of Sutherland: 
“ I was surprised on going over these'horrible 
mountains and miserable pastures, to see them 
stocked with such fine animals, yielding, on an ave¬ 
rage, five pounds of long and beautiful wool, washed 
upon the back; "wethers three arid a-half years old, 
without having eaten any other thing than what is 
to be found in these wilds, weighing, alive, .200 
English pounds, together with ewes that at 5 years 
old, and with he same feed, are fat, and weigh 
from 60 to 70, and even 90 pounds. What I have 
seen in this journey, makes me more convinced than 
ever, that the Cheviot breed is one of the highest 
merit; since they live and prosper on such land, un¬ 
der such a severe climate, and that, too, without 
other food than what these wilds furnish.” 
Protection for Sheep. —If there is one point 
in sheep-husbandry of more especial importance than 
all others, it is shelter. This remark will apply to 
Stdl for sheltering Sheep. 
almost all countries where sheep are kept; though 
the character of the shelter may vary of course, 
with the nature of the climate. In southern lati¬ 
tudes it is not necessary to guard against deep 
snows; but most sections are subject to violent 
storms of rain,, which are very prejudicial to the 
health of sheep, if obliged to endure them without 
some protection. 
The circumstances which affect the keeping of 
sheep on our western prairies, and on the mountains 
of our southern states, must bear some analogy to 
those of Scotland; and if this kind of stock is ever 
made protfiable on a large scale in those parts of 
our country, ample protection from the driving 
storms and boisterous winds which there prevail, 
must be provided. For this reason we have thought 
it proper to introduce here, a description of a kind 
of shelter which has been resorted to in Scotland 
with great advantage. The flocks kept in the 
mountainous region of that country, formerly suf¬ 
fered immense destruction during winter, when 
“-oft the whirlwind’s wing 
Sweeps up the burden of whole wintry plains 
At one wide waft, and o’er the hapless flocks, 
Hid in the hollow of two neighboring hills, 
The billowy tempest whelms, till upward urged, 
The valley to a shining mountain swells, 
Tip’t with a wreath high curling in the sky.” 
The shelter to which we allude, has been found 
an efficient protection against the storms which pre¬ 
vail in the Highlands; and to give some idea of 
their severity, it may be useful and interesting to 
the reader to peruse a brief description of the con- 
sequencs of one, which occurred before this kind of 
shelter was introduced. 
Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd,” describing the 
effects of the storm of the 24th and 25th of Janua¬ 
ry, 1794, says — u it fell with peculiar violence on 
that division of the south of Scotland which lies 
within Crawford-muir and the Border. There pe¬ 
rished within these limits, seventeen shepherds; and 
upwards of thirty were carried home insensible who 
afterwards recovered. The number of sheep that 
were lost, outwent any calculation. One farmer 
alone lost seventy-two scores, and many others in 
the same quarter from thirty to forty scores each.” 
He adds, that when the snow melted, it caused a 
flood, and after the water had subsided, there were 
found, at a place called the Beds of Esk, on the 
shor^; of Solway Frith, 1,840 sheep, 9 neat cattle, 
3 horses, 2 men, 1 woman, 45 dogs, and 180 hares, 
besides a number of smaller animals. 
William Hogg,—who, like his namesake, the 
Poet of Ettrick, has been “ a keeper of sheep,”— 
in a communication to the Scottish Quarterly Jour¬ 
nal of Agriculture , written in 1843, gives a vivid 
account of this storm, to which in guarding his 
sheep, he was exposed in person. “ The storm 
came on in its greatest severity in the night, and 
was heavy beyond all former precedent. Mr. H. 
says —“ I was in alone, desolate part of the moun¬ 
tains, and felt the snow as it fell, like a dead weight 
on my shoulders, and the desert place seemed to 
sigh with the extraordinary burden which lay upon 
it.” When the clouds finally dispersed, he says— 
11 I was glad and I ought to have been thankful, 
when I once more felt the sun’s cheering beams ; 
but such a scene! The poor creatures lay huddled 
together dead, in dozens, scores and hundreds; the 
extraordinary severity of frost and strength of wind 
had reached their vitals, I think, in a few minutes 
after foundering down with cold; many were also 
smothered deep at the bottoms of immense wreaths, 
and were not found till the thaw came. There was 
scarcely a pastured district where there was not 
some human being perished, and many sheep.” 
The serious losses sustained in the manner above 
described, induced the farmers to turn their atten¬ 
tion, earnestly, to the means of protecting their 
sheep; and after having tried structures of various 
kinds, the superiority of those represented by the 
accompanying cut, has been fairly demonstrated. 
These structures are called stells, and the one here 
delineated is called an 11 inside stell.” It consists 
of two concentric circles of wall, enclosing a plan¬ 
tation of fir, or other evergreens, having a circular 
space in the centre for sheep. This centre may be 
of any size desired; if it is from 30 to 60 feet in 
diameter, it will accommodate from seventy-five to 
one hundred and fifty sheep. A sufficient number 
should be erected to accommodate the whole flock. 
This belt of trees completely secures the sheep in 
the enclosure from the force of the wind, affording 
a quiet and safe shelter at all times. The walls of 
the passage are made winding, which prevents the 
wind from blowing into the central space. 
In this country, it is probable, the best trees for 
such plantations, would be the red and white cedars, 
hemlock, spruce and fir. A belt of a rod in width, 
if the outside was planted sufficiently close, would 
soon form a screen, and admirably shelter the inside 
enclosure. 
These stells should constitute the feeding yards. 
In, or near them the fodder should be secured. The 
