THE SHEEP. 
25 
THE CHEVIOT BREED. 
such as are sick and infirm, or from any cause require more careful attendance than the rest of the flock, may be taken. Though 
various ewes produce twins, it is regarded as a favourable circumstance in the case of this class of Sheep, when one lamb can be 
reared for each ewe of the flock. It is well when eighteen or nineteen lambs can be brought up for every twenty ewes. 
The time of shearing these Sheep is from the middle of June to the beginning of July. The precise period is denoted by the 
wool being fully grown, and separating readily from the skin when pulled. The Sheep are first to be washed, which is done by 
men standing in the pool, and washing each Sheep separately, or more generally, when the flock is large, by causing them to swim 
two or three times through the water to the opposite bank. After being washed, they are kept as much as possible on ground 
where they can be prevented from rubbing on banks, or otherwise soiling their wool. In two days, if there be no rain, they may 
be shorn, but it is better to wait seven or eight days, in which case the unctuous secretion which protects the wool has again been 
formed. As soon as each Sheep is shorn, it is usually marked with a stamp dipped in boiling tar thickened with pitch. The 
mark is made on different parts of the body, as the near shoulder, the far shoulder, the near haunch, the far haunch, so that the 
different kinds and ages of the Sheep may be known at a glance. 
Soon after shearing, the lambs are weaned, which is simply effected by a short separation of them from the dams. The lambs 
are now, in the language of farmers, hoggets or hogs, under the respective denominations of tup-hogs, wether-hogs, and ewe-hogs. 
The tup-hogs intended for use upon the farm or sale, and such of the ewe-hogs as are designed for receiving the male in the fol¬ 
lowing year, are retained. The remainder of the ewe-hogs, and all the wether-hogs, are either now disposed of, or kept throughout 
the winter and sold in the following year, either, as has been observed, previous to the period of shearing, when they are still hogs, 
or after having lost their fleece, when they are dinmonts and gimmers. Sometimes they are kept until they have yielded a second 
fleece. All the old ewes which have borne the required number of lambs are disposed of before winter, and not only such ewes as 
are old, but such as are of bad form, or which it is wished for any cause to get rid of. The hogs which are retained are treated 
in the same manner as the breeding ewes, except that it is common to put them on some grassy and sheltered part of the farm 
where they can be best pastured. They receive hay in falls of snow, and, if possible, turnips are supplied to them during the whole 
winter, which may be done at the rate of a cart-load per day for every seven or eight scores. 
The practice of smearing the skins before winter with tar, was formerly in more general use in the case of this breed of Sheep 
than it has since become. It is now chiefly confined to the more elevated districts, or the more northern counties. The disuse of 
the practice has arisen, not on account of any experience of its inefficiency as a preservative to the health of the animals, but on 
account of the injury to the quality of the wool, occasioned by the tarry ingredient. On this account, substitutes for the tar are 
now very generally employed. These are, olive oil mixed with turpentine, impure naphtha, commonly called spirits of tar, or 
other substances, which serve the purpose of destroying vermin and removing cutaneous affections, but which are scarcely so 
efficient as a means of preserving health as the old mixture. 
In the modern management of these Sheep, a principle observed is to suffer them as much as possible to pasture undisturbed. 
On this account, the dividing of the stock of the farm into a number of flocks or hirsels, to each of which is assigned a certain 
range of pasturage, is much less used than formerly. The practice of folding Sheep at night, for the purpose of manuring parts 
of the farm, is now abandoned by all who are conversant with the proper management of this kind of Sheep. The practice, 
too, of milking the ewes for several weeks after the lambs are weaned, is now very much given up, experience showing that the 
exhaustion and disturbance of ewes render them less fitted to withstand the privations and severities of winter, and to nourish 
their young when the season of parturition arrives. It is proper, however, in all cases to milk the ewes after weaning for a few 
days, so as to run them dry by degrees. In cases where the practice of milking for several weeks is adopted, the milk is churned 
for the use of the farm; and twenty ewes will yield five pounds of butter in the week. 
The number of Sheep assigned to the care of one shepherd is from 400 to 500. When the flock consists wholly of ewes, this 
number is as much as one man can conveniently manage, but when the flock consists of hoggets and shearlings, one shepherd may 
manage 700 or 800. An average allowance for one shepherd is 400 ewes and 200 hogs. 
To the shepherd of these mountainous countries the services of the Dog are indispensable. Without this faithful creature, 
his individual labour would be insufficient to collect the animals from distant parts, drive them in flocks, or perform the other innu¬ 
merable services required. The breed of Dogs used in the mountains of Cheviot, and the pastoral districts of Scotland, is of small 
size and homely exterior, but adapted in an eminent degree to the services to be performed. For sagacity and fidelity these humble 
Dogs cannot be surpassed; they understand the language of their master, and almost seem to divine his thoughts. Their whole 
habits seem fashioned to the life they lead. When taken from their natural pursuits, their spirit seems to droop, or at least they 
never manifest in other situations that matchless sagacity which distinguishes them in the occupations of the shepherd life. 
The entire management of these and the other mountain Sheep of the northern parts of Britain, has no parallel, it is believed, 
