108
o^r THE LIVE-STOCK
PART II.
SHEEP *
The breeds of sheep in Scotland shall be treated of in thefive following sections:
1. The Aborigines; 2. The Heath, Linton or Blackfaced;3. The Cheviot; 4. The Leicester or Dishley; and, 5. Theforeign breeds.
Each of these sections may contain, 1. A description ofthe variety to which it is appropriated ; 2. An account of thesystem of management; and, 3. A statement of its producein carcase and wool. A general view shall also be given ofthe summer and winter food allotted to each breed, and such
* The general name of the male sheep in Scotland , is ram or tup. Whilethey suck, they are called ram or tup lambs , then hogs till they are shorn, after-wards Diamond tups or rams, and in the following years two-shear, three-shearrams, fyc. When castrated, they are called wether-lambs while sucking, then we-ther-hogs. until they are shorn, when they get the name of Diamonds and shear-lings, and afterwards two-shear or young wethers , three-shear wethers, <£c.
The general name of the female is ewe. They are called ewe or gimmer lambswhile sucking, then ewe or gimmer hogs till shorn, and after that gimmers ; whenshorn a second time young ewes, and afterwards two, three, and four shear ewes,according to the times they have been shorn.
The aged ewes which are sold yearly, are known by the names of draft andcast ewes, and in some places they are called crocks , crones , and slack ewes.
The age of sheep, like that of cattle, may be known by the fore-teeth of theunder jaw, of which they have also eight. When from fourteen to sixteenmonths old, they renew the first two, and two more every year about the sametime, till they have been shorn a third time, when they are more than three yearsold, and have become full-mouthed. But this mode of judging of their age isnot always to be relied on, as much depends upon their being early or late lambs,and on their feeding. An instance is mentioned by Mr Culley, in liis Treatise on Live-Stock, of a shearling tup which had six broad teeth, and it is not un-common for well-fed sheep, at that age, to have four teeth, instead of two.