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Vol. III.
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136

ON THE LIVE-STOCK

wool of ewes,—ewe hogs, and rams, —of a third part of theewes,—of all the wether lambs and the smallest of the ewelambs, and ol a few tups. The prices of all these are variousaccording to the character of different stocks, and the stateof markets in different years. Last summer Cheviot wool soldat from 27 s. to 30 s. per stone of 24 lb. avoirdupois, havingdeclined in price at the same time that both long and coarsewool advanced considerably. It has of late years varied from30 s. to 40 s. About ten fleeces of white wool, and orfleeces of salved wool are required for such stone *. Lambslast season brought from 10 s. to 14s.; and draft ewes, whichmay weigh when fat from 12 to 15 lbs. a quarter, were sold atfrom 21 s. to 25 s., and some of the best stocks as high as30 s. a-head.

2. A Breeding and Rearing Stock .

The difference between this and the former stock consistsin this, that all, or nearly all the lambs, ewe and wether, arekept on till they are of an age to be fattened. The princi-pal store-fanners of the Cheviot hills adopt this system, forwhich a great extent of land, and a variety of pasture, areindispensable. It is seldom that it can be fully carried onupon any one farm, however large, and it is therefore com-mon for one man to rent several farms, often at a distance fromone another, each of which he occupies with the descriptionof sheep for which its pastures and situation seem bestadapted.

The general management is not materially different fromwhat has been already described under the former article, ex-cept that as this system is adopted on higher, and more ex-posed tracts of country, the lambs are not permitted to comeso early, and as a part of the pastures is of an inferior qua-lity, it is the common practice not to begin to breed from the

Roxburghshire Report, p. 154,