General view of the agriculture of the county of Northumberland ; with observations on ... its improvement / Drawn up for ... the Board of Agriculture.

John Bailey

Date:: 1805

Credit: General view of the agriculture of the county of Northumberland ; with observations on ... its improvement / Drawn up for ... the Board of Agriculture. Source: Wellcome Collection.

191/426 page 145

$distriBs with old sheep; but they never attempt to keep a breeding flock upon them*. Blindburn is probably the highest and coarsest pasture in this county where this kind of sheep are bred. We examined the herbage, and found that the ewe pasture had a considerable portion of green sward, the coarsest parts of which consisted of, Nardus stri^la, Wirehent\. Juncus squarrosus, Stoolbent. Scirpus csespitosus, Deer-kair. , C the leaves, Ling. Erlophorum vaginatum, j j the flowering 7 £j.ica. ^ stem, 5 Erica vulgaris. Heath or Hathcr. The shape of this breed of sheep has been much im- proved of late years; but all those who have been aiding in making such improvements, readily acknowledge there is still much to be done, especially to the fore quarter. * Mr. Robson, of Chatto, informed us, that ewes and lambs would not d) upon his far.ms of Common Bur., near 'Vooler, and Felhope and Carthope, at the head of Coquet. On such situations the gimmers are found to be hardier or do better than the wether sheep of the same age, called Dinmonts. + The English names, inserted after the Latin ones, are such as the Cheviot shepherds know them by. J This plant grows in wet mossy placef; it generally springs in Febni.-iry and March. 'I'he sheep are remarkably fond of it, not only the flowering stem, but the roots ; and will scratch away the mossy soil si.x or eight inches deep, to obtain it. We have seen them working up to tlie eyes for this purpose. The shepherds tell wonderful tales of the nutritive powers of this plant; assert- ing, that sheep, reduced by hunger, will recover faster, and thrive much better upon this plant, than turnips. It is certainly a valuable plant for three or four weeks ; but after it has flowered, the sheep totally neglecfl the flower stem {men), and depasture only on the leaves {iing). 11 is somewhat singular, that the Cheviot shepherds should consider the /lau'ering stem and the hu-ves of this plant as two distin^f species ; nor could some of them be convinced to the contrary, until the plant was taken up, and they wc?e shewn that their moss and ting grew both from the same root. Ling is the piovincial name for “ erira vufguris” in many parts of the kingdom. NOllTHUMD.] which, 1.$