The Highland monthly - National Library of Scotland

164 The Highland Monthly.
priate phrase, signifying the time of fleecing—and, after
another short interval, the time of the ewe clipping was
duly observed. With Lammas came the time of separating
the lambs ; when the vales and hills resounded with the
plaintive cries of the sundered.
About the autumnal equinox was the time of sending
away the wethers. These were occasionally driven to
Teithmuir Tryst, to be there disposed of ; but they were
commonly taken possession of on the farm by some south-
country grazier, to whom they had been sold earlier in the
season. Last of all was the time of smearing, when tar
and various ungents were carefully applied to the skin of
the sheep, which, besides answering sundry other purposes,
both as regards the animal and the wool, were calculated
to protect the former from the cold and storms of winter.
These which I have enumerated were the main divisions
of the year at Glenbeltane. There were others of less
consequence, as the time of casting peats, the time of cutting
the corn, the time of cutting the hay, and so forth. They
were all full of interest for me, and I looked for the recur-
rence of each as a source of new pleasure. Even during
the gloom of mid-winter time hangs not heavily in the
store-farmer's home.
In the cold, dark mornings how often have I listened
for the first cheery sounds of the flail from the barn !
The
herd would be already up, and bustling hither and thither
about the steading, carrying wisps of straw, or hay, for the
cattle. Then the huge roots of resinous bog fir, of delightful
aroma, had to be split for the evening fire. If the snow had
fallen heavily overnight, the way to the burn and well must
be cleared. The shepherds had to make their rounds, some-
time returning, after the absence of a few hours, with a hare,
or perhaps an otter, captured among the ice after an arduous
chase. On the opposite side of Lochgoy might be seen a
large herd of deer, forced by the storm to seek the lower
grounds, and there moving about, fearless of man. During
intense frost, the loch would be covered from side to side