By Carol Howe

The Scottish Blackface is an old breed whose origins are uncertain.Some sources place the sheep as having come from a Spanish ship wrecked during the flight of the Armada in 1588.However,the Scottish Blackface shows no resemblance to any Spanish breed of sheep.Therefore,the Blackface is more likely to have originated somewhere in England.

Twelfth century records show Scottish Blackface predecessors being raised by monks.The monks used the wool for their own clothing and for substantial export to Europe.Records from 1503 assert that James IV of Scotland established a flock of 5,000 Scottish Blackface.Lambing time must have been quite something!

Today,the United Kingdom is home to the majority of Scottish Blackface. In 1989,Blackface wool accounted for close to 40 percent of the total wool production of Scotland and one-twelfth of the wool production of the U.K.Scottish Blackface produce the famous home-woven Harris Tweed of the Scottish Isles.The wool also is superb for stuf fing mattresses and upholstery.

Scottish Blackface wool has little competition in fine carpet production.It is exceptionally hard-wearing and has a natural springiness.Many of the top-quality Axminster and Wilton carpets are made of Scottish Blackface wool.In addition,the horns of the Blackface are prized by artisans for the carving of shepherds crooks and walking sticks.

The Blackface is a hardy breed.The ewes are excellent mothers,milk well and produce lambs and wool,even on questionable pasture.They are terri fic when it comes to improving pasturelands.They regain condition after lambing or a hard winter almost without equal.The Blackface lambs are considered to be an excellent choice for carcass quality. They produce little fat or waste and have a unique flavor.

The Scottish Blackface is found in Scotland,the Pennines, Dartmoor,and Northern Ireland.They have been exported to Italy,Argentina,and the United States.However,here in the United States they have remained a minor breed.

References:Sheep of the World In Colour,by Kenneth Ponting Oklahoma State University website