Friends of the Old Farm Collie, Bulletin #1 page 3
d. English Shepherd: as related above, this breed is often thought of as the "old farm collie" and in many ways it is. But, as with the Aussie, the breed has diverged somewhat in minor but noticeable ways. Color is highly restricted, as in the Aussie (although between the two breeds they do have most of the wide range of colors which occurred in the old collie). While some English Shepherds have the "collie" type, others have a type more reminiscent of a retriever of even setter, with very rounded skull, round eyes, low-set or hanging ears, looser lips, shorter coat lacking a definite ruff-the basic type of the Roman/Alpine cattle dog breeds such as the Bernese Mountain Dog, Rottweiler, Hovawart and others. The collie type (often referred to as "Scotch Collie") is characterized by a flatter skull, tighter lips, almond-shaped eyes, higher-set ears usually half-erect, often with a longer coat and a definite ruff-the basic type of the Northern sheepdog breeds such as the Lapphund, Icelandic Dog, Belgian Sheepdog and others. The working collie/shepherd breeds essentially are a combination of the Roman/Alpine cattle dog and the Northern sheepdog types in greater or lesser degrees, with individuals within the breeds displaying the types both in fairly clear forms and in varying intermediate forms. Overall, it might bev said that in general the English Shepherd leans more toward the Roman/Alpine cattle dog end of the spectrum, the so-called "Scotch Collie" more toward the Northern sheepdog side.
In my view, while I admire all of the above breeds, I believe there is a place for the old-fashioned farm collie or so-called "Scotch collie" as a breed in its own right. Even the English Shepherd, which comes very close, nonetheless has its own characteristics and is not in and of itself the Old Farm Collie as I think of it. (Early English Shepherd breeders made a distinction between the "shepherd" and the "Scotch Collie.")