386 Zoological Society : — 



as above ; cilia between the angles white ; head, neck, body beneath 

 and sides red. 



Wings shaped as in P. Bootes, Westw. Arc. Ent. t. 31. 



Expanse of wings 5 inches. 



Hab. Darjeeling. In Mus. East India Company. 



Remark. — Papitio Bootes appears to be a near ally of P. Janaka. 



May 26, 1857.— Dr. Gray, F.R.S., V.P., in the Chair. 



Description of Chinese Sheep sent to H. R. H. Prince 

 Albert by Rutherford Alcock, Esq., H.M. Vice-Con- 

 suL AT Shanghai. Presented by H. R. H. to the 

 Zoological Society in April 1855. By A. D. Bart- 

 lett, Esq. 



These Sheep differ from all others that I have seen in not possess- 

 ing external ears. In size they are equal to ordinary sheep ; the 

 wool is perfectly white, rather coarse and mixed with long hairs ; 

 the head and face are smooth, and covered with white hair ; they 

 have no horns ; the tail is short, rather broad, and turned up at the 

 tip ; the profile is very convex. 



My attention was first called to these sheep from the fact of their 

 great reproductive power. I find they breed twice in a year, and 

 produce four and sometimes five at a birth, the three ewes now 

 in the Society's Gardens having this spring produced thirteen 

 lambs. These lambs are very easily reared by hand, and are perfectly 

 hardy. Upon referring to Miss Corner's * History of China,' pub- 

 lished in 1847, it appears that since the introduction of the cotton 

 plant into China (which took place during the Ming dynasty, about 

 500 years ago), the breeding and rearing of sheep have been neg- 

 lected, as the following extract will show : — 



" The extended cultivation of cotton was one of the causes that 

 led to the almost entire disappearance of sheep from the southern 

 provinces, for it was found that it would take much more land to 

 supply a certain number of persons with mutton and wool, than with 

 rice and cotton. Then the pastures were gradually turned into rice 

 and cotton plantations, while sheep were banished to the mountains 

 and less fertile parts of the country. For the same reason cattle, 

 horses, and other domestic animals are scarce ; the few that are kept 

 for the purposes of husbandry are poor and ill-fed ; for there is not 

 a common on which they can graze, so that they are tied up in stalls 

 when not employed in the field. Dairy farms are unknown in China, 

 where people use neither milk, butter, nor cheese." 



In a recent letter from China, the writer mentions, among other 

 matters, that in giving a good dinner to some distinguished friends, 

 one of the choicest dishes was a leg of mutton, the cost of which 

 was equal to 30*. 



Having submitted specimens of the wool of this animal to my 

 friend Dr. Price, who kindly forwarded the same to Mr. Darlington, 

 the Secretary to the Chamber of Commerce at Bradford, for the 

 purpose of having it examined by the most competent judges, the 



