252 COMMON BRITJ8H ANliMALS 



is no coiling or twisting, whereas those of sheep are 

 often considerably coiled and twisted. Most English 

 south-country breeds of sheep are hornless, but in 

 some breeds both sexes are horned. In the Hebrides 

 there is a race of semi-wild four-horned sheep. The 

 South-down and Suffolk breeds bear short-woolled 

 fleeces, but their flesh makes excellent mutton, while 

 the Leicester and Romney Marsh sheep produce finer 

 and longer wool, though not the same excellent 

 quality of mutton. 



There are many unobservant people living 

 in towns, who seeing sheep only occasionally, 

 believe that they have naturally very short tails. 

 The young lambs, however, which delight us so 

 much in the spi-ing-time, have comparatively long 

 tails, which it is the custom of shepherds to cut off 

 when the lamb is a few weeks old. 



Sheep and goats are both climbers by nature, but 

 the goat is the greater expert of the two. Solomon, 

 long ago in Proverbs, xxx, v. 31, drew attention to 

 the admirable agility of the goat : 



'^ There be three things which go well, yea, four 

 are comely in goi?ig ; a lion which is strongest among 

 beasts, and turneth not away for any ; a greyhound ; 

 an he-goat also ; and a king, against whom there is 

 no rising up.^^ 



There is no trace of any native wild goat in 

 England, but they have been domesticated since 

 the Neolithic period, and these domestic goats are 

 said to have been bred from the Persian wild goat. 

 It was from the stomach of this goat that a secretion 

 was procured, known as '' bezoar stones '' or bezards, 



