[ 12 1 



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or down in the mod minute quantity." The fa£^ 

 then is inconteftibly eftabliflied, that flieep, which 

 produce as little wool as horfes, do exift j and per- 

 haps they are much more common than we at pre- 

 fent fufpeft. The Boucharian breed of flieep is 

 kept in immenfe flocks over the extenfive plains of 

 Great Tartary. Since the above was written I have 

 been aflured that they have a breed of this kind of 

 flieep in the ifland of Antigua. 



A natural inference from thefe fa£ls is, that fmce 

 we find one clafs of animals, fome breeds of which 

 produce wool, and other breeds produce nothing 

 but fliort hair in no refpefts refembling wool, may 

 not a fnnilar diveifity take place in regard to other 

 clafles of animals? And although it fliould happen 

 that the inhabitants of one country fliould be pof- 

 fefled only of the hair-bearing breed of creatures 

 of that fort, like the Madagafcarefc flieep, and know 

 nothing of any other fort ; yet there is no reafon, 

 from that circumftance, to conclude that no other 

 breed of that kind of creature exifts. This train of 

 reafoning being fuggefled, it roufed the mind to at- 

 tend to fafts ; and 1 had foon occafion to obferve, 

 that fo, fir from having reafon to be furprifed at find- 

 ing breeds of flieep fo much diverfified, as above fet 

 forth, there were innumerable well-known fafts, 

 which, if adverted to, would have led to the fame 

 conelufion. 



For 



