17993. of the Tauric, and other varieties of focep. 49 
A secoud variciy of fheep meationed by the same 
authors, bearing « fleece composed of wool and hair, 
"is probably that which has lately drawn so particu- 
larly the attention of your society fur the meliora- 
tion of Britith wool, as I understand that the fine 
woolly down, which seems to surpafs every thing of 
the kind on your side Thibet, is hid by long hair 
which rises above it, and serves as a covering to the 
animal whilst deprived of its finer under coat; the 
festival of the island, must then be at iheep pulling, 
not at fheep /hearing as in England.* 
doubt were of the same kind with the fheep called blue at this day by 
the natives, of the kind above described, which are to be found in all 
the remote parts of Scotland Ihave visited, where large flocks of 
fheep are not kept, and where of course little attention is paid to 
* the breed. - Lait. 
* There is, I believe, no variety of fheepreared in any part of Bri- 
tain among which there may n t be found individuals wihtose ficece 
contains a mixture oi hairs; nor is there any county, or any breed a- 
moug which individual fheep may not be found that have no hair 
among the wool at all In some places however hairy wool 1s com- 
_ moon, and nearly universal, and in other places clean woo! is equally 
general, and a hairy fleece a rarity—In general, wherever the far- 
mers have been for a long time past attentive to the quality of their 
wool, the hairy sort is rare, because they have taken care not to breed 
from that kind ; and wherever no attention has been bestowed to the 
breed, hairy wool is very common. 
In Shetland, from what I have heard and seen, hairy wool is com- 
mon for no other reason than that they have hitherto bestowed no at- 
tention to their breed of fheep; but tortunately it is not universal, 
as some fine woolled fheep are still to be tound there that have no 
hairs at ali among their fleece. From all these facts, I am far from 
admitting, that hairy wool is a peculiar characteristic mark of distinc- 
tion of any one breed of ‘fheep whatever, though doubtleis in some 
districts, and in some particular flocks in these districts, that kind of 
fleece abounds much more than in others, Edit. 
* VOL, XVil.. G + 
