9963. of the Tauric and other varieties of fheep 5 
_ The learned zooiogist, Mr Pennant, mentions hava 
ing found at Athol houfe on his Scotch tour, the 
jaw of a foeep incrustated with gold coloured pyrites, 
a mineral abounding ina valley close by, where he 
thinks were fheep to graze, thew teeth night acquire 
the same incrustation. now Sir, I will venture to 
add, that if fheep were to be /o/ded in this pyritical 
valley, some ot the gold coloured particles might, 
without a miracle, adhere to their fleece, and produce 
acurious yellow glittering appearance which would 
not a little astonifh the vulgar, aid pofsibly transfer 
the story of the golden ficece from Colchis © to 
Athol. 
Di Pallas on reading over the rough copy of this 
“paper, made the following note at the bottom of this 
article. 
A yellowith glofsy tartar is found likewise on the 
teeth of the Kirguise fheep, and I think in all 
dry pasture grounds; but it is nothing like py- 
rites.* 
I think with Pennant, Mr Editor, that the fourth 
“variety mentioned by Boethius as inhabiting the 
island of Hirta, was very pofsibly the musimon or 
wild theep ; for he describes it as larger than the 
biggest he-goat, with a tail hanging almost to the 
* This remark of the learned doctor perfectly cointides with my 
own observations on this head. The teeth of the greatest part of 
fheep become black when aged, but many of them are yellowifh, 
though that tinze 1s evidently nothing pyritical; and is often seen on 
the teeth of fheep that feed where pyrites is rare, and vice versa. 
kedit. 
