2993- of foeep—conclusion. 55 
caragana, when aided by a temperate climate and 
exercise, have a tendency to produre the largest 
sized domestic fheep the doctor saw in his travels, e- 
ven equal to the musimon or wild fheep, which lives 
and feeds like the flocks of the hills of Dauria, that 
resemble it so much in bulk. Bur that these piants 
have no tendency to torm the sofz oily fat mentioned 
above, which the doctor thinks is only produced by 
saline bitter pastures.* 
out, and that fheep choose for food in a state of nature, whilst their in- 
stinct is not counteracted by acquired taste, you have three species of 
it, viz. Astragalus glycyphillos, vr wild liquorice, A. arenarius, or pure 
ple mountain wilk wort, and A. uradensis, or silken astragalus. 
Arcticus. 
* The favourite food of the fheep according to the accurate remarks 
ofthe great Swedith botanist and his desciples, is the jestuca ovina, 
or fheeps fescue grafs, and on which they tatten very quickly. ‘his 
plant is common in dry pastures in Scotiand, and certainly could be 
still much more so by cuitivation. 
Z Plants hurtful to Sheep. 
After mentioning plants which are eminently salutary to fheep, it 
certainly will not be foreign tothe subject to point out those that are 
poisonous irom the same great authority. Many marfh plants are so. 
ist, As the anthericum ojsifragum,\or marth asphodel. 2d, The » 
equisetum, Or horse tail. 3d, The ranunculus Slammula, or leiser spear 
wort. 4th, The myo/otis aquatica, or water mouse ear; and sth, 
The kalmia angustifolia, and latifolia, the narrow and broad leaved 
kalmia, two American plants, the most deadly of all fleep poi- 
. Bons 
Of these poisonous plants, the first is very common in moorifh 
grounds all over Scotland. 
Ofthe 2d, you have 6 species of marth plants;but which is meant by 
the Linnzan school is difficult to gucis; howeyer theve 1s littiedanger 
of fheep meddling with what is hard enough to politli wood. The 3d. 
is common with you by the sides of dakes and ditches; but a Highland 
‘ 
