82 account of the argall. ^tily 24, 



of the society, or suit the bounds allotted to papers 

 in the Bee j but the curious inquirer may have re- 

 course for that species of information to Dr Pal- 

 las's learned work, his Spicilegia Zoologica fascicu- 

 lus undecimus, printed at Berlin in 1776. 



Dr Pallas found the nnjis /era, or wild iheep, in all 

 its native vigour, boldnefs, and activity, inhabi- 

 ting the vast chain of mountains which run through 

 the centre of Asia to the eastern sea, and the bran- 

 ches which it sends off to Great Tartary, China, 

 and the Indies. 



This wild animal which our learned naturalist 

 declares to be the musimon of Pliny, and the ophion 

 of the Greeks, is called argali by the Siberians, 

 which means wild flieep ; and by the Rufsians 

 kamennoi barann, or flieep of the rocks, from its or- 

 dinary place of abode. 



It delights in the bare rocks of the Asiatic chain 

 just mentioned, where it is constantly found balk- 

 ing in the sun ; but it avoids the wood^ of the moun- 

 tains, and every other object that would intercept 

 tjae direct rays of the glorious luminary. 



Its food is the Alpine plants and flirubs it finds 

 amongst the rocks. The argnli prefers a tempe- 

 rate climate, although he does not disdain that of 

 Asiatic Siberia, as he there finds his favourite bare 

 rocks, sun fliine, and Alpine plants ; nay it is even 

 found in ihe cold eastern CKtremify of Siberia and 

 Kamtlhatka, which plainly proves that nature has 

 given a most extensive range to the llieep in a 

 ivild state, equal even to what flie has given to man, 

 the lord of the creation ; a fact that ought to make 



