1793' ' account of the argah. 85 



The argali purges itself in the spring, (like all 

 the domestic varieties cf the fheep, when left at liber- 

 ty to follow their instinct ; as will be more fully 

 fhown in the sequel,) with acrid plants of the anemo- 

 noide kind, till milder plants spring up, and fhrubs 

 begin to sprout, which with Alpine plants consti- 

 tute its usual food. It likewise frequents the salt 

 marlhes which abound every where in Siberia ; and 

 even licks the salt efflorefsence that rises on the 

 ground, a regimen that fattens them up very quick- 

 ly, and fully restores the health, vigour, and flefh 

 they had lost during winter, and during the purging 

 course, so wonderfully dictated to the Iheep species,, 

 togeth'jr with the restorative, by the Almighty, 

 whether in a wild or tame state, if left to roam at 

 large where the necefsary plants are to be found. 



1 cannot fini(h the subject of the Siberian argali ot 

 musimon of Pallas, without taking notice of a note, 

 by your learned naturalist M, Pennant, to the arti- 

 cle flieep in his Britii) Zjology, where he says, that 

 he has had thrice an opportunity within these two 

 years, cf examining tht musimon, and he found that 

 both in the form of the horns, and Ihortnefs of the tail, 

 it has the greatest agreement with xh& goat, in which 

 species he has therefore placed it in his Synopsis, with 

 the trivial name ot Siberian. Now Mr Pennant does 

 not mention from what country these animals were 

 which he examined, but certainly they must have beea 

 different from the Sibeiian argali, of which I have sent 

 an exactcoloured drawing, furniihedbythedoctor him- 

 eelf, and which agrees with the Iheep in every thing else; 

 and as for the tail, its length is so various in the dif« 



