SOLITARY AND GREGARIOUS. 117 



In order to arrive at the cause of this sociality, 

 which seems not only to be without any reason- 

 able motive arising from mutual advantage, but to 

 be rather disadvantageous from the pasture being 

 exhausted by the crowd of feeders, we must con- 

 sider these sheep as domesticated, and, of course, 

 in different circumstances from the species in their 

 original state of wildness and freedom, in which 

 such sociality may serve some important purpose. 

 The sheep of mountainous countries, where they 

 are in a state of comparative wildness, though un- 

 confined by fences, like those in the meadow just 

 alluded to, are observed to keep together in bands, 

 and to pass from one mountain platform to another 

 in regular ranks, one deep, always headed by a 

 leader. The duty of this leader is to give warning 

 of the approach of danger to his troop, both when 

 on a march of removal to a different pasture and 

 also while they are feeding. This fact, which has 

 often been recorded, we have had more than once 

 an opportunity of witnessing in Wales. On ascend- 

 ing Snowdon, for example, our attention was at- 

 tracted by the deep harsh krroup of a raven sailing 

 about on the air, looking out, no doubt, for some 

 luckless sheep enfeebled by accident or disease upon 

 which he might pounce. Immediately from the 

 shoulder of the mountain above us the note of the 

 raven was answered by the alarm-call of the leader 

 of a small flock of sheep who were feeding on the 

 scanty herbage of this lofty region ; and, at the sig- 

 nal, they quickly drew closer together, and, forming 

 a " serried phalanx," eyed their enemy with a bold- 

 er bearing than we could have deemed possible in 

 animals proverbial for timidity. The raven was not 

 long in discovering that he had little chance of sin- 

 gling a victim from so watchful and wary a baqd, 

 and flew off towards the neighbouring cliffs, where 

 he might chance to light upon the carcass of one left 

 undevoured by some fox scared from his prey, or 



