186 NEIGHBORS WITH CLAWS AND HOOFS. 



sion of several thousand years is stamped upon it. Once 

 seen, it will be known again as readily as a Chinaman is 

 recognized. The merino is, par excellence, the sheep of 

 fine wool. Its fleece is short, and grows in a thick mat, 

 oily, and therefore dirty in appearance, covering the 

 cheeks, and lying up in ridges and ruffles about the neck. 



3. The sheep of coarse-wool fleeces are animals of larger 

 frame. Their definite origin can scarcely be traced. The 

 wild sheep, under the care and skill of human intelligence, 

 is susceptible of improvement in almost any desired di- 

 rection. The coat of the sheep in its wild state is a mixt- 

 ure of short hair and wool. With care exercised in the 

 selection of the offspring, and assistance in procuring its 

 food, this coat has grown less hair and more wool ; then, 

 with favorable conditions of climate and pasture, size of 

 frame, qualities of flesh, and length of wool have been ob- 

 tained. In this way has come the Southdown of Eng- 

 land, the famous mutton-sheep, easily distinguished by its 

 round body, medium wool, and dark-brown head and legs. 

 The lambs of the Southdown, large and plump, join with 

 green peas to give to market- stalls the flavor of spring. 



4. The Leicester and Cots wold breeds are highly es- 

 teemed in England where they originated, and in America 

 where they have been introduced. They carry the largest 

 frames and the longest wool. For mutton they are good ; 

 but their fleeces attain to a great weight. No animals 

 among the domestic tribes more strikingly show the 

 effects of liberal care than do these large, white, woolly, 

 clean-faced sheep. Upon the Highlands of Scotland, or 

 among the rocks where wild sheep and goats flourish, they 

 would die. Fat pastures, level footing, shelter from rough 

 weather, and high feeding, are absolutely necessary to 

 their existence. They are the pampered aristocracy of 

 their race, and there is little poetry about them, except 



