LECTURE XLIV. 



ORIGIN AND DOMESTICATION OF SHEEP. 



To all students of animal husbandry, the origin and domes- 

 tication of the sheep should be not only an interesting sub- 

 ject of study, but also one that is practical and useful as well, 

 for we find from history that from man's advent on the earth 

 the sheep has been his constant companion as a source of 

 food, clothing, and wealth. 



The sheep is a four-footed animal, and is placed by the 

 naturalist in the order, Ruminantia, to which order also belong 

 the ox and goat; tribe Capridae, genus Ovis. Of this genius 

 there are three species: Ovis argali, Ovis musmore, and 

 Ovis aries, or domestic sheep. 



The sheep resembles somewhat the goat, which belongs 

 to the same tribe, Capridae, but differ from it in several points 

 which serve as distinguishing marks. The goat has a beard, 

 while only one species of sheep, and that a wild one, possesses 

 such. The horns of the sheep, when such are present, have 

 a spiral turn, while the horns of a goat turn up and back. 

 Goats, especially some Asiatic species, are clothed with the 

 finest quality of wool, but always bear an outer and longer 

 coat of hair, while the sheep's coat is entirely of wool, with 

 the exception, perhaps, of a few coarse hairs, known as kemp, 

 which are almost eliminated from the fleece of the domestic 

 sheep. 



The three species of sheep mentioned above, Ovis argali, 

 Ovis musmore, and Ovis aries, are practically all that call 

 for our attention. The Ovis argali was the original wild sheep 

 that inhabited the continent of Asia and from which the 

 present native Asiatic sheep have sprung. The Ovis mus- 

 more, or European wild sheep, inhabited southern Europe 

 and northern Africa, and to this wild species it is believed 

 that we can look as the progenitor of all our modern breeds 

 of sheep in Europe and America. 



161 



